ARTS EDUCATION TEACHER HANDBOOK

VISUAL ARTS :: ELEMENTARY LESSON PLANS

HIGH SCHOOL LESSON PLANS

 

Submitted by Jeannette Stevenson, Wake County Schools

Lesson Title:
Emotion Masks

Grade Level or Course:
Grades 9-12, Visual Arts I

Time Allotment:
Ten 55 minute class periods

Targeted Goals and Objectives from the 2000 North Carolina Arts Education Standard Course of Study and Grade Level Competencies, K-12:

1.01 Plan and organizing for creating art.
1.03 Create multiple solutions in problem solving and discuss that some solutions are better than others.
2.01 Demonstrate techniques and processes for working with art materials.
2.05 Demonstrate the safe and responsible use of tools and materials.
3.01 Recognize, apply, and evaluate the elements of art in an aesthetic composition.
3.02 Recognize, apply, and evaluate the principles of design used in a composition.
3.05 Use critical thought and analysis in the problem-solving process.
4.01 Demonstrate the use of life surroundings and personal experiences to express ideas and feelings visually.
5.01 Know that the visual arts have a history, purpose, and function in all cultures.
5.02 Identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures, times, and places.
5.03 Compare relationships of works of art to one another in terms of history, aesthetics, and cultural/ethnic groups.
5.05 Describe universal themes that exist in art throughout history.
6.06 Critique artwork through the use of: proper vocabulary, art elements and design principles, meaning, feeling, mood and ideas, oral and written expression.
6.08 Accept and offer constructive criticism.

Targeted Goals and Objectives from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and Grade
Level Competencies, K-12 for other content areas:

N/A

Alignment with NC High School Exit Exam: (check domain and write objective number(s)

__X__ Communication 1.4 & 1.7

__X__ Processing Information 2.12

__X__ Problem Solving:

_____ Using Numbers and Data:

 

Lesson Objective(s):

The students will observe and discuss how masks function in various cultures: (African, Native American, South American, and Asian) and how they function in our culture today. We will discuss the emotional impact of several of these masks on the cultures they come from. We will talk about how to express specific emotions through colors and facial expressions. The students will then create a mask that displays or evokes an emotion.

Materials/Equipment Needed:

plaster strips, newspaper, paper towels, water, containers to hold water, 5 gallon bucket, tempera paint, palettes, film canisters, brushes, tape, various multi media (yarn, raffia, beads, feathers, pipe cleaners, glitter, etc.), glue gun and white glue, checklist, critique sheet, visual examples of masks from various cultures as well as our culture, sketchbooks, handout of facial expressions

 

Lesson Procedure:

Lesson One: (One - 55 minute period)

We will spend today discussing examples of masks I have from various cultures including the modern US. We discuss the use of masks for celebrations, social controls, protection, and rites of passage. We discuss the emotional aspects of these various uses and the specific colors used in the masks. We also discuss how different emotions are represented by specific colors and facial expressions. The students will work the rest of the period on 3 different sketches for their mask project. Their sketch must show what emotion they intend to express or evoke in the viewer. They must also show what limited colors they will use, colors must match emotion. The also must state what multi media they will use on their masks. Their masks must involve at least 5 elements of art and each sketch must be organized around one of the three kinds of balance.

 

Lesson Two: (Two - 55 minute periods)

I demonstrate the following techniques the students will use to plaster each other's faces. The students will break into pairs with one person lying on the table with 2 paper towels on their face (one covering the top of the head and nose, one covering the bottom half of the face up to the nose so the nostrils are not covered). There should be newspaper under the student's head that is lying on the table. The other student needs to get a handful of plaster strips and a cup of water. The first student needs to lie still while the other student dips the plaster strips in the water, gets rid of the excess water by running it through their fingers, and lay it on the student's forehead smoothing the strip into the contours of the face. The next strip of plaster must overlap the first and be smoothed into the contours of the face. Keep working your way down the face overlapping and smoothing each time, but do not cover the nostril holes. Once you get to the underside of the chin, lay the strips perpendicular to the previous strips, over lapping and smoothing again until you get to the hairline and ears. At this point you need to do a second layer of strips for strength. Just repeat the process above starting at the forehead and finishing at the hairline/ears. Once the second layer is complete, the student covered in plaster needs to lie still and not move their face for approximately 10 minutes (until the plaster gets hard). The other student should clean up by pouring the plaster water in the 5- gallon bucket, the large chunks of plaster could clog your drain, so they should wash and dry their hands and put the rest of the strips back in the box. They need to write the student's name on a dry area of the paper towels on their face. I move around the room feeling the masks and when they get hard instruct the standing student to take the mask off the others face and put it on the shelf to finish drying. The other student can go to the bathroom to wash the little bit of plaster that may have gotten on their face. After the room is finished being cleaned up; newspaper taken off the table and the table wiped down, the students may continue working on their sketches of their masks. The second day, the students should reverse positions and do the same thing to their partner. The sketchbooks are due at the end of the period on this day. Grading is based on a checklist.

 

Lesson Three: (Two to three - 55 minute periods)

The students should each get their own pile of strips and water to share and begin adding another of layer to their masks. They should also cover their nose hole at this point. The students can also make projections out of newspaper and tape (horns, bulging eyes, etc.) then cover these things with plaster strips. They can also fold the plaster strips and smooth them on when wet to make things like eyebrows, lips, teardrops, etc.

 

Lesson Four: (Four and a half - 55 minute periods)

The students must draw out the elements of art they are using on their mask (lines, shapes, etc,) and mix their paint colors to paint in the areas. If the student needs a large amount of one color, have the student mix it in a film canister. When the students are done painting their masks, they need to prepare their multi media additions. Things like braided yarn, cut yarn, large beads, pipe cleaners, and feathers should be attached with the hot glue. Things like small beads, glitter, and other small additions can be attached with white glue.

 

Lesson Five: (Half a 55 minute period)

The students will complete a critique sheet about their artwork and turn it in.

Assessment:

The students sketchbooks will be assess on a checklist. The students will critique their own work by answering guided questions and grade themselves on a scale in 5 different areas. This evaluation may be found in the assessment section.

Special considerations:

This lesson should be completed after the teacher has gone over the 7 elements of art and the method for mixing paint to create a variety of colors. The teacher should not feel inclined to offer all of the above multi media. I provide most of the things listed above and tell the students they may bring in anything else they want that I do not have.

 

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