Lesson At A Glance

Here’s a brief overview of the complete lesson. It’s also on your prep page in the Ready, Set, Go! section (below the lesson).

Colored buttons jump to each section in the full lesson plan below.

10 Minutes – Create characters using starter ideas

15 min – Choose paper, reference and prompt cards

20 min – Set up work area & create art

10 min – New cards picked out

30 min – Second artwork from imagination & new cards

5 min – Names on artwork, students help clean up

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SCROLL & TEACH

LESSONPLAN

Each section is a different color. Read over once and then you can SCROLL & TEACH using any device you like. It’s designed to work well with your phone.

All materials are suggestions and may be modified as you see fit. We have tried many items, and these seem to allow the most versatility for the cost.

Greet & Seat

Always try to greet students as they come in and kneel down when you can, so that you are on their level.

Help students come up with a cartoon idea

Have students draw a cartoon of dancing food characters, and then color with markers. When they’re almost done, explain how ideas belong to everyone. 

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Introduce the Observation game.

PREP

1. Paper – Use Regular paper, Card stock, and watercolor paper, depending on choices of materials
   • Small – 1/2 size card or copy paper page (5.5″ x 8.5″)
   • Medium – card or copy paper (8.5″ x 11″)
   • Large – 1 sheet of card stock (11″ x 17″)
2. Subject Reference – set out in stacks and sections on a table or counter.
   • Animals – photos
   • People – photos
   • Places – photos
   • Objects – table full of objects and toys
   • Flowers – real, fake, photos – your choice
   • Food – photos
3. Table – have cheasels and colored papers to put objects on so they’re not just sitting on the table.

Introduce the Choice Cards

There are 4 kinds of cards with one set of 8 cards on each page. Use a cutting board and ruler or a paper cutter to cut out all of the cards. Popular cards have more than one on a page, but try to print enough so you have enough extras that each student will have a choice instead of getting the last cards.

Cut out the cards along the crop marks all around the edges. After you cut them into rectangles, you can laminate them and they’ll last many years. Snip each corner off, because they can be sharp. A small 45 degree cut renders them harmless though, and you don’t have to cut them rounded as shown below.

To laminate, print on regular copy paper. You can also print these on card stock and not laminate them.

CARDS

1. Subject Cards
   • Animals
   • People
   • Places
   • Objects
   • Flowers
   • Food
2. Color Scheme Cards (visual cards, not these technical descriptions)
   • Compliment: 2 Blues & Orange with black, gray, and 2 browns
   • Triad: Purple, Orange, & Green in 3 brights & 3 lights, with white and tan
   •  Alike: Red/Orange, Orange, Yellow/orange with white and warm gray
   • Alike: 2 Blues, Aqua, 2 Greens with black and cool gray
   • Split compliment: Yellow/green, yellow/orange, purple with white and off white
   • Realistic: what you observe in the picture
   • Black & White (with gray)
3. Materials Cards
   • Watercolor
   • Oil Pastel
   • Markers
   • Cut paper & glue
   • Colored pencils
   • Ebony pencil

Set out cards in 3 groups

Make a spot for each group of cards.

Note: save the IDEA cards for Step 4. Don’t set them out yet.

Here is what each type of card looks like:

Count off in threes

Have your students count off in order, “one”, “two”, “three”… etc. That way you can send each of the three groups to a different set of cards, ie: send the “ones” to the Subject Cards.

After, 

Select first card

Send each group to their card set. Remind them to be kind and let everyone have a turn.

Move to next card group

Hold the first card carefully, and then move to the next card group to get your second card. Move your groups all in one direction, such as to the right, circling around a table or group of tables.

Next, Move to 3rd card group

Place cards at work station and stand behind chair

Make sure everyone is ready and quiet before moving along.

Have the references ready in the 6 groups, and set them out while explaining.

• Animals
• People
• Places
• Objects
• Flowers
• Food

NOTE: The objects that are real life, should already be set up on a shelf or cabinet, and you may want to require that students point to an object for a helper to get for them. Some objects may be breakable and this will help avoid accidents during the chaotic selection process.

Everyone should look at their subject card, and then come get a photo or object that they like. It’s their choice. Help students choose quickly by giving them 1 minute for the selection.

Changing cards to another subject should be discouraged unless it becomes very important to the student. Even then, try to keep this exchange quiet or you’ll end up with a class full of students who want to trade cards instead of continue to the artwork.

If a student asks to trade a card after all the choices have been made, explain that they will get a chance to use a different card when we play the game for the second time later in the class.

Provide materials

While students are getting photos and objects, begin distributing the art materials needed that match each student’s Materials Card.

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Set up for artwork

With the help of the teacher and any assistants, students should set up their work area and get smocks.

Create!

Everyone gets busy creating their artwork.

Early finishers can do another

Early finishers can trade their cards in for new ones and get new size, reference, and materials.

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Explain the new rules

This time, all the artwork will be from imagination. Students can still use reference if they want to, but they’ll be adding some imaginative ideas to their artwork.

Use the same cards, but you can take out two of the color scheme cards if you want: the realistic, and the black & white.

Count off into 4 groups this time

Count 1, 2, 3 and 4… 1, 2, 3, etc. so that you get 4 groups

Get Cards

With the IDEA cards, there should be 4 card stations this time.

Each group goes to a different card station to choose. Then move to the other three stations in turns.

Remember that everyone should get 2 Subject Cards!

Get reference if you want it and head back to your work spot

Teacher(s) and students should set up and get materials according to their choice cards.

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Help your students have fun

Create!

Walk around and watch for any kinds of frustration. Ask if you can help. The main goal for today is for students to feel like they have choices of their own, and to have fun. If anyone wants to do things that are not in the cards, you can allow them freedom as much as you’re comfortable with.

Early Finishers Choose Again

Early finishers can begin a new work, and are free to choose any cards and use any colors.

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• Wash hands
• Super-wash brushes if used
• Put art supplies away
• Wipe tables & toss trash
• Remove any smocks (last)
• Check for items on floors and tables

Print all of your PDFs from the lesson plan and cut any references apart as needed.

Week 27: The Most Important Spot II

Artists get to use the insight of the Most Important Spot (our phrase for Emphasis) on a landscape painting. First they’ll cut out elements and arrange them for their picture. Then they will trace and transfer the guidelines to the painting. Painting it all in is a lot of fun, and the design was all their own.

Week 28: Crazy Colors

Students will create paintings of familiar subjects using colors that are not realistic. They will also learn about using guidelines, or whisper lines, to help in creating accurate paintings, and use bold lines to outline areas of color.