Mosaics

Unit Plan Grades 3-5

Understandings: IWBAT: Draw simple shapes with confidence.
IWBAT: Create an image using
IWBAT: Explain how artists use surrealism to communicate
IWBAT: Create an image with foreground, middle ground, and
background.
IWBAT: Become familiar and comfortable using craypas as a
medium.
Knowledge: Organic shapes can take many forms.
Artists use organic shapes in many ways.
Descriptive language and adjectives are needed to
communicate without an image.
Foreground, middle ground, and background provides
space in an artwork.
Even with a description, two artists interpret the same
idea differently.

Art Standard: Creating #2, Responding #7, 8, Connecting #10

Literacy 3rd :
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.5
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3

4th
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3

5th
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.B
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.D

Essential -How can I use descriptive language to communicate about an
Questions: image?
-How do artists use organic shapes
- Can you create art without drawing?
-How can I create recognizable images from organic shapes?
Learning Week 1: Look through examples of Organic shapes turned into
Activities: recognizable images. Have students think about what the organic
(Include Ubd or shapes could be before showing them what artists have done
Blooms level) with them. Read Monster book I need My Monster, by Amanda
Nol. I will then demonstrate how students will create their own
organic shapes. First use water on the paintbrush to paint on one
side of the paper. I will give students a bit of India ink. They will
dip their India Ink brush into parts of the water spot they have
just created to begin seeing dark and light areas in their organic
shape. On the other side, they will use a straw to blow the
remaining ink around their paper to create an organic shape.
Students will have worktime to create their own. They may
begin to see images, but because the paper is wet still, they will
write down any ideas in their DW. If they have extra time, they
will brainstorm characteristics they would like their monster to
have.

Week 2: Introduce students to surrealism, specifically artists like
Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali. Students will start with a bell
ringer that asks them to look at and interpret a piece of surrealist
art. They will then add both vocabulary and artists to their DW
Reference pages. We will then have a short lesson about
foreground, middle ground, background. Students will have work
time to find recognizable objects in their organic shapes from last
week, decide what will be in their foreground, middle ground,
and background, and add details.

Week 3: Students will build their own monster. I will
demonstrate using craypas. They will then need to include a
foreground, middle ground, and background, and use up the
entire page. If students want to use a DW page to draw sketches
first, they may. Students will be reminded of the monster traits
that they already looked at (ie, tails, claws, fur, teeth, horns,
spikes, etc.) If they have trouble coming up with some ideas, they
can use these as a reference. I will also have a number of other
monster childrens books available that students can look
through as they brainstorm.

Week 4: Students will finish building their monsters and write a
description of the monster they created. They will exchange the
descriptions only with another class. The student who gets their
description will only have the description, and will not look at the
image. The exchange student will then try to recreate the original
monster from the description. For this reason, students need to
be descriptive. Together, we will brainstorm some adjectives and
descriptive language we should be using. I will show student the
example of the description I wrote for the monster I made as an
example the week before. Students will have the following
prompt, and will need to write at least 3 paragraphs:
1. Introduce your monster. Give some background
information. What is the monsters name? How old is she
or he? What are the monsters likes and dislikes?
2. Explain what the monster looks like. Does it have an
abnormal number of arms, legs, eyes, heads? Does it have
 a tail? Is it tall or short? Big or small? What color is your
monster? Does it have a pattern on its fur? What do her
or his ears look like?
3. Give information on small details. What other information
will your partner student need to correctly draw your
monster? Specifically, what is in the foreground, middle
ground, and background of your drawing?

Week 6: Use a description of exchange classs monsters to create
an image. Students will exchange with a partner with 15 minutes
remaining to get some feedback. This way, they will know if there
is something they missed.

Week 7: Students will receive their descriptions and drawings
back. Students will compare and contrast their monster with the
one made with their description. They will reflect on the
differences. (ie. Why does this one only have 5 hairy arms, and
yours has 11 and they have a different texture? Could you been
more specific than many arms?)

Students will write a reflection of what they learned during the
project and through the compare and contrast part of their
lesson. Students will also evaluate their artwork on the rubric
and provide justification for their grades.

Assessment: Informal: Bell Ringers, daily reflections

Summative: Final Project with description. Reflection.
Differentiation: Group work, peer feedback, special GR Assignments, book on
tape, differentiated assignments/ centers, etc.
Inventive spelling, hands on, KWL charts, review of sequence
Materials: Paper, India Ink, Straws, Paint brushes, water buckets, Oil pastels,
Construction paper, Google slides presentation, document
camera, promethean/ LCD projector, laptop, DW sketchbook,
pencils,
Resources: Monster Book, Mail exchange with another class

Vocabulary: Adjectives, Organic Shapes, Foreground, Middle Ground,
Background, complementary colors
Thinking Skills: Compare and contrast
Apply
Connecting Surrealism: Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali
Artists:
Problem Solving Students will problem solve by finding images in their organic
or Service shapes that could belong to other images. They will explain and
Learning: use descriptive language to describe.

This project also helps students become involved with students
in another part of the country and allows them to interact with
people unlike them.
IB Learner Open minded
Profile Trait: Inquirer