Elementary Art Projects

Elementary Sample Lesson Plan

Expressions in Cardboard - Grade 5

Activity: Creating an Expressive Face from Cardboard

Developmental Rationale/ Prior Learning: Fifth graders are curious about working with new materials and can understand how artistic concepts recur and can be explored in different media. They also generally have the manual dexterity to manipulate cardboard.
Students have worked on various kinds of lines (contour lines, drawing from observation, memory and imagination.) They know how to create value, action and movement and the illusion of depth through lines and shapes. They have also worked on self-portraits in pen and ink from observation, noting shapes, forms and lines of facial features in detail. This lesson will allow students to explore these concepts three-dimensionally.

CT Standards: Standard 1: Understand, select and apply media, techniques and processes, Standard 2: Understand and apply elements and organizational principles of art, Standard 5: Reflect upon, describe, analyze, interpret and evaluate their own and others’work.

Lesson 1: Cardboard Exploration

Material: 6” x 6” cardboard pieces, nails, scissors, cardboard scissors, tacky glue in glue wells with popsicle sticks, paper to cover tables. Powerpoint presentation on cardboard artists and the invention of cardboard.

Objectives: The students will learn how the qualities of cardboard (layered, textured, sturdy, paper-like) can be selected and combined to create shape, form, value and texture using additive and subtractive processes.

Spark (Association): Today we will begin working with a new material: cardboard. What do we normally use cardboard for? Have you ever made anything from cardboard? There are quite a few artists who work with cardboard, but before I show you some of their amazing work, I would like us to think about what we might be able to do with cardboard.

Visualization: We will explore all the things we can do with cardboard. What does it mean to explore ? (To find things out). How can you describe this piece of cardboard? (Brown, flat, square, boring). Let’s discuss some of the ways we might be able to change this piece. (Cutting, ripping, splitting/splicing, curling layers, puncturing, folding, weaving, twisting, layering). How can we take it apart and put back together in different ways? Perform some of the actions students describe on a sample to create a sample techniques board. How do these actions change the way the cardboard looks? (From 2D to 3D, makes new shapes, makes shadows, etc.)

Transition: Today you will begin to explore all the ways you can change cardboard to make it more interesting. You will create a small sculpture that shows a variety ways in which you transformed (changed) the cardboard. Each of you will work with two pieces of cardboard: one to change and take apart and one as a base. You will find all materials and tools already at the tables.
At the end of the lesson we will view works by cardboard artists and examine which techniques they use.

Closure: Students view each other’s work. How did you change the cardboard? What did you discover working with cardboard and with the tools? How does working with cardboard differ from working with other sculpture materials that you know, such as clay, paper or wire?
Students come together to view PPT presentation on cardboard artists.

Lesson 2: Expressive Faces (2 - 3 hours)

Material: Cardboard pieces approx. 8”x11”, cardboard squares and scraps, pencils, rulers, nails, scissors, cardboard scissors, tacky glue in small wells, popsicle sticks for gluing, paper to cover tables. Powerpoint on facial expression incl. works by Edward Munch (“The Scream”), Pablo Picasso’s (“Weeping Woman”), Gustav Courbet (“The Desperate Man”).

Objectives: The students will learn how the qualities of cardboard (layered, textured, sturdy, paper-like, etc.) can be selected and combined to create shape, form, value and texture in an expressive portrait.
Students will also learn to participate in a discussion about artists’ works by describing their observations of the artists’ use of shapes, lines, form, color, textures, etc. to communicate an emotion.

Spark (Association): Personal story about strong emotion (such as a happy reunion or a scare in the dark)

Visualization: I am wondering if you can remember a time when you felt something really strongly, or when you remember seeing maybe a friend or someone in your family who felt something so strongly that when you looked at them you could really tell from their face how they felt. Let students share some stories about happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, silliness, worry, embarrassment, surprise, etc. What did that person’s face look like? Can you describe it? (Eyes close together, mouth wide open, teeth showing, brows frowning, etc.)

In your last activity, the self-portrait called “A Hair-Raising Experience”, we focused on how lines make shapes in the face and how a variety of lines create value, action, movement, implied texture, etc. and help create an expressive face. Today we will study how some famous artists portray faces. Guide students’ discussion of artists’ self-portraits (Powerpoint presentation).

Recap: You described very well how people’s faces look when they are very expressive and we saw how artists find many different ways of expressing emotion or showing a person’s characteristic when they make portraits.

Transition: Today you will work with cardboard to create a face, either a portrait of someone from memory or a self-portrait, by using the various techniques of altering the cardboard that you explored last class.  Think about all the details of the person’s facial features that you might want to include: their hair, maybe facial hair, shape of eyes, eyelids and eyebrows, distinct jewelry. Think about showing expression in the face: is the person happy or sad, tired or scared? How can you use the cardboard to show the expression in that face?
Your face needs to be at least 9 - 10 inches long so that you have enough space to add features. Use pencils to draw an outline and rulers to measure before you cut the shape of the face.

Closure:  Students will share their expressive faces and describe how their choices in treating the material are connect to the person’s characteristics and or emotion. How is creating a portrait in cardboard different from drawing a face in pen and ink?

Extension Unit “Mask Making”: Students will learn about the history of ritual masks and learn how the qualities of plaster and paint can be selected and combined to create a mask based on an imaginary character of their creation.

Self-Evaluation

Self-evaluation : Cardboard faces

Review:  These are our goals for the project:

I can:

1. create an EXPRESSIVE face from cardboard

2. SCULPT   3D facial features 

ie.  they are, sticking up from the page

3. include  interesting DETAILS, such as eye lashes, cool hair, ears, optional jewelry, etc.

4. use at least  SIX (6!) different ways of changing the cardboard 

5. Create different surface textures by changing the cardboard

Reflect + Evaluate:

Please answer all seven questions below:

1. What emotion does your cardboard face show?

2. How can we tell?

3. My face is  / is not / is somewhat expressive (highlight your answer.)

4. Is there anything you could add / change to make it even more dramatic? If so, do so now!

5. Give your portrait a title that includes the emotion (eg. “Silly Susan”). Write in in here:

6. Which part of your cardboard portrait do you like best? Why? 

7. Where does your cardboard portrait show the most interesting textures?

8. What was the hardest thing in creating this portrait?