Art Is Fundamental

Teaching the Elements and Principles of Art in Elementary School

Eileen S. Prince

• Publisher: Zephyr Press
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9781569762165
• eBook ISBN: 9781613741269
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Teaching Arts & Humanities

This comprehensive art curriculum can easily be integrated into any teacher's existing instruction and provides thrilling and rewarding projects for elementary art students, including printmaking techniques, tessellations, watercolors, calligraphic lines, organic form sculptures, and value collages. Detailed lessons—developed and tested in classrooms over many years—build on one another in a logical progression and explore the elements of texture, color, shape, line, form, and value, and principles such as balance (formal, informal and radial,) unity, contrast, movement, distortion, emphasis, pattern and rhythm. Each lesson also represents an interdisciplinary approach that improves general vocabulary and supports science, math, social studies, and language arts. Though written for elementary school teachers, it can be easily condensed and adapted for middle or even high school students. A beautiful eight-page color insert demonstrates just how sophisticated young children's art can be when kids are given the opportunity to develop their skills.

First Year

THE “FIRST YEAR” described here is the complete curriculum I use in grade one. As discussed in the introduction, this material can easily be condensed and adapted to a higher grade level. Regardless of the target audience, in the first year, I introduce very basic concepts about the elements of art. I also introduce some principles, but as you will see, the units are centered around the elements. I define the elements as color, shape, texture, value, line, and form.

Lesson 1: Creating a Portfolio

Lesson Summary: Students fold 18” by 24” tagboard in half and decorate it.

Purpose: To create a portfolio in which to keep artwork.

Materials: 18” x 24” 150# white tagboard, 1 piece per student, #2 pencils, markers, colored pencils, and/or crayons

New Vocabulary/Concepts: Portfolio, hamburger fold

Time: One+ period*

Possible Visual Aid: Artist’s portfolio

*After Lesson 2, you may decide to have a catch-up period. Pass back both projects and allow students to work on whichever one they want. Whenever you see a “+” sign, it indicates that most students will need more time and that this project will be tied to a project using the same materials for a catch-up period. At the end of the period, I tell my students that we will be doing a different project next time, but they will then have a period to finish both projects.

In every class, the first day of each year is devoted to a discussion of art class rules (see “Getting Started,” page 1) and the creation of a portfolio. I am a huge believer in keeping work at school rather than sending it home each day. Obviously, this allows students the opportunity to finish projects they might not otherwise complete. It allows me to see progress and trends I might miss, and I can more easily select work for the spring show. When the portfolio goes home at the end of the year, the parents see a cohesive body of work, not just a series of crumbled papers from a book bag. (Of course, the children can share their works in progress at any time, and I always make sure that parents understand that the children are producing and will have projects to prove it. I also have student work hanging on the hall walls whenever possible.) Even if you are homeschooling, I strongly recommend keeping work in a portfolio.

I begin the activity by explaining to the students that they are going to keep their work in a portfolio, and I ask them if they know what that is. (Several of my students had portfolios of some sort in kindergarten.) I discuss the fact that the word “portfolio” has two meanings: the actual case or folder in which an artist keeps work (I frequently bring in a professional example), or the work itself. I explain that we will start by making the folder, but by the end of the year, we will have lots of work inside.

Each student is given a piece of 18” by 24” 150# tagboard. Because the children are small, I ask them to dangle the tagboard beside their chairs. They should hold it from the top using one hand so that it hangs in a portrait (vertical) position. Then I tell them to grasp the bottom of the tagboard with the other hand, bring the bottom up to the top and press the piece flat on their desks, thus folding it in half, creating a hamburger fold. We briefly discuss the different types of folds I describe in “Getting Started.” For older children, it is sufficient to simply show them the type of fold you want. I have them place the resulting 12” by 18” portfolio on the desk in front of them in the landscape position with the fold at the bottom. I tell them to raise their left hands and lower them to the bottom left-hand corner of the “page.” I have them place their names in pencil in this corner, followed by their grade designation, and then they turn the folder over and do the same thing on the other side. (This way, no matter which side is up in the portfolio cubby, a student will be able to quickly find his or her work.) After they have completed these steps, they may decorate one or both sides of their portfolios in marker, pencil, or crayon.

Lesson 2: Each Artist Is Unique

Lesson Summary: After a brief discussion using visual aids, students will draw a picture that includes at least one tree.

Purpose: Children will understand that each artist is unique, that no two projects should look alike.

Materials: Several posters of artworks that focus on trees, 12” x 18” white construction paper, pencils, crayons, markers, and/or colored pencils

New Vocabulary/Concepts: Unique, artists don’t copy

Time: One+ period

Possible Visual Aids: Works by Dutch landscape artists like Claude Lorraine or Meindert Hobbema; John Constable; Paul Cornoyer (especially Plaza After Rain); Caspar David Friedrich (especially Tree with Crows); Henri David Rousseau’s jungle scenes; landscapes by Li T’ang and Shen Chou; Currier and Ives; Alfred Sisley; Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Forest with Brook; or any of Piet Mondrian’s earlier trees, especially his red trees and apple trees

Before the class begins, select 8 to 10 visual aids depicting trees. The prints should represent a wide variety of styles and cultures. Check the gray box for several suggestions.

Explain to the students that some of the things we study in art class are “what artists do” and “how and why they do them.” “Everyone sees the world a little differently, and one thing artists do is to try to share their view of that world—to call our attention to the beauties of nature, the colors around us, the shapes and textures, and so forth. Perhaps they will help us see things in a new or better way.” Starting with the most traditional and realistic, show the prints one at a time. Each time, ask the students what the picture depicts and whether the artist did a good job. (You can encourage a positive reply by gently nodding your head as you speak.) If the painting shows more than just trees, point specifically to the trees in the work. When showing each subsequent picture, ask if it looks exactly like the previous one. When the children say no, ask them what is different. Some trees might be bigger or smaller, darker or lighter, leafy or bare, more realistic or stylized. Encourage the children to explore the pictures seriously. After you have completed the series, explain that each artist is unique and that therefore their paintings and drawings, however wonderful, do not look alike. This discussion should take about 10 minutes.

If possible, hang the prints where the children can see them. (I have a magnetic whiteboard, but a stiff print could rest on a chalk trough. There is also a glue that works for temporary adhesion and does not leave marks on the print.) Hold up a sheet of white, 12” by 18” construction paper and explain that each of them is going to receive a piece. They may turn their paper in either direction, landscape or portrait (demonstrate). The only requirement for this project is that everyone must start by drawing at least one tree. This can be any kind of tree: real or imaginary, evergreen or deciduous, fall, winter, spring, or summer, apple tree, cherry tree, lollipop tree, or cotton ball tree. The important thing is that it be their tree—not their neighbor’s idea of a tree. Stress this point. While artists may definitely be inspired by other artists, their final work is their own vision. They may use any dry medium for this project: crayon, marker, and/or colored pencil. Once the tree is completed, the student may finish the picture in any way he or she chooses. At the end of the period, you might have the children hold up their pictures so that they can all see what their classmates have done and comment on the fact that (hopefully) in spite of the fact that they all did a terrific job, no two pieces look the same. If some students did not complete their projects, explain that they will have a catch-up period later on.

Lesson 3: Introducing the Elements of Art

Lesson Summary: Students will do rubbings and tracings of leaves.

Purpose: Children will be introduced to the concept of element and the elements of art.

Materials: Thin paper (12” x 18” drawing or newsprint paper, or 11” x 17” computer paper), crayons, several varieties of leaves, enough for each child, pencil (for name only)

New Vocabulary/Concepts: Element, color, shape, texture, value, line, form, rubbing, tracing

Time: One period

Before the lesson begins, gather a variety of green tree leaves. I try to have three or four kinds. This lesson will work best if the leaves are relatively similar in size (not too huge and not too small) and if at least one variety is very simple in shape. Make sure that they are not too fragile and that the veins stick out strongly on the “underneath” side. Since my class size is usually 20, I gather 20 of each kind. I keep these in a plastic bag, and if they are going to sit for a few days, I place a slightly damp paper towel in the bag. Stack the leaves according to variety and place a stack of each variety on each table, or pass out one of each type to each student.

Explain that the subject of today’s lesson is elements of art. If you are dealing with younger children, you will want to explain the nature of an element. Elements are the basic building blocks of our world, and each subject has its own elements. In science, these are the actual elements, such as oxygen, carbon, or hydrogen. I usually explain that water can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen. Music has elements such as harmony, rhythm, and tempo, while literature has character, plot, or setting. We could break this down further into sentences, words, or letters. Elaborate as much as necessary to get the point across.

Hold up two leaves of approximately the same size but very different species. Make sure the top or darker green side is facing the students. Ask the following questions: “If I am an artist trying to draw a realistic picture of these leaves, what is the most noticeable difference between them? How would you know which is which?” The answer, of course, is their shapes. Shape is an element of art. (Write it on the board.) “How else could I make the leaves look realistic? How would we know they are not fall leaves?” They are green. Green is a color, and color is an element of art. Add it to the list. Point to the stem and veins and ask how you would add them. Elicit the word “line” and add it to the list. Ask the students to pick up a leaf and gently stroke the top and bottom. What is different? Feeling or texture is another element of art. Hold up your two leaves again. Turn one so that the underside is facing out. Ask the students to describe the difference. They are both green, but one is lighter than the other. In art, we call the use of light and dark “value.” Draw a simple leaf shape on the board and try to pick it up. Of course you can’t, because it has no depth or thickness—it is only a shape. The real leaf, on the other hand has three dimensions, or form, so you can pick it up. Form is our sixth element. Explain that the class is going to explore each of these elements throughout the year, but today they are just going to do a project to help them remember all six.

Place a piece of drawing paper or newsprint on the board. Explain that the students are going to do two things with the leaves. Place a leaf on top of the paper and trace it accurately with a crayon. Any color is fine, and the paper may be turned in either direction. After removing the leaf, look at it carefully and draw the veins on the tracing. I usually do only partial examples, because time is an issue. Then place the leaf under the paper in a different spot, vein side up, and do a rubbing of the leaf. (In art, this is technically called “frottage.” If you have older students, you might use the term.) Stress good rubbing technique. Don’t press too hard or too softly with the crayon, don’t leave spaces between crayon lines, don’t let the leaf move, and so forth. Tell the students that they must do at least one rubbing and one tracing on their paper, but they may do several rubbings and one tracing or vice versa. Leaves may overlap. Older students can be asked to make a more sophisticated composition, or include prints. The res...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Getting Started
• First Year
• Second Year
• Third Year
• Bibliography
• Resources
• Index