3rd Grade

Week 1:

Introductions. What is Art?

Drawing Skills: Shading and Linear Perspective

Working with a pencil, we will create different values using pressure - the harder you press, the darker the value you will make. Using a pencil, we will explore 2 point perspective to draw a simple house. Linear perspective is a technique that we use in order to make items look 3-dimensional on a flat piece of paper. We will talk about the horizon line and vanishing points as we draw our simple house.

Week 2:

Pop Art Donuts

Working with watercolors or tempera paints, brushes, pencil, and pen, we will create a recognizable donut with frosting and sprinkles. As we develop these pieces, we will look at the artwork of Wayne Thiebaud, often seen as a Pop Artist, who painted images of desserts, including pies, cakes, ice cream, and donuts. As we paint our donuts, we will use a wet-on-dry technique for watercolors or tempera paints to add shadows to the painting. If we put down a gray layer of watercolor or tempera paint and let it dry, we can paint over it with a new color and that gray under-layer will cause our new color to appear darker.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.2.b Apply basic art presentation skills in a collaborative group display.

FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 3:

Pop Art Donuts

Continuing our watercolor or tempera donut paintings, we will finish one donut and begin a second. If we learned the steps well the first time, we can make a second painting working from experience. While our watercolors are drying on one painting, we can focus our attention on the other.

Week 4:

Pop Art Donuts

Finishing our donuts, we can use a fine pen to add dark lines as shadows to our donuts and to our sprinkles. We will talk about light sources, shadows, and cast shadows as we add our pen marks. Finally, we will talk about out paintings, our successes, and the skills we need to work on, and we will choose our better paintings to put on display. In order to prepare these Pop Art pieces, which tend to be very colorful, we will select a color as a frame around our pieces. If we chose a nice yellow for our frosting and we want that yellow to really stand out, we can frame our donut with yellow colored paper.

Week 5:

We will put our donut paintings on display along with a description of the project. We will talk about different venues (places) where artists display their artwork, including galleries, museums, art fairs, schools, art supply stores (such as a frame store), homes, public buildings (such as a library).

Art History: The Renaissance

We will look at and talk about four paintings by artists from the Renaissance, including Jan van Eyck, Andrea Mantegna, Raphael, and Sofonisba Anguissola.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 2.2.3.a Identify and describe a piece of art (e.g., subject matter (glossary), use of color).

FA 2.2.3.b Identify use of elements and principles (glossary) in works of art (e.g., recognize use of pattern, symmetry).

FA 2.2.3.c Interpret mood or feeling in a work of art.

FA 2.2.4.d Identify how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 7:

Fire Fighting Drawing

As part of a local contest, we will develop ideas for a colored pencil drawing while looking at several photographs of the town's fire engines and fire trucks. We will use pencils and colored pencils to compose and create our drawings.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 8:

The Color Wheel and Color Theories

We will create a traditional color wheel with oil pastels. We will talk about primary and secondary colors as well as complementary colors. We will talk about complementary colors creating contrast as well as brownish colors that are good for shading. We will also talk about warm and cool colors and how those colors appear visually.

Oil Pastel Fruit

For this piece, we will talk about still life art and look at some historical examples. We will also talk about shading, including highlights, shadows, and cast shadows. As we talk about shading with color, we will focus on using complementary colors to create shadows. After a demonstration, we will use oil pastels to create a colorful still life drawing of a piece of fruit such as an apple, an orange, or a banana, surrounding that fruit with its complementary color to make it visually "pop" off of the paper.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

Week 9:

Oil Pastel Fruit

For this piece, we will talk about still life art and look at some historical examples. We will also talk about shading, including highlights, shadows, and cast shadows. As we talk about shading with color, we will focus on using complementary colors to create shadows. After a demonstration, we will use oil pastels to create a colorful still life drawing of a piece of fruit such as an apple, an orange, or a banana, surrounding that fruit with its complementary color to make it visually "pop" off of the paper.

Week 10:

Oil Pastel Fruit

For this piece, we will talk about still life art and look at some historical examples. We will also talk about shading, including highlights, shadows, and cast shadows. As we talk about shading with color, we will focus on using complementary colors to create shadows. After a demonstration, we will use oil pastels to create a colorful still life drawing of a piece of fruit such as an apple, an orange, or a banana, surrounding that fruit with its complementary color to make it visually "pop" off of the paper.

Week 11:

A Fall View from Above

For this piece, we will work with watercolor or tempera paints and colored pencil to create a piece from a unique perspective: From above the branch of a tree during the Fall season.

For this piece, we will add colors to construction paper using watercolors or tempera paints, working with yellow, orange, red, and green. We will then draw a tree using 1-point perspective in order to make it look like the bottom of the trunk is far away from us and the tree's branches are near us. We will color the tree trunk with brown and black colors pencils along with a little red and blue. We will color the ground green along with a little red, yellow, and brown. Using these other colors will help us to make our drawing more realistic and to give it more depth.

Finally, we will cut small triangles out of our colored construction paper in order to create leaves, and we will glue those leaves so that they look like they are setting on the tree's branches close to us as the creators and viewers.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 12:

A Fall View from Above (continued)

For this piece, we will work with watercolor or tempera paint and colored pencil to create a piece from a unique perspective: From above the branch of a tree during the Fall season.

Art History: The Baroque

We will look at and talk about four paintings by artists from the Baroque, including Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Diego Velazquez, and Jan Vermeer.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 2.2.3.a Identify and describe a piece of art (e.g., subject matter (glossary), use of color).

FA 2.2.3.b Identify use of elements and principles (glossary) in works of art (e.g., recognize use of pattern, symmetry).

FA 2.2.3.c Interpret mood or feeling in a work of art.

FA 2.2.4.d Identify how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 13:

A Fall View from Above (continued)

For this piece, we will work with watercolor or tempera paint and colored pencil to create a piece from a unique perspective: From above the branch of a tree during the Fall season.

Week 14:

A Fall View from Above (continued)

For this piece, we will work with watercolor or tempera paint and colored pencil to create a piece from a unique perspective: From above the branch of a tree during the Fall season.

Week 16:

A Fall View from Above (finish)

For this piece, we will work with watercolor or tempera paint and colored pencil to create a piece from a unique perspective: From above the branch of a tree during the Fall season.

Week 17:

A Room with a Table

For this drawing, we will draw a table using a pencil and linear perspective, and we will add a cup to our table. Then we will create a space for out table and cup, thinking about the objects that we can add to this space.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 18:

A Room with a Table

For this drawing, we will draw a table using a pencil and linear perspective, and we will add a cup to our table. Then we will create a space for out table and cup, thinking about the objects that we can add to this space.

Art History: Rococo, Neoclassicism, and Realism

We will look at and talk about four paintings by Jean-Honore Fragonard, Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Jacques Louis David, and Rosa Bonheur.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 2.2.3.a Identify and describe a piece of art (e.g., subject matter (glossary), use of color).

FA 2.2.3.b Identify use of elements and principles (glossary) in works of art (e.g., recognize use of pattern, symmetry).

FA 2.2.3.c Interpret mood or feeling in a work of art.

FA 2.2.4.d Identify how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 1:

A Room with a Table

For this drawing, we will draw a table using a pencil and linear perspective, and we will add a cup to our table. Then we will create a space for out table and cup, thinking about the objects that we can add to this space.

Art History: Art in the 19th Century

We will look at and talk about paintings by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, James McNeill Whistler, and John Singer Sargent.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 2.2.3.a Identify and describe a piece of art (e.g., subject matter (glossary), use of color).

FA 2.2.3.b Identify use of elements and principles (glossary) in works of art (e.g., recognize use of pattern, symmetry).

FA 2.2.3.c Interpret mood or feeling in a work of art.

FA 2.2.4.d Identify how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 3:

Portrait Drawing

Using a pencil, we will talk about where we might find facial features on the human head. We might find, for example, that our eyes are about halfway between the top and bottom of our heads. We might also find that we could fit a third eye in the space between our two eyes. We will talk about how everyone's face is different, so we should look at a specific individual's face if we want to draw that person. These are only guidelines to help us study our facial features.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 4:

Portrait Drawing

Using a pencil, we will talk about where we might find facial features on the human head. We might find, for example, that our eyes are about halfway between the top and bottom of our heads. We might also find that we could fit a third eye in the space between our two eyes. We will talk about how everyone's face is different, so we should look at a specific individual's face if we want to draw that person. These are only guidelines to help us study our facial features.

Week 5:

Art History: Post-Impressionism

Georges Seurat, A Sunday on the Island of Le Grande Jatte

Paul Signac, Opus 217. Against the Enamel of a Background Rhythmic with Beats and Angles, Tones, and Tints. Portrait of M. Felix Feneon in 1890.

Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night

Paul Cezanne, Mont Saint Victoire

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 2.2.3.a Identify and describe a piece of art (e.g., subject matter (glossary), use of color).

FA 2.2.3.b Identify use of elements and principles (glossary) in works of art (e.g., recognize use of pattern, symmetry).

FA 2.2.3.c Interpret mood or feeling in a work of art.

FA 2.2.4.d Identify how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 6:

A Personal Portrait

We will finish adding details to make these portraits more unique. We can view them as self-portraits or portraits of imagined individuals.

Week 7:

A Three-dimensional House

For this piece, we will draw a house using 2-point perspective in order to make it look three-dimensional.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 8:

Making a House a Home

After finishing a basic house with a roof, a door, a window, a chimney, and a sidewalk, we will make this house more uniquely our own by adding our own details.

Week 10:

Art History: Early Modern Art

Pablo Picasso, Still Life with Chair Caning

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow

Georgia O'Keeffe, Hibiscus and Plumeria

Rene Magritte, The Treachery of Images

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 2.2.3.a Identify and describe a piece of art (e.g., subject matter (glossary), use of color).

FA 2.2.3.b Identify use of elements and principles (glossary) in works of art (e.g., recognize use of pattern, symmetry).

FA 2.2.3.c Interpret mood or feeling in a work of art.

FA 2.2.4.d Identify how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 11:

Making a House a Home

After finishing a basic house with a roof, a door, a window, a chimney, and a sidewalk, we will make this house more uniquely our own by adding our own details.

Week 12:

Watercolor Sunset

For this piece, we will use watercolors to create a sunset with silhouettes. We will use a wet-on-wet technique to add and blend the colors of the sky. Then we will use a wet-on-dry technique to add the ground. Finally, we will use a dry brush technique to paint the silhouette of a tree with leaves as well as other items of our choice.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 13:

Watercolor Sunset

Week 14:

Art History: Modern Art

Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory

Kay Sage. Tomorrow is Never

Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird

Grant Wood, American Gothic

Edward Hopper, Nighthawks

Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 2.2.3.a Identify and describe a piece of art (e.g., subject matter (glossary), use of color).

FA 2.2.3.b Identify use of elements and principles (glossary) in works of art (e.g., recognize use of pattern, symmetry).

FA 2.2.3.c Interpret mood or feeling in a work of art.

FA 2.2.4.d Identify how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Architecture

Week 15:

Watercolor Resist Flower

For this piece, we will use crayons as a wax. We will draw the outline of a flower with a stem and leaves with violet and green crayons. We will then draw a series of curved lines in the background or negative space with yellow crayons. Once our crayon lines are done, we will use watercolors to add color to flower, stem, and background. The crayon will resist - push away the watercolor - so that it is still visible alongside the watercolor.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 16:

Pouring Out Our Thoughts

For this piece, we will draw a bottle that looks like it is angled to be emptied of its contents. In the space below the bottle, we will use our imaginations to draw what has been or is being poured out of this bottle.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.1.a Develop ideas using a variety of materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.1.b Use observation, imagination and interpretation in creating artworks that reflect a variety of styles, themes, (glossary) and subjects.

FA 5.2.1.e Apply various techniques to develop craftsmanship (glossary) skills (e.g., use cutting and gluing techniques to produce clean edges without visible glue).

FA 5.2.1.f Demonstrate respect for accepted procedures regarding responsible care of equipment and materials (glossary).

FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, or connection to the world.

Week 17:

Earth Day:

We will look at four Land Art pieces by Andy Goldsworthy.

Art History: Contemporary Art

Chuck Close, Big Self-Portrait

Audrey Flack, Queen

Week 19:

Writing an Artist Statement

Using appropriate words and sentence structure, we will write an artist statement. In our statements, we will try to express who we are as artists. What subject do we prefer to work with in our artwork? What medium (or media) do we prefer to use? What ideas or stories or emotions do we prefer to express?

As we brainstorm our own ideas, we will talk about some of the possible artist statements that some of our artists from the past might have written. We will also look at the photorealistic soft pastel drawings of Zaria Forman and talk about her reasons for creating those pieces.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

FA 5.2.2.a Communicate artistic statements (glossary) using art terminology (e.g., product, process).

Art History: Contemporary Art

Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party

Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #21

Marina Abramovic, The Artist Is Present

Week 20:

Clay Art

For this piece, we will work with air dry clay to create a clay form