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Elements of Visual Art

Using the building blocks of art creation. This day is planned around three main objectives. First, focus on
elements in Visual Art and how you as the teacher can instruct your students. Secondly, capitalize on the
winter season and create artworks that can decorate your classroom while students are engaged in
creating. Lastly, provide lessons that not only teach about art but also have a strong connection with
literacy and other content areas.
Project

Materials

Op Art
Hand

Sharpie
Markers
Colored Pencils

Birches

Blue tape
Watercolors
(liquid if you
have)
salt
brushes

Sequence of Art
Instruction
Focus element: line
(with value added).
Students should learn
how lines can
communicate shape and
form.
Trace hand. Using
markers draw straight
parallel lines but at the
hand curve the line to
indicate the form of the
hand.
For value variation, use
sharpie and then color in
the bands with colored
pencils. Use shading and
highlights to reinforce
the sense of form.
Focus Element: Line
Focus Principles:
Repetition, unity,
contrast

Connections
This is a pretty focused skill based lesson.
But you could show them Op Art paintings
and have them compare them. The students
could also write about how the artist created
illusions of form on a 2d plane using line or
color.
Websites:
http://arthistory.about.com/cs/namesvv/p/vas
arely.htm
http://948783666602171788.weebly.com/5famous-op-artists.html

Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy

Evening
Winter Poetry by Jane Yolen
Students can write their own snowy poem.

Use a 9 square or could

Nancy Andrzejczak, Art Integration with Literacy, LEUSD

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Old motel keys
or plastic cards

Classroom
Mural
Birds on
Branches
Christmas
Lights
Myriad of
variations

be rectangular. Tape the

outside frame and then
use the tape to create
trees, cutting the tape as
needed. You can add
tape moon or tape birds.
Now paint the blue
throughout the paper.
While still wet, sprinkle
with salt. Let these dry
overnight.
Rub off salt and peel off
tape. Using paint on
edge of the card, create
the look of bark. Line up
card with paint on it on
the edge of the tree and
pull.
You can add shadows on
other side of tree. If
desired you can paint
birds, use small brush or
for more control fine
marker.
Add snow if desired.
Crayons
Focus Element: Line
Markers
Focus ,
Watercolor/shar Focus Principles:
pies
Unity, Movement,
Square pieces of Variety, and Emphasis
paper, marked
with through
Mark on the paper the
lines spots.
entrance and exit points

Nancy Andrzejczak, Art Integration with Literacy, LEUSD

Connect with concept of public art and

murals. Your mural can hang in office or
hallway.
There is a myriad of connections to science
or social studies with this concept. Students
should research the dominant feature of their
tile and could write a short report about that
animal or event.

Snowman

Winter

Pastels or oil
pastels
Colored
construction
paper-blue,
purple or black

for branches, lights,

seaweed, etc. You can do
two points or four. All the
squares should have the
same spots, so they will
all fit together. Otherwise
you will need to number
them.
Students can do drawing
of bird on a branch. Use
some of the knowledge
gained in hand project
about how line
communicates form.
Focus elements:
Shapes vs. Form,
Value
Focus Principles:
Contrast and
Emphasis

Oil pastels

Using a snowman as a
subject matter, show
students how to turn a
circle (shape) into a
sphere (form) using
shadows and highlights.
Use dark construction
paper to contrast with
white snowman. For
shadows use blue rather
than black.
Focus elements: Color

Nancy Andrzejczak, Art Integration with Literacy, LEUSD

With the Christmas lights project, students

can depict one of their favorite family
Christmas traditions.
Literary Connection:
School Mural Sarah Vzquez
For Birds-John Audubon:

http://www.audubon.org/content/john-james-audubon

Snowman at night. Caralyn Buehner, Mark

Buehner

(other titles by same author)

The Snow Speaks, by Nancy White Carlstrom
ISBN: 0-316-12830-9
The Biggest, Best Snowman, by Margery
Cuyler
ISBN: 0-590-13493-0

Snow stories or poems.

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landscape
Oil pastels

Extra whites or
extenders if you
can
Colored
construction
paper-blue,
purple or black

and space, Focus

principles:
Unity, Contrast,
Emphasis

You might connect with Lion, Witch and

Wardrobe and the Snow Queen. Students can
write stories, descriptive paragraphs or
poetry.

Using a colored piece of

construction paper,
lightly draw hills and
location of trees. Draw
structure of trees using
reds and black. Then add
some light colored
branches and fill in with
mid and dark tones.
Blend some colors but
others leave. Pine trees
have branches that go
out horizontally and then
up a bit.
To create dark area,
blend red and greenas
they are complements
and it will make a dark
murky green which will
work nicely for the
shadows on the
branches.
For the sky and snow,
color white then start
adding color and
blending with white.
Dont be afraid to use
color.

The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg

Nancy Andrzejczak, Art Integration with Literacy, LEUSD

Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Winter
landscape
tempera

Winter
landscape
Watercolor
resist

Tempera
Brushes
Paper plate
palettes
Mixed Media
paper

Crayons
Watercolors
Brushes
Mixed Media
paper

For spatial illusion,

create a foreground,
middle and background.
Add a touch of lifea
deer or bird or bunny.
Focus element: Color
(monochrome)
Focus Principle:
Contrast
This is a simple tempera
painting with circular
strokes coming out the
moon and a painted
simple landscape with a
few trees in silhouette.
Add something alive in
your picture.
Focus elements: Color
and space,
Focus principles:
Unity, Contrast,
Emphasis
Using mixed media
paper, lightly draw hills
and location of trees.
Using crayons draw
structure of trees using
reds and black. Then add
some light colored
branches and fill in with
mid and dark tones.
Blend some colors but

Nancy Andrzejczak, Art Integration with Literacy, LEUSD

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others leave. Pine trees
have branches that go
out horizontally and then
up a bit.
To create dark area,
blend red and greenas
they are complements
and it will make a dark
murky green which will
work nicely for the
shadows on the
branches.
For the sky and snow,
color white leaving some
areas for the paint.
Then mix sky color which
you can paint all over
the sky, with white
clouds resisting paint.
Consider dawn or sunset
colors. Use same colors
and paint on snow as the
snow reflects the sky.
For spatial illusion,
create a foreground,
middle and background.
Add a touch of lifea
deer or bird or bunny.

Nancy Andrzejczak, Art Integration with Literacy, LEUSD