Marissa_Final Project

Grade Level: 1st Grade

Quote:
“To the artist there is never anything ugly in nature.”
-Auguste Rodin

Overview: This lesson is about nature, the students will use their senses out in nature to explore. They will explore the colors, smells and textures of nature. They will then explore painting with this new knowledge of what they have found outdoors. They will paint any nature that means something to them.

First the teacher will read stories and show pictures of nature. The teacher will read Eliza and the Dragonfly, which is a picture book about nature. She will ask the students questions about what they think about when they think of nature. Next, the teacher will introduce the words that they will use in the lesson such as texture and colors. She will talk to the students about the safety concerns of going outside and tell them that it is important for them to stay near her at all times. She will assign each of the students groups so that they have to follow the group the whole time. The teacher will then take the students outside and model the behavior she wants them to do. She will pick up a stick, look at it close up, touch the texture, observe the color and maybe even the smell. The teacher will then take out her journal and write a couple of things about this object. She will instruct her students to do the same.

The teacher will then take the students back inside and tell them to talk to different people about what they found outside. Next, the teacher will introduce a couple of different artists that painted and did art about nature. She will show the students Monet and all of his artwork that was inspired by nature. She will ask the students what they observe from the painting. ( Some responses may include the colors, the textures, the way the painting makes the students feel-the teacher might have to prompt some of the responses if the students are not responding). Next the teacher will give the students a homework assignment. They need to find at least 1 artist that paints about nature besides the ones the teacher talked about in class. The students will have until the next day to bring in an example of their artist. The teacher will give the students time in class to look their artists up on the computer, just in case they do not have access to the computer at home.

Next the students will share their different artists. Students will write these artists in their journal so that they can use them for reference later. After the students are done presenting their artists the teacher will introduce the next part of the project. This is to paint a part of nature that means something to the students, whether it be flowers in front of their house, the trees by the playground or a vacation they went on at one point. Give the students freedom to pick the place they want to paint. This will make the painting more personal and they will feel more passionate about the project. The teacher should give the students some guidance on how to make simulated textures for different surfaces. The students should experiment first to try out their different paintings. The students will have a few days to complete their painting of their nature and then they will do another presentation to the class. The students will describe the textures that they simulated on their painting, the colors they used, the significance of their nature painting and the way they incorporated an artist into their painting.

Goals:

-One of the goals of this lesson is to introduce the student to different art terminology such as texture and color. The students will be able to apply these words to nature and to their interpretation of nature.
-The students will also learn about different artists that are inspired by nature and be able to present some information about their individual artist.
- The students will also learn about different techniques when painting.

Materials:

-Tempera Paint
-Paint Brushes
-Smocks and Aprons
-Clean up supplies
-Plates and other materials to put paint onto
-Large sheets of paper
-Small sheets of paper
-Pencils
-Crayons
-Nature materials such as sticks, stones, tree bark, grass etc. (to show the children different textures)
-Computers
-Children’s Literature about Nature (such as Eliza and the Dragonfly)

Resources:

Literature:
http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/sciencenature/fr/dragonfly.htm- It talks about different children’s books, Eliza and The Dragonfly is described on this page and you can find other children’s books about nature on this site as well.

http://www.childrenslit.com/ -this website is to find other children literature that you can use in your classroom if the one that is chosen is not age appropriate. It is a database to find not only nature books but other genres as well.

http://www.carolhurst.com/ -This is another website that contains children’s literature that teachers can use in their classroom. This website also have reviews on the books.

Artists:
http://www.natureartists.com/ -This is a great website that has art about conservation and artists that are inspired by nature.

http://www.monetalia.com/ - This is a website with a gallery of Monet paintings to use as an example in the lesson of nature paintings.

http://www.lathamstudios.com/ -this is another example of art inspired by nature.

Assessment:
-The students understands textures and colors and uses them in their paintings
-The students connect their painting to nature in some way (as long as they can explain it)
-The students are able to teach others about their specific artist that they chose that is inspired by nature

Discussion Questions:
-What is nature to you?
-What are some different ways that you can add texture to your painting?
-Why is it important to talk about nature?