Jordan WiniskiMarch 5th, 2020Kinesthetic Arts

1) Purpose/Goals: (5 pts)

The purpose of this lesson is to teach students about the European Impressionism movement (late 19th century) in the history of art. This would be taught after a lesson on Realism (early 19th century), so students could compare and contrast the very different styles. A lot of artists from this time period are still well known today, and the artists, characteristics, techniques, and purposes of this movement are important for students to know and be able to apply. That is why I will do a kinesthetic lesson with them to get them interested in the content, rather than just having them replicate a piece from history and not even know its significance.

Impressionistic theory matters because the techniques Impressionist artists used are applicable and will be helpful for students’ own work, especially beginners. These techniques include: capturing a moment, depicting light and fleeting aspects of nature, using ordinary subject matter (encourages the fact that anyone can do it), focusing on capturing the essence of an object or scene rather than the details (students will not get bogged down by trying to be perfect), and using painterly and quick brush strokes (will loosen up the students when they paint).

Goals for this lesson are that the students are able to define key characteristics of Impressionist art and state differences between Impressionist art and realistic art or other styles they have seen. Students should understand that these stylistic movements are associated with the 1800s and occurred one after the other. Impressionism came after Realism to still portray a scene, but the essence of it rather than the details.

2) SC Standards: (5 pts)

Novice Low for elementary students (5th grade).

3) Activities and Materials (5 pts)

-PowerPoint made by me with images of Impressionist paintings by 19th century artists like Monet, Degas, Manet, Marisot, Mondrian, and Matisse (the M names will come in handy later). I will give an overview of what Impressionist art is and key characteristics of it. I will relate it to Realism and then to a photo. I will conclude with a photo of a painting I made of Monet’s The Water Lily Pond. I will talk about the creative process in how I made the brush strokes and used certain colors to depict water and light.

-Partner mind-reading activity (idea from Professor Davis- will be made my own by making the students follow prompts related to visual art, Impressionism, and the lesson from the PowerPoint)-Buzzing activity (idea from Professor Davis- will be made my own by making the students follow prompts related to visual art, Impressionism, and the lesson from the PowerPoint)-White board and dry erase markers (my idea)-Spectrum stand activity (idea from Professor Davis- will be made my own by making the students follow prompts related to visual art, Impressionism, and the lesson from the PowerPoint)-Sketchbook or paper, pens, acrylic paint

4) Introduction/Hook: (5 pts)

Who wishes they could capture a moment in time, but did not have a camera with them? What was the moment? Paint a word picture for me of what it was like and how fast it happened.

5) Lesson Details (10 pts)

Give the hook to start a conversation about different ways to capture a moment. 2 minutesPowerPoint made by me with images of Impressionist paintings by 19th century artists like

Monet, Degas, Manet, Marisot, Mondrian, and Matisse (the M names will come in handy later). I will give an overview of what Impressionist art is and key characteristics, like visible and painterly brush strokes, movement, looseness, using ordinary subjects, capturing the essence of a scene or object rather than the details, the depiction of light, and emphasis on the scene as a whole and fleeting moment. There will be images of sunrise paintings from the previous lesson on Realism, compared to photos of sunrises over a lake, compared to Monet’s Sunrise to show the moment captured with the specific light. I will conclude with a photo of a painting I made of Monet’s The Water Lily Pond. I will talk about the creative process in how I made the brush strokes and used certain colors to depict water and light. I made a sketch of the scene first, then filled in main blocks of color, followed by smaller strokes as I filled areas with many colors, like the flower patch. I will show the students what size paint brushes I used, and the few colors I was working with and put beside each other and overlapped to make new colors . 12 min

I painted this in 3rd grade, so it is very doable for 5th graders to make a painting with Impressionist characteristics, mimicking a scene in nature or inspired by an already existing painting from the movement.

After I give the presentation, they will do a few kinesthetic activities. They will start with the partner mind reading game, but the words they choose have to be about art, painting, Impressionism, or realism. Doing the partner game first will enhance their vocabulary on the subject just by hearing what other people associate it with. 5 min

Then, the students will do the buzzing activity around the room and have to freeze and represent something related to art, then something related to painting, then Realism (review from previous days), then Impressionism, then Monet, then art that starts with the letter M (this will help them think about differences between the Impressionist artists). 6 min

Next, I will ask for two volunteers and divide the class in half, each half with one of the volunteers. Each volunteer will draw one thing they think of on their own side of the white board when I say, “Impressionism.” After they have 10 seconds to draw, they will hand the marker to the next person and then they will have ten seconds to add something to the first person’s drawing. This will keep going until everyone on each team has gone. It is not a race, and it will help them with teamwork to make a cohesive image, responding to classmates, thinking visually, and working quickly instead of getting bogged down by details. Afterwards, about four people from each team will talk about why they drew what they did, and what characteristics of Impressionism they had in mind. 15 min

Next, the class will do a spectrum stand activity, where I ask them about their opinions and understanding of Impressionism, different styles of art, and different artists we have covered. This will help me get a feel for the class and allow for open discussion. 10 min

Finally, every student will get their sketchbook or paper and do three quick 3 minute drawings of images by Impressionist artists I display at the front of the room. They will focus on making a loose representation of the image. 10 min

Then, they will choose their favorite one and start a painting of it, which they will work on for the end of this class and the next class as well. If they are not ready to paint yet, they can continue to make sketches. (until the end of class, hopefully around 15 minutes)

The day will conclude here but be continued with their painting the next day. Then, they will each give a 30 second final presentation of their creation in front of the class, talking about challenges of this project, what they liked, and any inspiration or key elements of Impressionism they focused on. 15 min

Then, they will take their quiz, explained below, on paper to show understanding of the concepts and individual application of them. 10 min

6) Enrichment/Extensions (5 pts)

Students can extend what they learn from this lesson at home by sketching moments in time to practice. They could sit outside their house and draw the sunset, sunrise, cars going by, people walking their dogs, or draw their parents cooking dinner. They would just draw general gestures, body movements and body types, or the way the light hits their neighbors’ rooftops. They could also find any paintings or works of art in their house or at an afterschool program and compare those works to Impressionist pieces we talked about in class. Are there any color, style, subject matter similarities or differences? How does the piece the student has at home capture a moment differently than Impressionist paintings covered in class? Students could also practice the partner mind reading game about art with their parents. They could give their parents a mini lesson on Impressionism before they play the game, which would enforce their knowledge of the material if they have to teach it/talk about it themselves.

7) Plan for Individual Differences (5 pts)

Students who do not feel ready to start painting on the first day, do not understand the key components of Impressionism, or do not feel like they have a sketch they like enough to continue with can sketch more at home and start their painting during the next class. The three quick sketches we do during class will help reinforce that a sketchbook is for them and not for a grade, and they do not have to worry about other people judging it. This will help them be more comfortable and confident with their ideas.

Students who are ready can begin to make their favorite sketch into a bigger image on a larger sheet of heavier paper and begin to lay down some basic colors at the end of class on the first day of the lesson.

Blind students can feel the thick paint on tangible examples I will have in class to understand how the painterly and quick strokes are made. They can also still do most of the kinesthetic activities, like the mind reading game, buzzing activity slowly, and the spectrum stand activity.

Hard of hearing students can still compare images of different styles and participate in the white board and spectrum stand activity if I print out the prompts for the spectrum stand ahead of time. They could also do the partner mind reading game by writing their words down and then revealing them to their partners.

If there are some students with extra energy who will not sit down and focus or interact nicely with other students, the class could all do the buzzing activity outside where they have plenty of space to run and then freeze and come up with their answer whenever I give a statement.

8) Assessment Plan (10 pts)

The students should be able to define at least three key characteristics of Impressionist art and state differences between Impressionist art and Realism or other art they have seen. Impressionism came directly after Realism to still portray a scene, but the essence of it rather than the details.

Each student will give their final presentation of their painting after they have finished their paintings, which may be at the end of class on the day after the lesson is introduced or go into the next day after that. Their presentation will be brief and give them a chance to show off their piece if they want to and talk about challenges, as well as their inspiration, which may spark something new for other students. Then, they will take a quiz where they explain how they made their painting—what techniques and colors they used and why. There will also be questions about what references or inspiration they had, three characteristics of Impressionism from the 1800s that is displayed in their piece, one reason how it is different from works we have studied that came before Impressionism, and which artist inspired their process and final product the most.