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Lesson At A Glance

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5 Min – Set up for printmaking

5 Min – Students help

10 Min – View shapes on dogs. Use slideshow.

15 Min – Draw dog using handout

15 Min – Color dog and background

5 Min – Everyone helps

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 best with your phone.

Kneel down so that you are on their level. Bending over emphasizes the differences in your height, while kneeling makes them feel more important. Have tape and marker ready so you can stick some tape on the table by each student and write their name on it as they sit down.

Everyone should take their time with the work and make a finished piece of art. Limiting the paper can also help kids focus on the work. If someone finishes in super-fast time, ask them what more they can do to the existing paper. Ask again several times – unless they appear overly frustrated; then you can allow them to move on to a new work.

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Our block is a small piece of corrugated cardboard with yarn glued on it.

We like to put several tables together for all 3 stations, and let students go around and around in a circle to the different printmaking stages, starting over when they have made their first print. The stations should be large enough to accommodate 2 or 3 students each, and you can have 2 sets of stations for larger classrooms. Have a large area designated for drying, and try to keep each student’s set of prints together while they dry.

STATION 1
Inking the block (painting the yarn)

Fill bowls or plastic plates with tempera paints. You can have black & white, and you can add one or two bright colors too. For bright paint, use white paper.

Have 2 medium-sized brushes for every single bowl of paint. You can also have a plate or paper towel for setting wet brushes down so they don’t flip over out of a bowl. Short handle brushes don’t do this though.

STATION 2
Making the print (pressing the paper onto the block)

Set out stacks of printing paper in several colors – enough for 2-4 prints for each student.

NOTE: Construction paper is not recommended. It looks pretty good at first, but quickly becomes faded and brittle. We prefer using brightly colored copy papers.

STATION 3
Signing the prints with a pencil & Drying area

Have pencils to write names on the prints (small, in a corner) and set aside at the drying area. Set out all of the printing blocks from last week (if someone was absent, let them use a friend’s print block), and this will be where everyone begins and waits for their turn at STATION 1.

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If you have enough printing rollers at hand, you can use them first for pressing the paper onto the blocks for actual printmaking, and if you have enough, you can also use them to apply the paint or ink to the block instead of using brushes.

It’s helpful to place the paint or ink on a very smooth flat surface such as a mirror tile or glass panel (tape over  the sharp edges really well with duct tape).

Artists will choose their colors in paint and paper as they go around the stations. Below are the steps for printing.

Talk through these steps and explain to each group as they get there. You might reward a well behaved student by walking them through all the stations while everyone listens and learns how to do it.

Explain that tempera paint will look better after it has dried.

• Choose a color for this print.
• Paint the yarn on the block with the brush. Try to keep paint mostly on the yarn and not paint the cardboard on purpose.
• Return brush to the same bowl it was in or set on a brush holder like a plate or towel.
• Pick up the block with both hands and wait for Station 2.

• Set the block face up on the table.
• Choose a paper and place on the table next to the cat yarn block.
• Pick up the cat yarn plate and set it carefully face down on the paper, with the wet paint going onto the paper. Don’t slide it around, go slowly!
• Press down – gently at first, and then press all over the back of the cardboard, being careful not to let it slide around at all (this can be tricky at first so if students are struggling, remind them that it is ok to have a few learners as you get better at this new technique).
• Turn the whole thing over, and carefully peel the paper off. This is your Print!
• Take both your Block and your Print to Station 3.

• Write small name on paper with a pencil below the printed area, and set aside to dry.
• Wipe off the printing plate with a damp paper towel and then a dry one.
• Continue back to Station 1 again! Be patient as you wait while everyone has a turn.

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Have students help you clean up. If any ink got on the tables, they can take damp paper towels and wipe them down. All trash needs to be thrown away, brushes washed, and then students can wash hands. Set the ink blocks aside to dry with the prints.

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Look at the dog slideshow and analyze big shapes and features:

• Head shapes – many dogs have heads that look like a lightbulb from the front and a car from the side.
• Ear shapes – Sometimes these are triangular, when they flop over. Often they’re odd shapes.
• Eye shapes – Dogs have lots of different shapes for the eyes. The lids can flop over and make them more like triangles or even rectangles.
• Nose shapes – these are mostly just round or squarish.
• Fluffy and hard edges – It’s hard to draw fluffy dogs sometimes. It can be easier to color around the fur and leave the fur white, like in the picture with the white dog. You could just color the red parts and make a few small lines for the wavy fur.

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Each student will draw the big shapes of the dog they choose in light marker (yellow or pale pink works great). These shapes are shown in blue on the handout. Some simple details are shown in a darker blue but draw the BIG SHAPES first. Draw all the guidelines using the pale marker. The final art we’re doing will be realistic, and we will redraw the real shapes over the guidelines with MORE detail. For that we’ll be using a strong colored marker that shows up much better.

Guidelines just help us know get the size of things, and where they go. They help us get the Big Shapes to look good.

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Students will now use markers to color in their dog in bright, crazy colors. Everyone loves a colorful dog! Color fully, and color in the background too if you can. If any students finish quickly, they can draw another dog using oil pastels or markers. Make sure names are on these!

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• Empty water containters
• Super-wash brushes if used
• Put art supplies away (sop up runny paint before disposing of palette paper)
• Wipe tables & toss trash
• Remove any smocks (last)
• Check for items on floors and tables

• Try to get photos of your student’s artwork. Find a good spot for quick lighting without highlights or shadows from your hands and device. Ideally in-between two strong lights on each side.

• Make sure you see the kids connect with parents and tell them about the class if you can!

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This lesson allows personal freedom

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

STUDENT’S

MATERIALS

• 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
• 11″ x 15″ watercolor paper
• 2B Pencil
• 4B pencil
• Ebony pencil
• Black Sharpie
• Markers
• India ink
• Ink dip pen with metal nib (not too sharp a point)
• Soft compressed charcoal sticks (not pencils)
• Canvas pencil (dark gray colored pencil)
• White erasers
• Kneaded erasers
• Acrylic paints
• Oil pastels
• Blender sticks (stumps)
• Sandpaper boards (to clean blenders)
• Paper palette pad, or disposable trays/plates
• 11″ x 14″ Canvas (loose or from real canvas pad)
• Canvas boards (optional)
• Tape – blue painter’s tape
• Brushes – All sizes

Thanksgiving Holidays

November 25 – 29

Week 16: Have a Dog Day

December 2 – 6

Students will continue our pet theme. First we’ll make prints using the cat yarn print blocks from last week, and then create dog drawings and paintings. We end the day inventing a fantastic dog house!