UNIT PLAN 1.
Discovering color
2. My unit plan is aimed at seventh and eighth graders. They will be at a public school. Class of 25-Ten boys and fifteen girls. I expect that at least two of them will have special needs and need a little more personal attention. 3. Goals/rationale: They will learn how to mix color They will utilize color in a meaningful manner They will portray objects in a believable manner They will test out different painting techniques Personally I want them to learn the value of experimenting with color because it is a very important aspect of my art and I want my students to discover its importance as well. 4. Rationale for Artists used: a. Wayne Thiebaud- He is a key artist to look at and discuss because of his use of color. We will look at how he uses complementary colors to show shadow, he doesn’t simply use black or white. I will use him as an example when talking about mixing color and its’ importance to a composition. We can also refer back to his work when looking at still lives and their content. b. Andrew Wyeth- We will look at his color choices in landscapes and still lives. We will discuss how the color choices affect the mood of the piece. The objects he uses in his still lives will also be the basis for a discussion about still life subject matter. 5.
Enduring ideas:
a. Color b. Mood c. Emotion 6. Investigative Essential Questions: a. Why is color important? What can it tell you about a piece of art you are looking at? b. Do artists color choices affect the mood of the piece? How so? c. How do the contents of a still life affect your understanding of it? d. How does color use affect the composition? e. Would you use different colors to express different feelings? Give examples. f. What could be some interesting objects to investigate through a still life? g. Does a still life give new meaning to an object? 7. Key Instructional Concepts: a. There is no right answer when it comes to mixing color. b. Artists have used color to express their emotion or even just the mood of their piece for years. They will understand how to do this for themselves. c. Still lifes can have meaning. You can tell a story through a still life, and give objects a new importance. d. You have the power to create your own world through art. 8. Objectives: a. The students will all participate in a “day of play.” They will test out different ways of applying paint and will mix colors and create a page full of original colors.
b. The students will all complete a still life of a white egg. We will investigate all of the colors they can find in the white. c. They will learn how to critically analyze the color choices in a piece of artwork. Wyeth/Van Gough/etc. d. They will create their own still life out of objects and with their color choices they will create a mood in their piece. e. They will create their own still life out of objects. They will paint these being conscious of their new knowledge about color. They will write a short statement about their use of color in their still life. f. Students will have group discussions, one-on-one talks with me, and a group critique. 9. Integrative Options/Cross Curricular correlations: a. Social Studies- Go into more detail about how the public reacts to both key artists work by reading articles. Discuss their impact in the art world. b. Writing- The statement the students must write about their use of color at the end of the project could be an assignment from an English or writing teacher. 10. Reltaionship to developmental needs: a. GLE’s i. Painting ii. Create a variety of colors, tints, and shades by mixing pigments iii. Subject Matter iv. still life from observation v. Theme
vi. Environment vii. Form viii. Identify and use a range of values to create the illusion of form ix. Color x. Identify and use analogous colors xi. Identify and use complementary colors xii. Space xiii. Identify and use one-point linear perspective to create the illusion of space xiv. Emphasis xv. Identify and use center of interest (focal point) xvi. Proportion xvii. Identify and use appropriate scale relationship 11. Opportunities for student Reponses to art: a. Students will have group discussions about the work of several key artists in detail– Wayne Thiebaud and Andrew Wyeth. b. They will personally investigate another artist and discuss their color use and subject matter in their journals. c. They will be looking critically at color choices and subject matter. 12. Lesson Sequences: a. Color exploration b. White Object Still Life c. Day of Artists d. Object collection
e. Still Life 13. Color Exploration a. This lesson will encompass two days of class. b. Day one- Introduction of paint c. Pass out acrylic paint to each student. d. Pass out a 16x20 sheet of paper e. Create as many colors as you possibly can and fill your paper with them. Create interesting color combinations; see what looks good or bad. f. End of class– group discussion about new colors we see and favorite combinations that occurred on the pieces. g. Day two- Introduction of paint applicators h. Stations will be set up all around the room. i. Each station will have a different applicator: brushes of varying sizes, palette knives, sponges, etc. j. Spend twenty minutes at each station playing on small pieces of paper. k. End of class discussion about favorite applicator and why. 14. White Object Still Life a. This lesson will take about one week of class. b. Introduce project c. Have a large collection of random objects painted white in the room. d. Let each student pick out ATLEAST three objects and thoughtfully create their own set up.
e. Tell them that they must have at least ten different colors in their still life. These will be whitish tones, no plain old white! f. This lesson will help them learn to see color and will give them some experience with the paint and the still life. g. They can choose to use whichever applicator they enjoyed the most. 15. Day of Artists a. This will be a class period dedicated to discussing the key artists and their work. i. Andrew Wyeth 1. Investigate his color choices and the feeling that we get from them. 2. Look at his still life and the objects he used in them. Does creating a portrait of a normal every day object give it a new meaning? 3. Group discussion: a. What do you notice about his work? b. What stands out to you? c. What does the content make you think about? ii. Wayne Thiebaud 1. Look at his use of complimentary colors. 2. Use of color to create shadow 3. Approach his work as a still life. 4. Do you think that creating a still life of unexpected daily life objects give it different meaning? 5. Group discussion: a. What stands out to you about his work?
b. How does it make you feel? b. Journal assignment: i. Research the work of an artist of their choice. ii. Investigate their color choices and still life set ups critically iii. Write about it in their journals 1. Why this artsit is interesting to them 2. Discuss the subject matter of one of their still lifes 3. How do they use color 4. Does the artist inspire them or not 16. Object Collection a. This will be an ongoing collection from the first few days of color exploration. b. After the Day of Artists lesson plan talk about unexpected objects that could be used in a still life, a boring every day thing. c. What would these objects mean and how could color help portray that message? d. Also have a stash of objects in the room for students who need them. 17. Still Life a. Students will bring in there object(s) and we will talk about why they want to use them. b. Students will arrange their objects in a thoughtful manner to create an interesting composition. c. They will choose what type of paint applicator they would like to use more. d. LOOK at the color. e. No tube colors
f. Once the objects are arranged use color keeping in mind all that we have discussed the past few days. Using complementary colors as shadows, or using a more muted palate to give a different mood to the piece; similar to Andrew Wyeth. g. Materials: i. Acrylic paint ii. Canvas board (several size options- 12x12, 16x20, 18x24) iii. Palette Knives iv. Brushes v. Cups for water vi. Paper towels 18. Assessment Strategies and Evaluation Criteria: a. Journals- I will look over their analysis of an artist whose work they looked at critically and talk about it with them. b. Group discussions- Participation in the discussions. c. Group Critique- they will discuss the products of each lesson. d. Personal meeting- during class time to make sure that they are prepared to go into the unit project. e. Portfolio of everything they create for this unit (color exploration, applicator play sheets-just to see they did them, white object still life, final still life) 19. Culminating activity a. Gallery of all the students’ final projects. 20. Unit Evaluation and Assessment
a. Still Life Paintingi. Color mastery: ii. They will be assessed on the variety of original colors used and the use of color to depict dark and lights. iii. Still Life content: 1. Was it thought out and planned to be compositionally successful? 2. Does the piece use color in a way that portrays a mood or feeling? iv. Group Critique to discuss successes or areas that could be improved. b. Write a statement about how they utilized color in their still life (5-6 sentences) and why that was important to their piece.