Art is fundamental: teaching the principles of art in elementary school

217 Pages·2008·7.167 MB·English

by  Prince, Eileen S

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Educational Reference
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Paper weaving, crumble montages, organic form sculptures,
Art
and value collages—there can be so much more to elementary
school art than finger-paints and cut-paper snowflakes. IS

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rt Is Fundamental can be used by teachers with extensive art train- r Fundamental
ing who must explain complicated concepts to first graders, or
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by teachers or home-schoolers with no such background who suddenly

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find they will be teaching art. Author and educator Eileen Prince has S

developed a comprehensive art curriculum that can be integrated into F
any teacher’s existing instruction. Her detailed lessons, developed and u
Teaching the Elements and Principles
tested in classrooms over many years, build on one another in a logical n
progression and can easily be cross taught with math, science, or read- d
of Art in Elementary School
ing. With these lessons, anyone can teach the fundamental elements a
and principles of art such as line, texture, color, value, and balance. m
Though written for elementary school teachers, these lessons can
e
be easily condensed and adapted for middle or even high school stu-
n
dents. Practical tips and strategies for classroom management, dis-
t
playing student artwork, developing student portfolios, and more are
a
included in this invaluable resource. l
Eileen S. Prince, author of Art Matters
Art
IS
Fundamental

Art
IS

Fundamental
Teaching the Elements
and Principles of Art
in Elementary School
Eileen S. Prince
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Prince, Eileen S.,
Art is fundamental : teaching the elements and principles of art in
elementary school / by Eileen S. Prince.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-56976-216-5
1. Art—Study and teaching (Elementary)—United States. I. Title.
N362.P748 2008
372.5'044—dc22
2007048478
Cover design: Monica Baziuk
Cover images: Eileen S. Prince and the students at Sycamore School
Interior design and illustrations: Monica Baziuk
Interior artwork: Eileen S. Prince and the students at Sycamore School
© 2008 by Eileen S. Prince
All rights reserved
Published by Zephyr Press
An imprint of Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN: 978-1-56976-216-5
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments ...................................................................... ix
Introduction .............................................................................. x
Getting Started 1
Classroom Strategies ................................................................... 1
Practical Considerations 1
j Room Arrangement 2
j Water and Cleanup 2
j Visual Aids 3
j Materials 3
Rules 4
Demonstrations 5
j Describing Folds 6
Class Review 6
Collecting and Passing Back Projects 7
Dealing with Mistakes in Art 7
Touching Student Work 8
Slower/Faster Students 9
General Drawing Suggestions 9
Integrating Subjects across the Curriculum 10
Displaying Student Work .............................................................10
General Guidelines for Judging Student Work...................................12
First Year 19
Lesson 1: Creating a Portfolio 19
Lesson 2: Each Artist Is Unique 20
Lesson 3: Introducing the Elements of Art 22
Unit One: Color ................................................................... .24
Lesson 4: Magic Colors 24
Lesson 5: Bernard the Butterfly—Mixing Colors and Symmetry 26
Lesson 6: Using a Paintbrush 28
Lesson 7: Watercolor Painting 30
Lesson 8: Drawing with “Chunk-o-Crayon” 32
Lesson 9: Fall Pictures—Creating Tertiaries 33
Lesson 10: Introducing Complementary Colors 35
Lesson 11: Red Grass and Orange Sky—An Opposites Picture 38
Lesson 12: Cut-Paper Complementary Color Project 40
Lesson 13: File and Free 43
Unit Two: Value ................................................................... .44
Lesson 14: Introducing Value 44
Lesson 15: Black Crayon on White Paper 47
Lesson 16: Using Black and White on Colored Paper—
Introducing Tint and Shade 49
Lesson 17: Watercolor Fingerprints—Value as a Property of Color 51
Lesson 18: Value Collage 53
Lesson 19: Winter Picture 55
Lesson 20: File and Free 56
Unit Three: Texture ................................................................ .57
Lesson 21: Introducing Texture 58
Lesson 22: Texture Illusion Draw and Fill 59
Lesson 23: Real Textures—Paper Fold and Crumble Montage 62
Lesson 24: Paper Weaving—How Texture Relates to Pattern 64
Lesson 25: A Texture Has a Special Look 67
Lesson 26: File and Free 69
Unit Four: Shape .................................................................. .70
Lesson 27: Introducing Shape 70
Lesson 28: Geometric Shape 72
Lesson 29: Irregular and Organic Shape 74
Lesson 30: Related Shapes 76
Lesson 31: Cloud Shapes—Using Imagination 79
Lesson 32: File and Free 80
Lesson 33: Spring Picture 80
Unit Five: Line .................................................................... .81
Lesson 34: Introduction to Line 81
Lesson 35: Line as Direction 83
Lesson 36: A Class Coloring Book 84
Lesson 37: Calligraphic Lines and Symmetry 86
Lesson 38: Still Life 88
Lesson 39: File and Free 89
Unit Six: Form ................................................................... .90
Lesson 40: Introduction to Form 90
Lesson 41: The Captain’s Shirt 93
Lesson 42: The Story of “Paper Flower” 95
Lesson 43: Working with Clay 96
Lesson 44: Paper Bag Puppets 97
Lesson 45: Contrast and Compare Two Artworks 98
Second Year 101
Lesson 1: Creating a Portfolio 101
Unit One: Color ...................................................................102
Lesson 2: Reviewing Color Theory 102
Lesson 3: Mixing Primaries 104
Lesson 4: Color Mixing with Watercolors—Intermediates and Tertiaries 106
Lesson 5: File and Free 108
Lesson 6: Introduction to Color Schemes 108
Lesson 7: Monochromatic Color Schemes 110
Lesson 8: Complementary Color Schemes 112
Lesson 9: Triadic Color Schemes 114
Lesson 10: Analogous Color Schemes 116
Lesson 11: File and Free 118
Unit Two: Value ...................................................................119
Lesson 12: Reviewing Value 119
Lesson 13: Charcoal Value 3-D Effects 120
Lesson 14: Value as Tint and Shade 123
Lesson 15: File and Free 124
Unit Three: Texture ................................................................125
Lesson 16: Review of Texture and Watercolor Resist Crumble 125
Lesson 17: Relation of Texture to Pattern 128
Lesson 18: File and Free 130
Unit Four: Shape ..................................................................131
Lesson 19: Review of Shape—Focus on Positive and Negative 131
Lesson 20: Distortion 133
Lesson 21: Tessellations 137
Lesson 22: File and Free 138
Unit Five: Line ....................................................................139
Lesson 23: Review of Line—Using Line to Create the Illusion of Form 139
Lesson 24: Calligraphic Lines 140
Lesson 25: File and Free 142
Unit Six: Form ...................................................................143
Lesson 26: Review of Form and Paper Houses 143
Lesson 27: Organic Form Sculpture 145
Lesson 28: Contrast and Compare 146
Third Year 147
Lesson 1: Creating a Portfolio 151
Lesson 2: Review of Color and Value Vocabulary 151
Lesson 3: Introducing Balance, Formal Balance, and Symmetry 156
Lesson 4: Radial Balance 159
Lesson 5: Informal Balance 162
Lesson 6: Emphasis through Distortion and Contrast 166
Lesson 7: Contrast 170
Lesson 8: Unity 173
Lesson 9: Movement and Rhythm 176
Lesson 10: Comparing and Contrasting Artworks 179
Bibliography ...........................................................................181
Resources ...............................................................................182
Materials and Visual Aids 182
Magazines 182
Index ....................................................................................183
Acknowledgments
OnCe AGAIn, I would like to thank all the administration, faculty, staff, par-
ents, and students, past and present, at Sycamore School for their outstanding
support throughout the years. I wish all art teachers could receive the encour-
agement and respect (and budget!) you have granted me. I am truly grateful.
Special thanks also go to:
Lauren Ditchley, my extremely talented assistant, who took all the photos
for this book. Her cheerful and energetic demeanor make her a delight to
work with, and her help in all areas is invaluable.
Betty Krebs and Courtney Henderson, the “fonts of all knowledge,” with-
out whose constant support none of us at Sycamore could teach or write
books.
Larry Fletcher, John George, and B. J. Drewes, computer experts, who
always manage to figure out the problem.
All the teachers, past and present, with whom I have worked and from
whom I have learned.
Jerome Pohlen, my editor, for his encouragement and help.
Barbara Freeman, for 40 years of friendship and her countless hours of
help on this book. If you understand the instructions, it’s all due to her.
And once again, I want to thank my terrific family: my wonderful hus-
band, Irwin, for his humor and support, and my incredibly brilliant and tal-
ented sons, Ben and Josh. (You too, Eric!) To all the rest of the family as
well—you are the greatest!
Acknowledgments j ix