Kelly Narowitz art educator/artist
Elementary School Painting Project:
Kandinksy, Tints, Shades and
the Art of LINE
This lesson was designed to build on the students previous knowledge of line and introduce them to the painting techniques of mixing tints and shades. As their bodies develop is it important for students to practice motor fuction skills to build muscles and abilities key to child development.
This lesson also challenges their minds to think about color in a new way. Many students were in awe of the magic that happened right before their eyes as they mixed their paints together to create tints and shades.
Teaching Intern(s): Holly Morton, Kelly Narowitz (Team/Parallel Teaching Lesson)
School: University Prep. Academy - Mark Murray Elementary
Grade and Subject Area: 3rd Grade Art
Lesson Title: Kandinsky with Line, Tint, and Shade
Time Needed for Lesson: Three Class Periods
1. LEARNERS & LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
A. Engaging and Supporting Diverse Learner
1. Demographics: The entire class population consists of all African American students from the urban Detroit area. The class is approximately 50% male and 50% female. All of the students speak English and for the most part have no other linguistic background. There are no special needs children in this class.
2. Accommodations and Adaptations: Students need instructional support by modeling expected outcomes and behaviors because they have demonstrated the need to visually and kinetically learn. The teacher will be addressing this need by providing opportunities to practice routines for clean-up, dismissal and proper use of materials.
Though students will be working individually on this lesson, students will be encouraged to offer assistance to their peers if needed. Students may ask each other questions and provide each other with feedback. Accommodations that may need to be made include allowing more time and adjusting the rubric. If a student needs to use an extra piece of styrofoam, they will need more time. I will have masking tape available to secure the paper to the table if needed. I will pair advanced students who finish sooner with students who have physical or cognitive impairments.
Instruction will be differentiated for those who need it by providing more thorough demonstrations and monitoring. If there is lack of participation, I will assign a buddy or partner and call on the student to check for understanding, give non-verbal cues, and praise when good attitude and involvement occur (“Polk”). If a student has poor self-esteem, I will talk one on one with the student, provide reflective listening, assign the student a classroom job, and assign a partner (“Polk”). For the gifted or advanced student, I will present the student with a creative problem solving activity such as creating another that involves more than seven types of line.
B. Universal Design for Learning: The classroom is designed to accommodate up to thirty-two students. There are six tables set at children’s height that each have four smaller chairs that are also designed for the smaller bodies of children. There are also three sinks against the wall set at a height appropriate for young students. The classroom is spacious, allowing for safe and easy movements throughout the room. The students will all sit at their assigned spots on the carpet while I present the beginning of the lesson by projecting on a large white wall. All students will easily be able to see the projected wall as well as the portable white board that I will draw on for examples. The teacher hands out most materials to students individually because it allows for yet another moment to connect with the learner and helps the teacher keep track of materials and supplies. No students in the school have special physical requirements for which the classrooms need to accommodate.
C. Materials & Digital Tools Needed:
1. Teacher Materials: computer cart, computer, powerpoint presentation on Kandinsky and Tints & Shades, visual poster showing color wheels, various colored paint chips for perceptual activity, drying rack, copies of the assessment rubrics.
2. Student Materials: 12x18 white paper, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, tempera paint in various colors including black and white, paint brushes, paper towel, black Sharpie markers, sponges, paper plates.
2. OUTCOMES & ASSESSMENT
A. State Standards:
Perform Standard 1: Apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts. ART.VA.I.3.3 Describe, discuss, and model the elements of art and principles of design to communicate ideas.
Create Standard 2: Apply skills and knowledge to create in the arts. ART.VA.II.3.1 Apply materials and techniques to problem solve in the creation of art.
B. Outcomes
1. The learner will be able to understand and describe the different types of line and model them in his or her painting.
2. The learner will demonstrate an understanding of how to mix tints and shades by creating a painting consisting of eight different mixed tinted or shaded colors.
3. The learner will be able to apply black marker to the lines of their final painting to create emphasis on one element.
C. Assessment and Evaluation - Evidence of Student Learning:
I designed a self evaluation rubric for elemenary level students to use to reflect on their work. This rubric can be seen below.
3. INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE
A. Introduction
1. Anticipatory Set
i. The “hook”: I will have a slide pulled up showing one of Kandinsky’s paintings. I will do a visual thinking strategy with the students by asking, “What do you see? Why do you think that? What else do you see? Why do you say that?
ii. Review: I will activate prior knowledge by asking, “What do you remember about lines? Who can tell me one type of line? Who can tell me one more type of line?”
iii. Stated Objective: “Today we are going to use the prior knowledge you have of lines. We are also going to continue to explore works of the artist, Wassily Kandinsky. We will take a look at how artists often use line and different tints and shades of colors in their work.” I will state the learning target that will be written on the whiteboard.
iv. Lesson Introduction: I will present a PowerPoint presentation containing content about lines, tinting, and shading, and examples of work by Kandinsky.
Lesson Slides:
2. Perceptual Activity
i. Hook: “Now that we learned about tints and shades, we are going to do a quick activity to take a closer look at how tints and shades can be made.”
ii. Stated Objective: “Here in front of me, I have a stack of flash card colors. I will show you one color at a time and as a group, I would like you to tell me if the color is a tint or a shade. Show an example and state, “For example, If I showed you a dark orange card, you would state that this is a shade because it has black added to the orange to make it darker.” As I am showing the color cards, I will ask questions such as, “what color do you think I would add to yellow to get this color?” “Who can tell me what a tint is?” “Who can tell me what a shade is?”
iii. Motivation: “Now that we have refreshed our memory about line and we have learned all about tints and shades, each of you will be creating a line painting using seven different types of lines and eight different tints and shades.”
I will show the students examples of what they will be creating.
B. Instructional Moves
1. Methods/ Procedures: Modeling/Demonstrating, Checking for Understanding, Guided Practice
i. Stated Objective: I will tell the students, “Next, I need to show how we are going to start.” Tell students, “I am going to show you an example of what you will be doing next.”
ii. Modeling: Next, I will demonstrate sequentially the steps in the process while periodically pausing, reviewing, and checking for understanding. I will explain to students that they will be drawing seven different lines on their paper as I tell them to. I will explain that I will be telling them to draw one type of line at a time, going from one edge of the paper to the other. I will remind students not to jump ahead during this process. I will explain that they can choose which sides their line travels to and from. I will ask for a volunteer to come to the board and draw a zig-zag line going from one edge of the paper to a corner. I will ask for another volunteer to draw a wavy line going from the zig-zag line to an edge of the paper. Point out how the lines divided the picture plane into smaller areas.
Next, I will tell students, “You saw how we are going to be visually dividing up your paper using seven different types of lines. Are there any questions before we go forward?”
iii. Student Work Period: I will tell students, “You have __ minutes, we need to move on to the next step.” I will ask, “Who can tell me what we will be doing when we get back to our seats? Should we jump ahead? Give me a thumbs up, thumbs to the side, or thumbs down to tell me how you feel.” I will instruct students to go back to their seats, table by table. Students will receive a 12x18 piece of paper that I will hand out. I will call one student from each table to come pick up his or her table’s pencil/eraser bin. Painting supplies will be on the supply table and will be distributed once students are ready to continue with paint.
Students will begin working on their drawings/paintings. I will first remind students to put their names on the back of their papers. I will announce the steps and pause between each one for the students to do it:
1. First, draw a horizontal line going from one edge of your paper to the other.
2. Next, draw a diagonal line going from one corner of your paper to another.
3. Next, draw a zig-zag line that goes from one edge of your paper to another.
4. Now draw a wavy line going from one corner of your paper to an edge of your paper.
5. Next, draw a vertical line going from one edge of your paper to the other.
6. Now draw a line of your choice that connects from one drawn line to another drawn line. (loopy, thick, dashed, circles, etc.)
7. Lastly, draw another line going from one line you drew to an edge of the paper. I will remind students to be creative.
During the student work period, I will circle around the room and observe each student to ensure they are on task and are executing the assignment properly. Students will be provided with positive and critical feedback based on their use of materials and their types of lines. I will re-motivate and redirect any students who need to get back on task. I will encourage peer critiques and assistance when a student is struggling.
iv. Stated Objective: I will tell the students, “Next, I need to show how we are going to mix tints and shades to fill in the various sections in our drawings.”
v. Modeling 2: Next, I will demonstrate sequentially the steps in the process while periodically pausing, reviewing, and checking for understanding. I will advise students that they will be creating at least eight different colors (at least four tints and at least four shades of one color) to fill in the spaces between the lines they drew. I will demonstrate how to create tints and shades. I will remind students that mixing a color with white will create a tint and mixing a color with black will create a shade. I will model this for students, reminding students not to use too much black and to add a little dab at a time. (“Just a dot, not a lot!”) I will also remind students that it is easier to create a tint by adding the color to the white rather than vice versa. I will instruct students that once they are finished painting in the spaces, they should paint over their original lines with black to help the different colors stand out. Throughout modeling, I will pause, review, and check for understanding. I’ll be asking questions such as, “Why is it important not to use too much black?”
Next, I will tell students, “I just finished demonstrating how to create tints and shades using paint. Are there any questions before we go forward?”
vi. Student Work Period 2: I will tell students, “You have __ minutes, we need to move on to the next step.” I will instruct students to go back to their seats. I will call one student from each table to come pick up his or her table’s painting supplies.
Students will begin working on their paintings. During the student work period, I will circle around the room and observe each student to ensure they are on task and are executing the assignment properly. Students will be provided with positive and critical feedback based on their use of materials and their paint mixing. I will ask students questions and provide comments about the decisions and choices they make along the way. For example, I may ask or state, “What made you want to make shades of green and blue? Can you point out to me which of your colors are shades and which of them are tints?” I will be available to answer any questions that may arise. I will re-motivate and redirect any students who need to get back on task. I will encourage peer critiques and assistance when a student is struggling.
2. Addressing Clean-Up
Five minutes before having to debrief, I will state the objective- “Boys and girls, it is the end of the hour. All of the materials need to be organized and tables need to be completely cleaned.” I will address the clean-up technique by explaining that all pencils and erasers should be in the bins at their table. I will have the same students who picked up the bin, put it back on the supply table. I will then call students up individually to put their paintings on the drying rack and to wash their brushes/hands (two students per sink.) I will designate another person at each table to put the paint materials back on the supply table. I will inform students that the floor should be clear of any debris such as pencils, garbage, etc. I will ensure the students do a double check to make sure his or her table is properly cleaned and clear of all materials prior to being dismissed. I will remind students of proper procedures while circling the room to ensure every student understands clean-up procedures.
C. Closure - Students Summarizing and Synthesizing Their Learning:
1. Class Debriefing Session/ Checking for Understanding
i. Before students line up, they are given a debrief session. I will state the objective: “Boys and girls, it is coming to the end of the hour, we are going to bring our attention to me to review what we learned.”
ii. Ask the students questions to check for understanding and to help them connect the lesson to future learning. I will ask the students, “What are lines? Where can you find lines? What are the different types of line? What are some ways we used materials correctly? How do you create a tint? How do you create a shade?”
iii. I will ask the students what their learning target was for the day. I will ask what the class did specifically to reach the learning target. I will discuss what is happening in the future for the lesson. I will call on a student to offer a glow/grow and to discuss the CARES words he or she noticed during the lesson. I will ask for a thumbs up/side/down to check students’ confidence in reaching the learning targets for the lesson.
iv. I will allow for any questions or concerns and address them accordingly.
2. Critique
On the last day, there will be a group critique of the project. The students will gather on the carpet on their assigned carpet spots and sit criss-cross applesauce and hands in their laps. Each student will show his or her piece and the classmates will be asked to discuss what aspects of the work need improvement and what they think was successful. When stating what they like about a specific piece of work, I will encourage the student to expand and explain why they like that aspect of the work.
4. REFERENCES & RESOURCES:
Polk (n.d). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://polkdhsd7.sharpschool.com/staff_directory/p_b_s_behavior_intervention
5. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Teacher Reflection can be found here: