Revised 01/2006

Lesson Plan for Brooks Museum Tour

Title: Explore the Elements of Art
(Grades 1-3)

GOALS:
1. Students will develop an appreciation for the visual arts through opportunities for producing
and enjoying original works of art.
2. Students will understand the basic elements of art: color, line, shape, texture, space, and
form.

LESSON OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
1. identify colors and their categories.
2. recognize different types of lines and shapes.
3. understand the visual effect of the basic art elements.
4. create a simple still life using simple color mixing techniques, line, shape, and texture.

CLASSROOM PREPARATION PRIOR TO VISIT:

1. Review vocabulary (page 2).
2. Suggested Discussion with Students
 What are some types of lines you see around you in the classroom? Draw examples
on the board (i.e. zig-zag lines, curving lines, horizontal lines, vertical lines).
 What basic shapes do you see around you? What shape is your desk? What about a
basketball?
 Can you identify and describe an object based on its texture? For example, sand is
different from gravel because it is smooth.
 Draw several shapes on the board. Imagine what each could be: a square could be a
window, a sandwich, or a house. This discussion can serve as the basis for a writing
exercise.
 We all respond to color. Would you want to drink a greenish-brown liquid? Would you
paint your bedroom black? Would you eat a yellow hamburger? Why or why not?
3. Suggested Project: Creating a Color Wheel
(see page 3 for a color wheel handout to copy for your students)

MUSEUM ACTIVITIES:
1. A guided tour of the museum’s collections will focus on identification of color, line, shape,
and texture in paintings and sculptures.
2. In the studio, students will draw a simple still life – a bowl of fruit – mixing primary color crayons
to produce secondary colors.

FOLLOW-UP SUGGESTIONS FOR THE CLASSROOM:

1. Review vocabulary list and information learned during the museum tour.
2. Suggested Discussion with Your Students:

Look at reproductions of artwork and discuss what primary colors were used to create
those in the art.

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What feeling or mood do these colors create? Why do you think the artist chose these
colors? Using a piece of paper and colored pencil, record the texture of several objects by
coloring the paper directly over the object to pick up its surface texture. Trade papers with
a partner. Can you identify the objects using the texture?

Vocabulary

By studying and discussing this vocabulary prior to your visit, you can help make the museum
experience more enjoyable for your students.

color: Color is produced when light strikes an object and reflects back to your eyes.

primary colors: Red, yellow, and blue. All other colors can be mixed or produced from
these colors.

secondary colors: Orange, green, and violet. They are created by mixing two primary
colors together.

cool colors: Green, blue, and violet. They suggest cool temperatures and appear to
recede into space.

warm colors: Red, orange, and yellow. They suggest warm temperatures and appear
to advance in space.

color wheel: A color wheel is a chart showing how to mix primary colors to create secondary colors.

form: When a shape encloses space and takes up space, form is 3-dimensional. Sculptures are
forms, but form can also be implied in painting, drawing, and printmaking by using
perspective, shading, etc.

line: A continuous mark made on a surface. Lines can vary in length, width, texture, direction,
curve, etc. Lines can be used alone or combined to create shapes.

vertical lines: Indicate strength.

horizontal lines: Express calm.

diagonal lines: Indicate action.

curved lines: Suggest rhythm and movement.

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shape: When two lines meet and enclose space, such as a circle drawn on paper.
geometric shapes are simple curves and straight lines enclosed to form circles, squares, etc.

circle: oval:

square: rectangle:

triangle:

free-form, or organic, shapes are irregular shapes:

space: Space is defined and determined by shapes and forms; positive space is where shapes and
forms exist; negative space is the empty space around shapes and forms.

still life: A picture of objects that do not move. Fruit and flowers are common subjects.

texture: The surface quality or feel of an object or image (smooth, rough, soft); texture can be
actual (tactile) or implied (suggested by the way an artist has used line, shape, and
color).

Curriculum Connections

Language Arts: Read stories about color. Ask students to write stories involving their favorite colors.
Complete a writing assignment about shape on paper cut into a shape chosen by the student.

Math: Lines and shapes appear throughout mathematics, such as in geometry. Discuss parallel lines,
perpendicular lines, and graph lines. Also, give students “color math problems” such as,
“red + yellow =?” and “violet – blue =?.”

Science: Show the class a prism set on an overhead projector. Discuss the colors of light they see
around the room, why rainbows appear, etc.

Social Studies: Colors often have special meaning attached to them. What colors are used in the
Tennessee and United States flag? Explore why these colors were chosen and what they
represent. Use what you have learned about line and shape to study map symbols.

Please call the Education Department at (901) 544-6215 if you have any questions or concerns.

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