ARTS EDUCATION TEACHER HANDBOOK

VISUAL ARTS :: ELEMENTARY LESSON PLANS

HIGH SCHOOL LESSON PLANS

Submitted by Michael Spangler, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools

Lesson Title:
Introduction To Composition And Elements Of Design

Grade Level or Course:
Visual Arts I

Time Allotment:
Five 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 organize for creating art.
1.02 Devise and use strategies for imagining and implementing images
2.04 Evaluate and select materials, techniques and processes to facilitate the creation of artwork
3.01 Recognize, apply and evaluate the elements of art in an aesthetic composition.
3.02 Recognize, apply and evaluate the design principles used in composition

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

None provided

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

__X__ Communication: 1, 3, 4

__X__ Processing Information: 9

__X__ Problem Solving: 15

_____ Using Numbers and Data

Lesson Objective(s):

The student will create a finished drawing with a dynamic, asymmetrical composition. Students will gain working knowledge of elements of design by conscience manipulation of lines, textures, values, shapes, forms and space according to specified instructions. Students will gain insight to how a work of art may be investigated and evaluated by observing how each element is used in the work. The students will follow five specific instructions in creating an original work and then assess their own work and that of their peers by assigning a numeric value to each of the instruction goals.

Materials/Equipment Needed:

Paper, pencils, erasers, newsprint, white drawing paper, still life materials and/or visual reference photos from magazines. A poster or example of a work with a symmetrical, static composition and one with a diagonal thrust or previous student examples. A viewfinder.

Lesson Procedure:

Day One

After a pre-instruction drawing critique where concepts such as the elements of design, composition, contrast, contour lines and oblique angles have been discussed, show examples. Ask students which works seems to have a sense of movement and is most interesting to look at. Ask students to look through the viewfinder at a still life or other scene and ask how many of the edges of objects are parallel to the sides of the viewfinder. Have students arrange themselves or the viewfinder so that most objects or edges are at an angle to the sides of the viewfinder.

Assign drawing to be based on and assessed on five specified goals. Each goal will have a value of two points for a total of ten. The grade assigned to each drawing will follow as 10=A+, 9=A, 8=B+, 7=B, 6=C+, 5=C, 4=D+, 3=D, and 2=F.

The goals for the drawing will be:

Asymmetrical composition
Have a variety of lines and textures
Majority of contour lines will be at oblique angles to the edge of the paper
Contain a variety of shapes-(both positive and negative) with one shape or form being dominate
Drawing will have between 5-10 values. From as dark as your pencil will go to as light.

Students can then get newsprint and pencils to position themselves at the proper angle to the still life for a preliminary sketch or collect visual references for the same.

Days Two through Four

Once their basic composition has been approved students may transfer to white drawing paper and begin a more detailed finished drawing.

Day Five

Students put final touches on work and arrange for critique. Each student attempts to determine his or her own score on this assignment.

Assessment:

Students work on an original composition in pencil to meet all of the above criteria.

Each student is expected to have a completed drawing that includes lines, textures, values from light to dark, a variety of shapes and oblique angles

Works are hung on the wall and discussed among the class to determine which of the works are most successful in attaining all the requirements of the assignment. Each student will assess his or her work according to the performance rubric the teacher will provide.

Rubric will be a simple point value of 2 for each of the drawing goals for a total of 10

Special considerations:

Students must have previous experience with vocabulary such as outline, contour lines, elements of design, oblique angles, contrast, balance, symmetrical and asymmetrical composition.

	2 points	1.5 points	1 point	.5 point	0 points
Line & texture	Variety of line styles. Dark to light and thick to thin. Appropriate use of line to denote textures. Care taken in the rendering of hair, wood, fur, tree bark, etc.	Variety of line weight - thick to thin. Some contour lines may be inappropriately thick. Textures indicated but not completely rendered.	Some variety of line and line weight. Contour lines heavier and thicker than necessary. Little change in types of lines used to show textures.	No real variety of lines in thickness or values. Little care in depiction of various textures.	Simple contour drawing with no line value. No attempt to render any texture or surface covering.
Composition	Composition is completely asymmetrical if an imaginary line is drawn down the center. All forms, shapes and spaces are different on each side.	Mostly asymmetrical. A shape or form may be the same or similar on each side of the center line.	Asymmetrical - but with similarities on each side such as a centered figure with similar objects on either side.	Centered main subject some variance in background but negative spaces equal on each side. Example: landscape with tree in middle and flat horizon.	Centered symmetrical subject. No attempt to alter background on either side.
Oblique angles	All contour lines of all shapes, forms and even cast shadows are at an angle to the edge of the paper. Even where subject has vertical and horizontal lines - point of view creates oblique angles.	Edges of objects are mostly at oblique angles, however, some of the objects such as window frames, picture or door molding is parallel to the sides of the paper.	Main subject has oblique contour lines but many other objects in the composition do not. Still there is an overall diagonal thrust to the composition.	Main subject or dominate object contains contour lines that are parallel to the sides of the page. There are oblique angles in the picture but overall the composition appears symmetrical.	No attempt at making contour lines of shapes that are at an angle to the sides of the paper. Example: centered single figure with shoulders and arms made of straight lines what run parallel with picture's edges.
Shapes/forms & space	All shapes and forms differ in size and style. Many shapes and forms overlap and create a sense of space. All shapes, both positive and negative, are different.	All shapes are different sizes and styles, however, one or two negative space shapes are alike. Only one or two shapes. Forms are overlapping.	Composition contains several shapes both positive and negative that are similar. There are no overlapping shapes or forms but shading and scale indicate a sense of space.	Shapes on both sides of composition are the same creating mostly symmetrical composition. Little attempt at variety of shape or form.	No attempt to change size or style of shapes or form through placement or shading. Example: landscape with no incidental features such as a sunset over the ocean.

Value & contrast	Drawing utilizes 7-10 different value with a great degree of contrast between lightest and darkest shades. Good use of shading in forms and textures.	Drawing has distinct values. Good use of shading on forms and, shadows and textures.	Drawing has 4-5 different shades. Some care used in shading forms, however, cast shadows are arbitrarily depicted.	Drawing has 3-4 different shades. No real attempt at correct shading of forms or cast shadows.	Drawing shows no attempt at using value or shading. Drawing depends on simple contour line alone to depict objects.

Total of each column
Total

Grade :
10-9 = A
8-7=B
6-5=C
4-3=D
2-0=F

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