For the second half of my student teaching experience I was at Eaton High School. The classes at Eaton consisted of an Arts & Crafts class that was a semester long, as well as traditional Art I - IV. The Arts & Crafts Class is a semester long and designed for the students who want a Fine Art credit but are not comfortable taking a full art course.
I had a lot of fun with these kids in getting them to be creative with their ideas. Part of the challenge however was to convince the kids who didn't think they were creative that they could be if only they applied themselves. To start with on this lesson we did a color wheel project. They had to chose a design and then apply it to a color wheel using shades and tints within at least three color areas. The only colors the students were allowed to use were the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) and white and black to make the tints and shades. Their design could be anything they wanted. The above example the student used a spider web like design and left white spots to represent the dew drops found on spider webs in the morning. A lot of students used graphic images they found online to trace out the shape and use it for their design. 
Once the students were finished with their color wheel, they then moved on to the Kirkland dot painting. Vance Kirkland was a pioneer in art education who did these massive paintings inspired by photographs of phenomena in outer space. Krikland used a variety of techniques that I required the students to use as well. This included using wide areas of solid color, paint splatters, as well as perfectly placed dots of color. They had to justify the colors they used in relation to the color wheel. It was a really fun assignment and I was able to get quite a few of the students who thought they weren't very creative to really push their own boundaries and come up with some spectacular designs and ideas. 
The examples that I have shown were the students who by far made the most progress.
The Lesson:
PROJECT
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Students will:
Use
their knowledge of the color wheel to create a dot painting like Vance
Kirkland. Students will build upon their knowledge of the principles of design
by learning about movement. Students will also learn about abstract art and how
to create a composition using the elements of art in an abstract way.
STUDENT
PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES:
Perceiving/Knowing
Examine
and articulate the effects of context on visual imagery.
Identify
and describe the sources artists use for visual reference and to generate ideas
for artworks
Producing/Performing
Establish
the appropriate levels of craftsmanship when completing artworks.
Explore
multiple solutions to visual art problems through preparatory work.
Responding/Reflecting
Use
appropriate vocabulary to define and describe techniques and materials used to
create works of art.
Identify
assessment practices to manage, monitor and document their learning.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
INFORMATION/ CONNECTION:
Students
will use basic math skills for measurement and fractions to use the appropriate
amounts of color and space.
DESCRIPTION OF
LEARNERS IN CLASS:
With
learners at the Period of Decision stage of artistic development it is
important to encourage them that to express their ideas in a creative form.
They are more concerned now about actually producing a work of art and the
quality of it. There are learners in the class with IEP’s and several at low
reading levels. In order to accommodate these students I will be reading information
on the presentation out loud and specifically asking the students, once
finished with the presentation, if they understand the information. For the
exit slips I will make special worksheets for the students with IEP’s who
struggle doing them.
MATERIALS:
Each student
will need:
1
20x30 Illustration Board
Paint
Brushes
Acrylic
Paint
Q-Tips
Teacher will
need:
Same
materials as students for demonstration
Presentation
Rubric/ICAN
handout
PRE CLASS PREPARATIONS
Prepare
presentation with color theory information
Prepare
rubric/ICAN handout
Prepare
demonstration example
Have
boards set aside.
Have
paint set out
Have
palettes ready
VOCABULARY:
Color
Movement
Space
Abstract
Line
Value
STIMULATION
PRESENTED:
1. Presentation will be shown of Vance
Kirkland and his art. Students will discuss the way Kirkland worked on his paintings
(comparing his size to the size of his canvas) and the way he used circular
shapes to create a composition.
2. Students will be shown an example, and
will be shown how to paint the background of the board, the dropped discs of
color and to use the Q-tip to create smaller circles.
3. We will discuss good use of paint and
color and staying neat with the circles, even if some are dropped or spattered.
4. Students will be told to pick colors
based on the color wheel they created. We will discuss using analogous,
complimentary and monochromatic color schemes.
OUTLINE OF
CLASS ACTIVITIES:
Day 1:
- Students will be shown presentation of Kirkland and his style.
- Students will be shown demonstrations for painting their Kirkland style dot painting.
- Students will be shown painting techniques.
- Students will be given the rest of class time to work on Kirkland painting.
Day 2:
- I will ask the students questions about Kirkland, specifically where he lived and worked, how he painted considering his height compared to the size of his canvases, and what inspired his dot paintings.
- Students will be given the majority of class time to work.
- Exit slip will be required for students to tell what “movement” is and how it is applied to art.
Day 3:
- The beginning of class will be used to discuss color schemes and how they should be considered as they get into the foreground layers of the painting.
- Students will be given the majority of class time to work on their painting.
- As I go around to the students I will discuss composition issues with each one and things to address with technique and craftsmanship.
Day 4:
- Students will have the rest of time to work.
- During class time we will discuss the sketchbook assignment of movement and how it applies to different aspects of art.
- Exit slip will be for students to analyze how movement is used in Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”
EVALUATION
The Exit Slips
will be the formative assessment in order to judge how the student comprehends
the topics being discussed. This will allow for adjustments as the lesson
progresses. The summative assessment will be the rubric given to the student to
judge how well they followed directions, used craftsmanship and used movement
in order to mimic the style of Krikland.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
images:
http://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/high/hiza_dots.html
information
from:
http://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/high/hiza_dots.html
