Monday, October 21, 2013

4th Grade Cubist Collages Inspired by Picasso

 
This is probably one of my favorite lesson from my student teacher.  The results of the lesson were great, the students were really enthusiastic and engaged while doing it, and they took a lot of information away with them by the end of it.
The lesson took about 6 sessions.  Here is how it broke down:

Day 1-The lesson began by giving out an index card to each table of 4 students.  Each table had a different question with an image or two to support it.  The questions acted as a pre-assessment and a jumping off point for the project.  The questions included:
What is abstract art?
What is cubism?
Who was Pablo Picasso?
What inspired Pablo Picasso?
What is the difference between representation art and non-representational art?
What is a self portrait?
Students had a few minutes to discuss the questions to their questions and then gathered around the classroom carpet to view and discuss a Powerpoint about Picasso and cubism.  The Powerpoint touched on all the questions that were initially given out.  After that, my student teacher gave out a head/shoulder template and the students traced, cut, and glued, a front facing silhouette out of construction paper.

Day 2- We discussed and demonstrated how to use geometric and organic shape to collage the head-shape, keeping in mind NOT to create any facial features, but simply covering the surface area.  We then gave out a side-view silhouette template and the students, cut, traced, and glued the silhouette on.

 Day 3-4- We began by discussing how and why Picasso combined frontal and side views in his cubist portraits.  It was important for students to understand the idea of these flattened views in order to help them make sense of the shapes and silhouettes in their artwork..  The facial features were then demonstrated and the students added their own. For hair, students had the option of cutting and collaging construction paper OR drawing the hair on later with oil pastels.
Day 5- We discussed patterns for the background and the students "shattered" their image into at least 6 pieces with white oil pastel.  They then filled in the pieces with the colors and patterns of their choosing.




Day 6- The last day of the lesson was a review day.  We discussed some of the concepts that we learned throughout the project, any unfinished/absent students finished up their work and we spent some time viewing and discussing each others project.





1 comment:

Marcia said...

Those turned out awesome. I like the oil pastel in the background .