Lesson Plan: Ashley Toda and Ryan Smith: Revised

Subject: Watercolor Landscapes

Grade Level: 6th grade
Time: 60 minutes
Objectives
Define background, middleground and foreground and be able to demonstrate their
knowledge of these vocab words by applying it in a watercolor piece (cognitive).
They will be able to paint their own perceptions of background, middleground and
foreground of the place that they chose to paint (psychomotor). The students will be
able to assess their work by sharing with the class and provide constructive criticism
for the other students work by the end of the class session. After sharing their
pieces, students will be able to walk away from the class with a feeling of confidence
in their ability to complete a watercolor landscape piece (affective).
Standards
National Art Standards: (grades 5-8)
Content Standard 1 __b___
Content Standard 2 _a,_b__ Content Standard
4 __c___
Content Standard 6 __a___
Art Materials
Watercolor paper, watercolor paints, watercolor brushes, pencils, water cups, paper
towels, blow dryer, masking tape, and photo reference (if needed).
Resources
One example of what the finished project will look like, a step-by-step process written
on the white board and powerpoint presentation.
Visual Art Vocabulary
Foreground, middleground, background, contour line, and contrast.
Art elements: line and color
Art Principles: emphasis
Watercolor Techniques: Wash, splash, and blow
Prerequisites
Before entering the class, students need to have the previous knowledge of what the
watercolor media is, and be familiar with using that media. Students should have a
prior knowledge of the vocabulary terms: line, space and emphasis. They should
also be familiar with the techniques of watercolor such as splash, wash and blow.
Procedures

Anticipatory Set When the students walk in, have the question Where is
your favorite three places in the whole world? written on the board to get them
thinking about the project. These places will be the ideas for what their watercolor
will be.


Introduction Discuss what the watercolor media is and basic points on how
it is used, explain the process of how we will be painting a landscape piece of art
while including the following terms below, and we will be discussing the definitions of
these terms as well.
Contour line-an outline or single line that goes around the edge of an object.
Background line-contour line shows where the sky meets the land in a
landscape.
Foreground line-contour line showing the edge of the land/plants in the front
of
the landscape.
Middle ground-contour lines showing the center area of the landscape.
Contour shapes-lines around the edge of trees, rocks, etc. in a landscape.
Contrast-High contrast (dark and light) helps distinguish one
object from object from another. It gives emphasis to what is important.
*to ensure that this information is not portrayed in a way that would bore the
students, the PowerPoint would be cut shorter by having less art history and
background on the watercolor artists and simply show the paintings. The
PowerPoint will also be made livelier by simplifying the vocab and
prerequisite terms and having fewer terms to go over.

Modeling We will show/demonstrate what the finished artwork looks like.

Guided Practice We will lead the students through the steps of drawing the
contour lines on their first piece of sketch paper. This will include drawing the top and
bottom contour lines to separate the background, middleground and foreground.

Checking for Understanding Before letting the students start, we will ask
a few questions such as What are the three sections of the watercolor piece that we
are incorporating? and What is the first step to the process? to determine
comprehension and to pace the lesson.

Independent Practice We will then instruct the students to transfer their

ideas that they put on their sketch paper onto their actual watercolor paper and to
start using their watercolors to complete the project.

Closure As a closing activity, the students will be asked to show their

finished piece, and point to each the background, middleground and foreground to
share with the class. They will also be asked if they enjoyed the project and what
they appreciated about it.
Assessment
There are two types of assessment:

Formative Assessment: During the course of the lesson, we will be walking

around the classroom and asking the students if they have put in a foreground,
middleground and background into their artwork as a way for us to assess how well
the lesson was taught and if the students understood the prompt.

Summative Assessment: The cognitive skills will be able to be assessed at

the end of the class period when they discuss their artwork with the class and show
where they included the vocab and other elements into their work. After the class is
over, we will be able to see if the students each had the elements taught
(foreground, middleground and background) into their work to assess their
psychomotor skills.
Modifications

Write at least one accommodation for each of the following situations.

Person with a Learning Disability: Have a print out copy of the step by
step process printed out to use as a reference incase they get behind.

Person with a Physical Disability: Have the student next to them

available to help them, or one of the teachers.

Gifted and Talented: Ask the student if they have incorporated

background, middleground, foreground, contour line, contour shape and
contrast. If the student has completed that, they will be given an opportunity
to modify their watercolor painting with pen to incorporate a mix media. If
they finish with this, the teacher will come around to discuss about the
possibility of adding shading or tinting and go over those definitions with
them. They will be asked what time of day they see their favorite place in,
and work with the shading or tinting to achieve that effect on their work.

English Language Learner: We will have step by step instructions with

visuals shown on the board as a point of reference to use if they have trouble
following along and also they will be given a step by step sheet to have next
to them at their desk.
Resources/Bibliography
Chidi Okoye Biography (Nigerian Sculptor, Artist), Life History & Profile Nigerian
artist.
naijagists.com. Web
Conley, Gregory. "Free Watercolor Painting Tutorials: How to Paint, Hints, Tips,
Techniques."
Free Watercolor Painting Tutorials: How to Paint, Hints, Tips, Techniques. N.p.,
n.d.
Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Tweedy, Eileen. "Joseph Mallord William Turner." The National Gallery, London:
Western
European Painting 12501900. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
Walker, Mimi. "36 Views of the Mendenhall Glacier." Juneau School District. N.p.,
n.d. Web.