Units of Study / ARTS ACHIEVE VISUAL ARTS UNIT: ELEMENTARY

Shading and Value

UNIT SUMMARY | STANDARDS | OUTCOMES | RESOURCES

LESSONS 1-3 | LESSONS 4-8 | LESSONS 9-11

Lessons 4-8

Lessons 4-5: Preliminary Still-Life Drawings

After the students reflected on their experiences using the Explain Everything app, the teaching artist informed the class that they would be drawing a still life of fruits and guided them in defining the term still life. She discussed the size relationship of objects by standing next to another student. She also reviewed the concepts of foreground, middle ground, and background by having two students stand behind her.

The teaching artist demonstrated drawing a still life and asked students to closely observe the steps she took. Students completed four drawings by the end of the session and responded in writing to this prompt: How did assessing your drawings as you progressed help you? Students shared with the class.

Lessons 6-8: Final Still Life Drawings

The teaching artist used the still life drawing from the last lesson and her iPad camera to demonstrate how to shade their fruits and vegetables. She then introduced the blending stump. Students reviewed their preliminary drawings and self-assessment notes before starting their new drawing. As students worked, the teaching artist circulated about the room providing constructive feedback. The teaching artist recorded her demos for students to reference. As students worked, the teaching artist periodically asked students to refer to their criteria for shading an object. Students responded to the following prompts in their sketchbooks when they were finished and shared their responses with the class:

Describe your experience.
How did you resolve challenges?

Using Explain Everything, students placed a picture of the still life objects next to a picture of their own work. Partners provided each other with constructive feedback using the app.

Students used the feedback to revise their drawings. When finished, they responded to the following prompts in their sketchbooks:

What helpful suggestions did your partner provide?
How did it help?

The teaching artist then selected a few Explain Everything video critiques to share with the class. Students discussed the feedback given to their peers. As students were answering questions in their sketchbooks, the teaching artist washed and distributed the fruit and veggies for them to eat.