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Outline: Lesson designed for first grade students with limited art experiences. Prepare an example, collect a variety of textured objects for rubbings. Part I: Rubbed texture. Begin with a discussion of what texture is. Establish a connection between texture that can be "seen" and texture that can be "felt." Show how to make a texture rubbing using a dark crayon.
Part II: Drawing trees. Look at a variety of art prints that include trees. Focus students on the way tree trunks are wide and then branch off into limbs as the tree gets taller. Discuss the textured surface of the trees as well.
Materials: Textured objects for rubbings; Thin colored paper (butcher type paper); Colored paper for mounting (to match thin paper); Black and/or dark purple or blue crayons for rubbing; Black construction paper; Toothbrush; Scissors; Glue; White tempera paint
Procedures: Part I: Show how to make a texture rubbing. Remind students that they will need to show at least seven different textures. Students need to completely cover their colored paper sheets with a variety of textures. Prepare black construction paper for Part II by painting a "snowdrift" on the bottom half of the paper.
Part II: Demonstrate how to draw a tree with a wide trunk and progressively smaller limbs. Students will draw five trees on the back of their texture rubbing sheets. Cut out trees. Arrange the cut trees on the black paper.
Remind students that the bottom of the tree will be in the "snowdrift." Splatter paint falling snow on the picture. Finish the composition by mounting on colored construction paper and creating a border of snowflakes using a fine line black marker.
Week 1 Discuss texture. Complete rubbed textures
sheet. Step-by-step demonstration on drawing
trees. Week 2 Complete tree drawings if needed. Make
three trees, cut them out. Paint "snow" on black
construction paper. Week 3 Finish cutting trees and glue them (with
overlapping) to the "snowdrift." Glue black paper to colored
background and add snowflakes to color border. Show students
who finish early how to cut a six-sided
snowflake.
Standards addressed:
Perception: Students explore rubbed textures. Students create a composition illustrating the illusion of space through overlapping trees. Students create a border pattern on their composition.
Application/Creation: Students explore rubbed textures (transforming a physical texture into a visual texture); students learn to splatter paint, students practice drawing skills and learn a new technique for drawing trees. Students learn about symmetry in nature (snowflakes).
Aesthetics/Art criticism: Students learn to describe the physical presence of "cold weather" with their compositions.
