Style
Each lesson Plan focuses primarily on one of the 4 Cornerstones of Art:
Drawing | Painting | Color | Style
OVERVIEW
Students create a sculpture using boxes, of a head - animal, human, alien, robot... anything goes! Next week they'll paint it and add finishing touches– – –
Grades 3 – 12
Week of April 21 – 25
1 Hour & 45 Minutes
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.
20 Minutes – Students create 3 or 4 great designs
10 Min – Plastic tape covered or removed from boxes
40 Min – Construct the sculpture
10 Min – Cover sculpture with gesso or white paint
5 Min – Superwash brush & tidy up area
17 Min – Use oil pastels to brainstorm color ideas
3 Min – Everyone helps
Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.
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.
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to use different creative processes to visualize a finished 3D work.
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- 2B Pencil
- White erasers
- Shipping Boxes
- Small boxes (cereal, crackers)
- Flat cardboard (from boxes)
- Extra items – see at right/below
Students should have a main “head” box, which can be any size they like, but a smaller package box or shoe box works well.
Additional boxes can be added for snouts, noses, ears, eyes, neck, shoulders, etc. Have plenty of fun extras:
- Buttons
- Jar lids
- Flat cardboard pieces
- Paper TP or towel rolls
- Pipe cleaners
- Feathers
- Egg cartons
- Craft foam
- Anything else you can think of!
1.1 Set up
Students set up their work area.
Place extras off to one side and boxes should be out where they can be handled. The sketch pad with pencil and eraser should be front and center so drawings can be made while ideas are being explored.
1.2 Bookend
A bookend is at the beginning and the end of each lesson.
This is where you go over what the lesson is about and what the main learning points are.
Making this clear, helps students remember what they’ve learned and understand the processes they’re going through.
“Today, we’re starting a two-week project that is a whole lot of fun. You get to create your own sculpture using boxes and other materials. The idea is to make a head. You’ve probably seen head sculptures before. This is like that, but kind of like a minecraft version. At least for the basic structure. You can add all kinds of fun shapes to it.
Your sculpture can be any kind of head you want! Human, alien, robot, animal, mythical creature, monster… anything goes. It’s your choice.
This week, you’ll design and plan your head, put it together, and then cover it with primer, which is the same thing that is on canvas before you paint on it.
Your main objective for the project is to express yourself. This is all about you and your STYLE.
The foundational art concepts that you’ll learn or practice today are these:
- Visualization of a 3D concept using sketches and objects
- Making better ideas by giving yourself good choices
- How to prepare surfaces for painting
- 3D construction
1.3 Create
Encourage students to think creatively and to do the minimum of 3 great ideas.
This is the stage where you make ideas. Most students stop at their first idea and may even refuse to try for a second, much less 3 or 4. This is normal and comes from the honeymoon phase, ie: “I just made this and it’s so wonderful!”
But it is always better to have choices. What if you had 3 great head ideas? If it’s hard to choose, then you know you have great ideas. If you don’t even get to choose, you might not have your best. In fact, you probably don’t. Almost every artist is surprised when they find a better idea. It always takes a bit of a push, and it’s good for young artists to learn to push themselves into creating 3 or 4 great solutions to choose from.
If your young artist loves Disney, or another famous artist, tell them that person always gave themselves a good set of ideas to choose from, and that’s why they were so good.
Sketching ideas is one great way to visualize.
Moving your boxes around and playing with combinations is another great way to do it.
“As you work on your ideas, imagine what kind of things you can add to your head sculpture. Antlers, horns, spiky manes or ridges down the back, hair, antennae, ears, snouts, teeth, bug-eyes, hats, bow-ties, electric devices if doing a robot idea. What else can you think of?”
8 different ideas using only 2 boxes!
Click to open a slideshow and present to your students for helping them know how to visualize.
Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.
LEARNING TARGETS
Students understand that good preparation makes paint stick to projects better
M A T E R I A L S
- Off-white basic Masking tape – 2″-3″ wide
2.1 Tape
Students cover or pull off any stickers or tape that will resist paints.
If in doubt, pull it off or cover it up. The masking tape will accept the primer much better than other tape, and the plastic tape will not take paints at all.
If the box is being held together by plastic packing tape, just cover it with a layer of the masking tape. This will keep it sturdy and make the paint stick too.
Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to constuct in 3D using basic materials.
M A T E R I A L S
- Scissors (adult supervision)
- Off-white masking tape
- Hot glue (adult supervision)
- Boxes
- Flat cardboard
- Box cutter (adult only)
- Extra items
Extra items:
- Buttons
- Jar lids
- Flat cardboard pieces
- Paper TP or towel rolls
- Pipe cleaners
- Feathers
- Egg cartons
- Craft foam
- Anything else you can think of!
3.1 Build
Start with the biggest box.
Attach other boxes using hot glue for the flat spots and tape all around the edges of the joined areas. Work with the largest boxes first, and then attach smaller things as you go.
Ideas for attachments and shapes can be changed and added at any time, as long as it doesn’t mean starting over. Staying on target is why we spent time designing and choosing an idea.
Boxes can be cut and flat cardboard can be drawn on for cutting creative shapes. Try to keep these pretty simple because cardboard is difficult to cut with scissors.
Open ended box pieces can be attached with a bead of glue all around the open edge. Then secure with tape after it cools.
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to apply primer for painting surfaces with acrylics.
M A T E R I A L S
- White acrylic paint OR
- Artists gesso
- Large flat paint brush
- Water containers
- Paper towels
- Smocks
4.1 Teach
Explain how important primer is.
Get their complete attention before explaining this important step.
“Primer is really important, because without it, your paint will not cover the boxes well. It will show all the brown cardboard color, and stickers and things, right through the paint. It also makes the paint stick much better to the surface. So it’s a really important step. Every canvas has been primed before you buy it. Every sheet of canvas in our pads is already primed.
4.2 Mix
If using white acrylic paint, everyone should get out their largest brush and the white paint tube.
Formula for primer:
Mix 3 parts acrylic heavy body paint with one part water, or you can use student grade white paint straight from the tube (it’s already thin and runny, which is why we do not recommend using it for art painting AT ALL).
Thoroughly mix the paint and water.
4.3 Demo
Show how to apply primer in 3 steps.
Work on one side at a time and finish before moving to another side. If it’s a large side, do the top half first, and then do the bottom half.
NOTE: Primer is not white paint and you’re not trying to create a white object. You should end up with a fairly thin layer without blobs or ridges, and it will look streaky if applied properly.
1. MOVE the primer. Dip the brush bristles only half-way into the primer. Then bring the loaded brush over to the sculpture.
2. SPREAD the primer. Pressing down to bend the bristles, wipe the brush back and forth to completely cover one smallish rectanglular area. (If you go outside to other areas, you won’t have enough paint to cover well.) The paint should be thin enough to see some of the brown color through, and it will be streaky.
3. FINISH the primer. Change your pressure to super light, so you’re only barely touching the primed surface, and make long sweeps to smooth the paint out and get rid of any drips, blobs, or ridges. You do NOT want thick paint.
4.4 Apply
Students apply their primer.
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to clean up their work area to get ready for different kinds of work.
M A T E R I A L S
- Sink
- Paper towels
- Smocks
5.1 Wash
Acrylic paint must be completely removed from brush.
To super-wash your brush, first wipe off all the gesso or paint you can, using a paper towel. Then rinse the brush in the sink under running water. Gently but firmly press the brush to the sink bottom right under the water stream, and turn the brush to spread the bristles out as much as possible. Keep doing this until no white paint is visible. Then continue for another 20 seconds.
5.2 Tidy up
Get work area ready for oil pastels.
Make sure artist’s name is on the sculpture and set aside to continue drying. Toss all scraps in trash, and tidy up the work area. Wipe down any area that has water or gesso.
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LEARNING TARGETS
Students know how to make oil pastel sketches of color on their projects.
M A T E R I A L S
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- 2B Pencil
- White erasers
- Oil pastels
- Blender sticks (stumps)
- Sandpaper boards (to clean blenders)
6.1 Sketch
Tell students to use a pencil and draw the box sculpture in front of you, as it looks in perspective. Just the best that they can is fine. This is only for visualization of the colors. So only do simple outlines and no shading. That will prevent the pencil from mixing into the oil pastels.
6.2 Color
Layer and blend oil pastels to create a color version, mimicking what you might do with paints next week. If you don’t like it, try something else. Try not to spend too much time on each version, so you can try out several ideas. That gives you a choice!
1.2 Bookend
A bookend is at the beginning and the end of each lesson.
This is where you go over what the lesson is about and what the main learning points are.
Making this clear, helps students remember what they’ve learned and understand the processes they’re going through.
“Remember that this project is about expressing your own artistic vision and style. With the painting stage next week, you’ll get even more into that aspect of it. You can also add more extra elements if you think of them.
The foundational art concepts that you worked on today are:
- Visualization of your 3D concept in drawing, arranging boxes, and later on using color pastels
- Making better ideas by giving yourself several good choices
- How to prepare surfaces for painting, with the tape and the primer
- 3D construction of your head project
Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.
LEARNING TARGETS
Students know the importance of cleaning up.
M A T E R I A L S
- Paper Towels
- Cleaning wipes
- Sink
- Waste baskets
- Well-lit spot for photos
- Camera or phone-camera
7.1 CLEAN
- 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
7.2 PHOTO
OBJECTIVES
- Practice and improvement making sketches in pencil and pastels
- Understanding how to prepare surfaces and apply primer
- Accomplishment in creating a great 3D project
- Fulfillment in the freedom to choose any kind of head
TROUBLESPOTS
Cutting cardboard can be hard on smaller hands. You may need to help with this part. Try to simplify the shapes if you can.
If you use a box cutter to slice some cardboard, make sure you use a sharp blade and cut away from yourself and that no one else is nearby. If you use a ruler, it must be metal edged and double check that your fingers are clear of the edge!
Any time you cut things, remind everyone near, that you cannot anticipate them reaching in to help, and keep in mind that little hands tend to dart in and move or help hold things when you don’t expect it.
Hot glue is pretty hot. Use with an abundance of caution. If there are large globs, it stays hot for a while, so burns can happen afterwards. Also, hot glue will be weakened if it is moved around or wobbled while hardening/cooling.
ART WORDS
Gesso – White primer made just for canvas priming. It is usually acrylic based and water cleanup, but it will stick to hands and clothing more than regular acrylics. It’s made to stick.
Primer – A first coat of thin paint that seals and brightens any surface before painting
Bust – A sculpture of a head, usually including some of the shoulders
CLASSROOM
PREP
Get several boxes of different sizes and shapes for the main head parts, and some small boxes like cereal or toothpaste for ears and noses and other smaller parts. Collect all kinds of things you would usually throw away, that you think could be used for extra items.
What your homeschool classroom needs
Here is your printable list and room prep instructions.
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CLASSROOM
MATERIALS
- Scissors
- Box cutter (adult only)
- Hot glue
- Boxes
- Flat cardboard
- Masking tape 2″ & 1/2″
- Gesso if available
- Paper towels
EXTRA ITEMS:
- Buttons
- Jar lids
- Flat cardboard pieces
- Paper TP or towel rolls
- Pipe cleaners
- Feathers
- Egg cartons
- Craft foam
- Anything else you can think of!
STUDENT’S
MATERIALS
- 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
- 2B Pencil
- White erasers
- White acrylic paint (if no gesso is available)
- Oil pastels
- Blender sticks (stumps)
- Sandpaper boards (to clean blenders)
- Large flat brush
COMING UP!
Week 36
The second half of this lesson, where students paint their box head sculptures using acrylic paints.
Week 37
Students will learn and practice the 7 steps of making art.