4th Grade

Week 2:

Introductions. What is Art?

What is a critique? A history of pencil and paper.

Drawing Skills - Shading and Linear Perspective.

Week 3: Drawing Skills.

Technical Skills - Drawing with a pencil and eraser to create values (shadows).

Linear Perspective

Using 2-point perspective, we will draw a house and talk about how linear perspective works.

Week 5:

Linear Perspective

Using 1-point perspective, we will draw a bird's-eye-view of a cityscape and talk about how linear perspective works.

Week 6: 

Color in Art. The Color Wheel.

Complementary colors. Warm and cool colors.

Oil Pastel Fruit.

We will use oil pastels to draw an apple, using complementary colors to create the shadows and white/light peach to create highlights.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

A 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.d Identify and use elements of art and principles of design (glossary) to brainstorm visual possibilities (e.g., create symmetrical and asymmetrical balance using line and shape).

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 7:

Oil Pastel Fruit.

We will use oil pastels to draw an orange and a banana, using complementary colors to create the shadows and white/light peach to create highlights.

Art History: The Renaissance.

Jan van Eyck, Arnolfini Portrait

Andrea Mantegna, Lamentation of Christ

Raphael, The School of Athens

Sofonisba Anguissola, The Chess Game

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 8:

Oil Pastel Fruit.

We will use oil pastels to draw an orange and a banana, using complementary colors to create the shadows and white/light peach to create highlights.

Week 9:

Value Sheet.

We will learn about different shading skills and practice those skills with a pencil. The skills include blended shading (with a blending stump), stippling, hatching, and cross-hatching.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

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 10:

Value Sheet (continued).

We will learn about different shading skills and practice those skills with a pencil. The skills include blended shading (with a blending stump), stippling, hatching, and cross-hatching.

Week 12:

Value Sheet (finish).

We will learn about different shading skills and practice those skills with a pencil. The skills include blended shading (with a blending stump), stippling, hatching, and cross-hatching.

Quick Draw: A Cup with a Straw

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:

A 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.d Identify and use elements of art and principles of design (glossary) to brainstorm visual possibilities (e.g., create symmetrical and asymmetrical balance using line and shape).

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 13:

A Fall View from Above (continued)

For this piece, we will work with pencil 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.

Caravaggio, Supper at Emmaus

Rembrandt, The Night Watch

Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas

Jan Vermeer, The Art of Painting

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 14:

A Fall View from Above (continued)

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

Week 15:

A Fall View from Above (continued)

Art History: Rococo and Neoclassicism.

Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Swing

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Marie Antoinette and Her Children

Jacques Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps

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 16:

A Fall View from Above (finish)

The Drink

For this piece, we will return to an idea that we did quickly during a previous class period: Drawing a straw inside of a cup. This time, however, we will use our imaginations to create a space for our drink. Where are we sitting? Our kitchen table? At a restaurant? At a picnic table in a park? What items can we add to our drawings to create a specific space and to tell a story? What could we add to our drawings to express and emotion? Are we enjoying being in this space and are we enjoying our drink?

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

A 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.d Identify and use elements of art and principles of design (glossary) to brainstorm visual possibilities (e.g., create symmetrical and asymmetrical balance using line and shape).

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 17:

The Drink

For this piece, we will return to an idea that we did quickly during a previous class period: Drawing a straw inside of a cup. This time, however, we will use our imaginations to create a space for our drink. Where are we sitting? Our kitchen table? At a restaurant? At a picnic table in a park? What items can we add to our drawings to create a specific space and to tell a story? What could we add to our drawings to express and emotion? Are we enjoying being in this space and are we enjoying our drink?

Art History: Realism.

Gustave Courbet, A Burial at Ornans

Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair

Edouard Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere

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 18:

The Drink

For this piece, we will return to an idea that we did quickly during a previous class period: Drawing a straw inside of a cup. This time, however, we will use our imaginations to create a space for our drink. Where are we sitting? Our kitchen table? At a restaurant? At a picnic table in a park? What items can we add to our drawings to create a specific space and to tell a story? What could we add to our drawings to express and emotion? Are we enjoying being in this space and are we enjoying our drink?

Art History: Impressionism.

Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise

Edgar Degas, The Dance Class

Mary Cassatt, The Child's Bath

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 19:

The Drink

For this piece, we will return to an idea that we did quickly during a previous class period: Drawing a straw inside of a cup. This time, however, we will use our imaginations to create a space for our drink. Where are we sitting? Our kitchen table? At a restaurant? At a picnic table in a park? What items can we add to our drawings to create a specific space and to tell a story? What could we add to our drawings to express and emotion? Are we enjoying being in this space and are we enjoying our drink?

Art History: Aesthetic Movement and Portraiture.

James McNeill Whistler, Whistler's Mother

John Singer Sargent, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose

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 5:

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:

A 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.d Identify and use elements of art and principles of design (glossary) to brainstorm visual possibilities (e.g., create symmetrical and asymmetrical balance using line and shape).

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 6:

Portrait Drawing with Character

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 7:

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 8:

Portrait Drawing with Character

Week 9:

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:

A 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.d Identify and use elements of art and principles of design (glossary) to brainstorm visual possibilities (e.g., create symmetrical and asymmetrical balance using line and shape).

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 10:

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.

Art History: Early Modern Art

Pablo Picasso

Piet Mondrian

Georgia O'Keeffe

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:

Sunset with Silhouette

Using watercolors, we will paint a sunset and then add a silhouette of a tree to look like it is overlapping the sunset. We will talk about the colors that we would see in the sky during a sunset and then try to create those colors using a wet-on-wet technique. Then, we will add the ground with black as the colors of the sky dry. Finally, we will add our tree using a wet-on-dry technique as well as a dry brush technique to imitate leaves on branches.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

A 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.d Identify and use elements of art and principles of design (glossary) to brainstorm visual possibilities (e.g., create symmetrical and asymmetrical balance using line and shape).

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 12:

Art History: Modern Art

Rene Magritte

Salvador Dali

Kay Sage

Frida Kahlo

Grant Wood

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:

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:

A 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.d Identify and use elements of art and principles of design (glossary) to brainstorm visual possibilities (e.g., create symmetrical and asymmetrical balance using line and shape).

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).

Architecture

Week 15:

Architecture

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?

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

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

Week 16:

Writing an Artist Statement

A Series of Work

We will begin to create a series of pieces related to our artist statements.

Week 17:

Earth Day:

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

Art History: Modern and Contemporary

Andrew Wyeth

Jackson Pollock

Chuck Close

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 18:

Soft Pastel Flower

For this piece, we will draw a flower close up (similar to what Georgia O'Keeffe did with her paintings). Then we will use soft pastels to add color, layering and blending the colors to make them look more realistic.

Nebraska Visual Arts Standards:

A 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.d Identify and use elements of art and principles of design (glossary) to brainstorm visual possibilities (e.g., create symmetrical and asymmetrical balance using line and shape).

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 19:

Art History: Modern and Contemporary

Audrey Flack

Judy Chicago

Marina Abramovic

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 20: