Papunya Dot Paintings
Enduring Understanding: Students will use tempura paint represent an indigenous animal of Australia. They will learn about the dot painting techniques of the Papunya tribe for inspiration in their own paintings. They will apply story-telling symbols that they observe from the Papunya people to their own work to create a visual narrative within their Australian animal dot paintings.
PGC’s:
Make informed critical evaluations of visual and material culture, information, and technologies.
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critical using oral and written discourse.
Identify, compare, and justify that the visual arts are a way to acknowledge, exhibit and learn about the diversity of peoples, cultures and ideas
Develop and build appropriate mastery in art-making skills, using traditional and new technologies and an understanding of the characteristics and expressive features of art and design
Critique personal work and the work of others with informed criteria
Objectives:
Students will be able to explain the meaning of symbols found within their dot paintings. LITERACY
(Understanding; Comprehend: The identification of characteristics and expressive features in works of art and design help to determine artistic intent.)
Students will be able to develop their own visual narrative using symbols found in papunya dot paintings.
(Creating; Transfer: Historical and cultural ideas are evident in works of art)
Students will be able to create their own dot painting using tempura paint.
(Creating; Create: Use basic media to express ideas through the art-making process.)
Students will be able to identify symbols within the work of their peers to create an informed interpretation of a work of art. LITERACY
(Understanding; Reflect: Artists, viewers,and patrons use the language of art to respond to their own art and the art of others.)
Pre-assessment:
1. Ask students if they are familiar with the idea of a symbol – ask class to raise their hand if they are familiar with the word
Draw a few symbols on the board to see if they know what they mean – ex: peace sign, smiley face, heart
Call on a raised hand to see if they can give an example of a symbol
2. Ask students if they are familiar with Australia
Where in the world is Australia?
Show them on a map
Accommodations and modifications:
Accommodations:
Provide frequent repetition and review. Always write instructions down on the board as well as provide an example of artwork so students can have a literal and visual reading of the daily objectives
Orally Check in with students with ADD individually to make sure they understand the daily objectives
Allow oral response in place of written response for the story made on the back of the artwork
Modifications:
Most students will complete their background simply by decoration with additional dots. Advanced students could be asked to use symbols in the background that add to or compliment the original story found within their animal.
Symbols will be provided for students to use, for an additional challenge students could be asked to come up with symbols of their own and incorporate them into their
story.
Materials:
Sketchbooks
Pencils
Tempera paint
Storage container for paint
12x18 brown construction paper
Paintbrushes
Q-tips
Aprons
Tub in sink for rinsing brushes
Resources:
1. Johnson, Pat and Nordin, Julee. Australian Dreaming.
New York: Crizmac Art and Cultural Educational Materials Inc. 1996. Video.
2. Lucie-Smith, Edward. Dictionary of Art Terms.
New York: Thames & Hudson Inc. 1988. Print.
3. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/aug2001/tula-a24.shtml
Preparation:
Prepare movie
Prepare document camera to show examples
Create examples of each step of the process to show students along the way
Put paint in small plastic dishes so they can be passed out quickly and efficiently.
Print observation worksheets
Paper clip symbols to the back of students art for critique day
Safety:
Tempura paint will be used instead of acrylic to avoid any latex allergies.
Assign one table to help pass out materials to cut down traffic during the beginning of class and thus cut down the possibility of students running into one another.
Always stress that the students work in a quiet work environment so important instructions can easily be heard.
The classroom will be clean and tidy to eliminate as many possibilities for accidents as possible. An ounce of prevention save a pound of trouble!
Action to Motivation:
After the documentary on Papunya dot painting relate the movie to the students.
Ask if any of the students have ever been to Australia. If someone has allow them a short amount of time to describe it.
Ask if students are familiar with any animals that live in Australia.
Examples will probably include kangaroos and koala bears.
Which Australian animal is their favorite and why?
After they have finished listing some of their favorite Australian animals show them the entire group of animals we have to choose from. There are around thirty possible examples ranging from fish to reptiles to birds and mammals. Showing them some Australian animals up front will get them excited about the assignment and thinking about which one they would like to paint.
Ideation/Inquiry:
Students will create a visual narrative using symbols from the Papunya dot painters. The first stories will be entered into their sketchbooks.
Pass out the papunya symbols worksheet. Give the students time to familiarize themselves with the symbols. Then ask them to tell you a sentence using three of the symbols on the page. Write the sentence out on the board. Ex: Three men with spears are sitting around a campfire. Then show how that story could be depicted in visual form. It is important to show the difference between writing a sentence with words and telling a story with images. The images should not be presented in a linear
fashion like a sentence. Instead they should be drawn over the entire page to show the same idea.
Have students draw a rectangle in their sketchbook to define the boarders of their story. Have students create their own story using the allover approach and not the linear format of a sentence to portray their idea for their story.
Procedures:
Day 1
1. Introduction
-Tell students we will be starting a new assignment
Pre-assessment (Discussion)
-Ask students if they are familiar with the country Austraila
-Do they know where Australia is on the map?
- Ask students if they are familiar with the word symbol (Concept)
-What is a symbol?
-Draw symbols on the board and ask the students if they know what they mean ex: peace sign
-Ask students if they can come up with symbols of their own (Inquiry)
2. Show video on Papunya dot painting (Lecture)
-Before the movie begins tell the students to look for the meaning of
symbols they see in the movie because you will ask them what certain symbols mean when the movie is over
- After the movie is over draw basic symbols on the board such as man/woman, campsite, and animal tracks. Have students define what each one means.
3. Ideation/inquiry activity (see above)
- Pass out worksheets with Papunya symbols
-Have students help you write an example sentence on the board using the symbols from the sheet. (Discussion)
- Describe the difference between telling a story in a linear, straightforward fashion compared to telling the same story with images that cover the entire page (concept)
- Students will create their own stories in their sketchbooks using the symbols from the page (skills)
-Students who need an extra challenge can be asked to also incorporate symbols they create on their own
4. Work time
-Table one will help pass out sketchbooks and pencils
-Have students complete their original inquiry story
-Ask what do you want your story to say? How will you show your ideas? (Inquiry)
- Walk around classroom and help students on an individual basis
-Keep pushing students to make a story that is in depth and personal, something that goes beyond the obvious
5. Clean up
- Return pencils to their bins
-Return bins to the trays
-Return sketchbooks to the container
6. Review
-Use the last few minute of class to review what was learned for the day (Discussion)
-Discuss location of Australia on the map
-Discuss the culture of the Papunya; review what some of the symbols mean
-First table sitting quietly will be dismissed first
Day 2
1.Action to motivate
Ask students what their favorite Australian animal is.
Show them the entire group of animals we have to choose from. There are fish, reptiles, birds and mammals.
This will get them excited about which one they would like to paint
2. Demo
Show students how to transfer the story they created yesterday into the shape of an animal (Demonstration)
Students will pick one of the many animal options – each option has its own worksheet
Draw just the outline of the animal in the next page of their notebook
Use the same symbols from the story they created the day before and draw them on the inside of the animal shape
Students should also consider adding symbols on the outside of their animal shape as well
3.work time
Students will need to see the teacher and show them their first icon story before they can move on to their animal
If their original story is complete they can begin drawing their animal – make sure their story is truly complete – it is ok to send them back to continue developing their plan. It is important to have a solid foundation for their stories before they move on
Walk around the class and help on an individual level – help students develop as well as transfer stories to their animal shape
The goal for the end of the day will be to have every student have an original story transferred to his or her animal shape
4. Clean up
Return pencils to the bins
Put sketchbooks in the class tub
First table to be sitting quietly will be dismissed first
Day 3
1.Demo
Show students how to transfer their animal stories to their final drawings (Demonstration)
Their final pieces are quite large 12 x 18 you want to be sure that the animal takes up the whole space
Explain that tracing the animal won’t work because the page in their sketchbook is smaller than their final page
Show students how to find key parts of their animal to map out where all the body parts will fit on the final page (concept)
For example, if their animal head is near the top of the page draw the top of the head at the top of the page on their final drawing.
If the feet are near the bottom of their sketch draw their feet near the bottom of their final
If the nose is near the left side place the nose close to the left side, if the tail is close to the right side place the tail close to the right side on the final
Once students understand what parts of their animals will be close to the edges they can then connect the lines to make sure their animals will fill the whole page
2. Work time
Have students transfer their animals to their final drawings (skills)
Once they have finished their outline of their final animal have them create a key and story on the back of their drawing
The key will be a list of the symbols they used and a description of what they meant to that student
The story will be four or five sentences about what they wanted their story to say. This part will take some time, but keep pushing students to write more. (Discussion)
Walk around class and help students on an individual level
3. Clean up
Return pencils to the bin and put on the island
Put sketchbooks and artwork in the class bin
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Day 4
1. Demo how to do first black layer of paint (Demonstration)
Once student’s outlines are finished they will fill them in with black paint
Show them to take a medium sized brush to paint the outline of the animal first
Once the outline is complete they can fill in the rest of the animal with black
If there are very fine details such as claws or beaks show the students to use small brushes for those areas
2. Work time
Students will have to show the teacher their final drawing as well as their key and story before they can begin painting
Table one will only have to help pass out art work and pencils – paint brushes and paint will be distributed individually after the students have their work approved, this way students do not skip a step and begin painting
Have students paint their animals with black paint (skills)
Walk around and help students on an individual level
3. Clean up
All wet paintings will be stored on the drying rack
All paintbrushes will be put into the water bin in the sink
All paint will have the lids replaced and then returned to the island
Have students wash their hands one table at a time – only five at the sink at once
Return pencils to their bins and placed on the island
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Day 5
1. Demo painting adding symbols and a white border (Demonstration)
Refer to your sketchbook to draw your animal story on your final piece (concept)
Put your story in pencil on top of the black paint, this will be painted over later
Be sure to include symbols on the background
Symbols should be large so they can be painted easily
Once the symbols are finished in pencil add a border off white dots around the shape of the animal
Use a q-tip to create the dot border
Dip the q-tip in the paint after every 3-5 dots to make sure the dots are consistent
Talk about taking your time so the dots look nice
2.Work time
Table two will pass out artwork and pencils
– the teacher will pass out paint and q-tips individually
Students need to check that their symbol stories are complete before they move on to dots
This is a very important step so do not be afraid to send the student back to fix their symbols in their story, make sure they are large and not too cramped. It is important that this part is done well so they will have a good foundation for painting
Students will add symbols and dot their first white border (skills)
Walk around and help students on an individual level
3. Clean up
Paint will have lids returned to containers and placed back on the island
Used q-tips can be thrown away
Wet art work will be stored on the drying rack
Wash hands one table at a time
Return pencils to bin and place back on the island
Day 6
1. Demo filling in symbols
Show students how to fill in their symbols with white paint (demonstration)
Students will use small brushes
There are three ways to paint their symbols
-They can fill in the whole symbol with white
-They can paint a white outline around the symbol
-They can dot a white outline around the symbol
Tell students to paint the symbols in their animal as well as the symbols in the background
Encourage them to use a variety of techniques
2. Work time
Table three will pass out artwork, small paintbrushes, q-tips, and white paint in containers
Have students begin painting their symbols (skills)
Walk around and help students on an individual level
3. Clean up
Paintbrushes are to be placed in water bin in the sink
Used q-tips can be thrown away
Wet art will be stored on the drying rack
Wash hands one table at a time
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Day 7
1. Demonstrate adding color (demonstration)
On top of the white symbols students can add dots or lines of color
Students may use a small brush for lines or q-tips for dots
If you are switching colors using a brush be sure to rinse your brush before each new color
Keep the q-tips with one color – don’t mix the q-tips
Make sure to let some of the original white show through-don’t cover the entire symbol with color
2. Work time
Table five will pass out artwork, brushes, water cups, q-tips, and paint in containers
Students will begin to paint color on their animal paintings (skills)
Walk around the class and help students individually
3.clean up
Dump water cups in the sink
Paintbrushes will be placed in water tub in the sink
Used q-tips can be thrown away
Lids placed back on paint containers and placed on island
Wet work stored on the drying rack
Wash hands one table at a time
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Day 8
1. Review important terms for the day (Lecture)
Ask students about the term icon
an icon is a symbol that represents a thing or idea
Ask students about the term interpret
to interpret means to explain the meaning within a work of art
tell students that art is often more than just a pretty picture – it often tells a story
2. Review Papunya dot painting symbols (Lecture)
-show the symbols on the doc cam
-explain that we will use these symbols to help us interpret the stories told in the artwork of our classmates
Show an example of a Papunya dot painting
Ask students to raise their hand to mention symbols that they see and if they can think of a story that it tells (discussion)
3. Break the class into pairs
-tell students that there is a large symbol on the back of their artwork and the person who has the matching symbol will be their partner
-Tell them not to remove the symbol that is paper clipped to their art – this will be done later
- instruct them that once they have their art work they can look for their partner but stress that this will be done quietly
-once they find their partner find a place to sit but make sure to have no more than three groups per table
- have table three help pass out the art work and pencil bins
4. Student reflective/inquiry activity
Describe the interpretive worksheet (demonstration)
-tell students to switch artwork with each other
-tell students to draw all the symbols they see in their partner’s
artwork
-give students about time to draw all the symbols they see in their partners art work (skills)
-write three sentences about what your partner’s story is trying to say
5. Instruct students on how to interpret their partner’s artwork
- tell their partner what they think the art means
-include all of the symbols they drew on their worksheet in their story
-point to the symbols you see on your partners page as you are telling your story
-tell students that while their partner is describing their art they are not going to correct them. Just let them describe the story as they see it.
-after they finish interpreting their story they can take the black symbol off the back of the artwork and read the story that they wrote
- were the stories close? What was similar and what was different?
- Once they have finished with the first story they can switch and repeat the process for the second story
6. Group discussion (Discussion)
-ask students to raise their hands if the viewer’s interpretation was close to the artists intended meaning
- ask students to raise their hands if their stories were very different from one another
Guiding questions:
How did you interpret your partners work?
How did you read their story?
Was there anything that helped you understand the work? Ex: if symbols were placed close together does that make them related to one another? If symbols are bigger does that make them more important?
Can we know an artist’s intent? Always? Are there some things that only the artist will know?
Can an artist mean to express one thing, but then express something different? How does this happen?
-show Kandinsky slide
Is it ok if the artist and viewer create different meaning about the art?
"We all look at the same things, yet see different things." Claude Monet
What do you think he meant by this?
Who is correct about the meaning of a work of art, the artist or the viewer? What if the artist isn’t there to tell us?
7. Classroom art walk
-discuss the atmosphere in an art gallery
-students are to be quiet and respectful
-any talking should be about the art and what story they can see
-use the last few minutes of class to allow students to look at the work of their peers
-Remind them to try and think of what the artist was trying to say as they are looking at the piece – what is the story?
8. Clean up
Return art to the class bin
Make a stack of the black symbols paper by the bin
Return paper clips to the box
Return pencils to their bin and place on the island
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Post-assessment:
See attached rubric
Self-Reflection:
This lesson turned out to be a big success. At first I was worried that the lesson was going to take too long, but by working slowly the results were much stronger than they would have been if we had rushed. In the end the students produced very interesting images.
I think the key weakness in this lesson was effectively filling wait time. There were several stages where students had to wait for their paint to dry. For example, students painted their background black but had to wait until the next class period before they could add the white symbol on top. Most students finished their black background within thirty minutes and then there was fifteen minutes still left in class. When this happened I had students practice making dot drawing with markers. I feel that the time could have been better spent with something more challenging that was still related to the assignment such as asking students to invent their own symbols and design a story around them.
Another thing that I would have changed would be to provide more visual examples for students to refer to. This assignment had many different steps and I should have had an example for each step rather than pointing to a final draft and saying today we will only be working on this part.
As far as materials are concerned I found that small brushes were really the only way to go, even during the black background day which required students to cover a large area with paint with only a few details. I thought when students had a lot of area to cover it would be fine to give them a bigger brush but in general found that students were really globing on the paint and the end results looked very sloppy. A simple change in brushes made a world of difference for the following classes.
The student’s icon stories in their animals were actually quite detailed. I know this is because we spent so much time developing their understanding of the symbols and the stories they would create with them.
All in all, this lesson went very well. I learned that several careful steps will get you to a much better destination than a few rushed steps. The real key is to be prepared for any down time you might encounter while you are taking your steps slowly.
PGC’s:
Make informed critical evaluations of visual and material culture, information, and technologies.
Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critical using oral and written discourse.
Identify, compare, and justify that the visual arts are a way to acknowledge, exhibit and learn about the diversity of peoples, cultures and ideas
Develop and build appropriate mastery in art-making skills, using traditional and new technologies and an understanding of the characteristics and expressive features of art and design
Critique personal work and the work of others with informed criteria
Objectives:
Students will be able to explain the meaning of symbols found within their dot paintings. LITERACY
(Understanding; Comprehend: The identification of characteristics and expressive features in works of art and design help to determine artistic intent.)
Students will be able to develop their own visual narrative using symbols found in papunya dot paintings.
(Creating; Transfer: Historical and cultural ideas are evident in works of art)
Students will be able to create their own dot painting using tempura paint.
(Creating; Create: Use basic media to express ideas through the art-making process.)
Students will be able to identify symbols within the work of their peers to create an informed interpretation of a work of art. LITERACY
(Understanding; Reflect: Artists, viewers,and patrons use the language of art to respond to their own art and the art of others.)
Pre-assessment:
1. Ask students if they are familiar with the idea of a symbol – ask class to raise their hand if they are familiar with the word
Draw a few symbols on the board to see if they know what they mean – ex: peace sign, smiley face, heart
Call on a raised hand to see if they can give an example of a symbol
2. Ask students if they are familiar with Australia
Where in the world is Australia?
Show them on a map
Accommodations and modifications:
Accommodations:
Provide frequent repetition and review. Always write instructions down on the board as well as provide an example of artwork so students can have a literal and visual reading of the daily objectives
Orally Check in with students with ADD individually to make sure they understand the daily objectives
Allow oral response in place of written response for the story made on the back of the artwork
Modifications:
Most students will complete their background simply by decoration with additional dots. Advanced students could be asked to use symbols in the background that add to or compliment the original story found within their animal.
Symbols will be provided for students to use, for an additional challenge students could be asked to come up with symbols of their own and incorporate them into their
story.
Materials:
Sketchbooks
Pencils
Tempera paint
Storage container for paint
12x18 brown construction paper
Paintbrushes
Q-tips
Aprons
Tub in sink for rinsing brushes
Resources:
1. Johnson, Pat and Nordin, Julee. Australian Dreaming.
New York: Crizmac Art and Cultural Educational Materials Inc. 1996. Video.
2. Lucie-Smith, Edward. Dictionary of Art Terms.
New York: Thames & Hudson Inc. 1988. Print.
3. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/aug2001/tula-a24.shtml
Preparation:
Prepare movie
Prepare document camera to show examples
Create examples of each step of the process to show students along the way
Put paint in small plastic dishes so they can be passed out quickly and efficiently.
Print observation worksheets
Paper clip symbols to the back of students art for critique day
Safety:
Tempura paint will be used instead of acrylic to avoid any latex allergies.
Assign one table to help pass out materials to cut down traffic during the beginning of class and thus cut down the possibility of students running into one another.
Always stress that the students work in a quiet work environment so important instructions can easily be heard.
The classroom will be clean and tidy to eliminate as many possibilities for accidents as possible. An ounce of prevention save a pound of trouble!
Action to Motivation:
After the documentary on Papunya dot painting relate the movie to the students.
Ask if any of the students have ever been to Australia. If someone has allow them a short amount of time to describe it.
Ask if students are familiar with any animals that live in Australia.
Examples will probably include kangaroos and koala bears.
Which Australian animal is their favorite and why?
After they have finished listing some of their favorite Australian animals show them the entire group of animals we have to choose from. There are around thirty possible examples ranging from fish to reptiles to birds and mammals. Showing them some Australian animals up front will get them excited about the assignment and thinking about which one they would like to paint.
Ideation/Inquiry:
Students will create a visual narrative using symbols from the Papunya dot painters. The first stories will be entered into their sketchbooks.
Pass out the papunya symbols worksheet. Give the students time to familiarize themselves with the symbols. Then ask them to tell you a sentence using three of the symbols on the page. Write the sentence out on the board. Ex: Three men with spears are sitting around a campfire. Then show how that story could be depicted in visual form. It is important to show the difference between writing a sentence with words and telling a story with images. The images should not be presented in a linear
fashion like a sentence. Instead they should be drawn over the entire page to show the same idea.
Have students draw a rectangle in their sketchbook to define the boarders of their story. Have students create their own story using the allover approach and not the linear format of a sentence to portray their idea for their story.
Procedures:
Day 1
1. Introduction
-Tell students we will be starting a new assignment
Pre-assessment (Discussion)
-Ask students if they are familiar with the country Austraila
-Do they know where Australia is on the map?
- Ask students if they are familiar with the word symbol (Concept)
-What is a symbol?
-Draw symbols on the board and ask the students if they know what they mean ex: peace sign
-Ask students if they can come up with symbols of their own (Inquiry)
2. Show video on Papunya dot painting (Lecture)
-Before the movie begins tell the students to look for the meaning of
symbols they see in the movie because you will ask them what certain symbols mean when the movie is over
- After the movie is over draw basic symbols on the board such as man/woman, campsite, and animal tracks. Have students define what each one means.
3. Ideation/inquiry activity (see above)
- Pass out worksheets with Papunya symbols
-Have students help you write an example sentence on the board using the symbols from the sheet. (Discussion)
- Describe the difference between telling a story in a linear, straightforward fashion compared to telling the same story with images that cover the entire page (concept)
- Students will create their own stories in their sketchbooks using the symbols from the page (skills)
-Students who need an extra challenge can be asked to also incorporate symbols they create on their own
4. Work time
-Table one will help pass out sketchbooks and pencils
-Have students complete their original inquiry story
-Ask what do you want your story to say? How will you show your ideas? (Inquiry)
- Walk around classroom and help students on an individual basis
-Keep pushing students to make a story that is in depth and personal, something that goes beyond the obvious
5. Clean up
- Return pencils to their bins
-Return bins to the trays
-Return sketchbooks to the container
6. Review
-Use the last few minute of class to review what was learned for the day (Discussion)
-Discuss location of Australia on the map
-Discuss the culture of the Papunya; review what some of the symbols mean
-First table sitting quietly will be dismissed first
Day 2
1.Action to motivate
Ask students what their favorite Australian animal is.
Show them the entire group of animals we have to choose from. There are fish, reptiles, birds and mammals.
This will get them excited about which one they would like to paint
2. Demo
Show students how to transfer the story they created yesterday into the shape of an animal (Demonstration)
Students will pick one of the many animal options – each option has its own worksheet
Draw just the outline of the animal in the next page of their notebook
Use the same symbols from the story they created the day before and draw them on the inside of the animal shape
Students should also consider adding symbols on the outside of their animal shape as well
3.work time
Students will need to see the teacher and show them their first icon story before they can move on to their animal
If their original story is complete they can begin drawing their animal – make sure their story is truly complete – it is ok to send them back to continue developing their plan. It is important to have a solid foundation for their stories before they move on
Walk around the class and help on an individual level – help students develop as well as transfer stories to their animal shape
The goal for the end of the day will be to have every student have an original story transferred to his or her animal shape
4. Clean up
Return pencils to the bins
Put sketchbooks in the class tub
First table to be sitting quietly will be dismissed first
Day 3
1.Demo
Show students how to transfer their animal stories to their final drawings (Demonstration)
Their final pieces are quite large 12 x 18 you want to be sure that the animal takes up the whole space
Explain that tracing the animal won’t work because the page in their sketchbook is smaller than their final page
Show students how to find key parts of their animal to map out where all the body parts will fit on the final page (concept)
For example, if their animal head is near the top of the page draw the top of the head at the top of the page on their final drawing.
If the feet are near the bottom of their sketch draw their feet near the bottom of their final
If the nose is near the left side place the nose close to the left side, if the tail is close to the right side place the tail close to the right side on the final
Once students understand what parts of their animals will be close to the edges they can then connect the lines to make sure their animals will fill the whole page
2. Work time
Have students transfer their animals to their final drawings (skills)
Once they have finished their outline of their final animal have them create a key and story on the back of their drawing
The key will be a list of the symbols they used and a description of what they meant to that student
The story will be four or five sentences about what they wanted their story to say. This part will take some time, but keep pushing students to write more. (Discussion)
Walk around class and help students on an individual level
3. Clean up
Return pencils to the bin and put on the island
Put sketchbooks and artwork in the class bin
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Day 4
1. Demo how to do first black layer of paint (Demonstration)
Once student’s outlines are finished they will fill them in with black paint
Show them to take a medium sized brush to paint the outline of the animal first
Once the outline is complete they can fill in the rest of the animal with black
If there are very fine details such as claws or beaks show the students to use small brushes for those areas
2. Work time
Students will have to show the teacher their final drawing as well as their key and story before they can begin painting
Table one will only have to help pass out art work and pencils – paint brushes and paint will be distributed individually after the students have their work approved, this way students do not skip a step and begin painting
Have students paint their animals with black paint (skills)
Walk around and help students on an individual level
3. Clean up
All wet paintings will be stored on the drying rack
All paintbrushes will be put into the water bin in the sink
All paint will have the lids replaced and then returned to the island
Have students wash their hands one table at a time – only five at the sink at once
Return pencils to their bins and placed on the island
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Day 5
1. Demo painting adding symbols and a white border (Demonstration)
Refer to your sketchbook to draw your animal story on your final piece (concept)
Put your story in pencil on top of the black paint, this will be painted over later
Be sure to include symbols on the background
Symbols should be large so they can be painted easily
Once the symbols are finished in pencil add a border off white dots around the shape of the animal
Use a q-tip to create the dot border
Dip the q-tip in the paint after every 3-5 dots to make sure the dots are consistent
Talk about taking your time so the dots look nice
2.Work time
Table two will pass out artwork and pencils
– the teacher will pass out paint and q-tips individually
Students need to check that their symbol stories are complete before they move on to dots
This is a very important step so do not be afraid to send the student back to fix their symbols in their story, make sure they are large and not too cramped. It is important that this part is done well so they will have a good foundation for painting
Students will add symbols and dot their first white border (skills)
Walk around and help students on an individual level
3. Clean up
Paint will have lids returned to containers and placed back on the island
Used q-tips can be thrown away
Wet art work will be stored on the drying rack
Wash hands one table at a time
Return pencils to bin and place back on the island
Day 6
1. Demo filling in symbols
Show students how to fill in their symbols with white paint (demonstration)
Students will use small brushes
There are three ways to paint their symbols
-They can fill in the whole symbol with white
-They can paint a white outline around the symbol
-They can dot a white outline around the symbol
Tell students to paint the symbols in their animal as well as the symbols in the background
Encourage them to use a variety of techniques
2. Work time
Table three will pass out artwork, small paintbrushes, q-tips, and white paint in containers
Have students begin painting their symbols (skills)
Walk around and help students on an individual level
3. Clean up
Paintbrushes are to be placed in water bin in the sink
Used q-tips can be thrown away
Wet art will be stored on the drying rack
Wash hands one table at a time
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Day 7
1. Demonstrate adding color (demonstration)
On top of the white symbols students can add dots or lines of color
Students may use a small brush for lines or q-tips for dots
If you are switching colors using a brush be sure to rinse your brush before each new color
Keep the q-tips with one color – don’t mix the q-tips
Make sure to let some of the original white show through-don’t cover the entire symbol with color
2. Work time
Table five will pass out artwork, brushes, water cups, q-tips, and paint in containers
Students will begin to paint color on their animal paintings (skills)
Walk around the class and help students individually
3.clean up
Dump water cups in the sink
Paintbrushes will be placed in water tub in the sink
Used q-tips can be thrown away
Lids placed back on paint containers and placed on island
Wet work stored on the drying rack
Wash hands one table at a time
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Day 8
1. Review important terms for the day (Lecture)
Ask students about the term icon
an icon is a symbol that represents a thing or idea
Ask students about the term interpret
to interpret means to explain the meaning within a work of art
tell students that art is often more than just a pretty picture – it often tells a story
2. Review Papunya dot painting symbols (Lecture)
-show the symbols on the doc cam
-explain that we will use these symbols to help us interpret the stories told in the artwork of our classmates
Show an example of a Papunya dot painting
Ask students to raise their hand to mention symbols that they see and if they can think of a story that it tells (discussion)
3. Break the class into pairs
-tell students that there is a large symbol on the back of their artwork and the person who has the matching symbol will be their partner
-Tell them not to remove the symbol that is paper clipped to their art – this will be done later
- instruct them that once they have their art work they can look for their partner but stress that this will be done quietly
-once they find their partner find a place to sit but make sure to have no more than three groups per table
- have table three help pass out the art work and pencil bins
4. Student reflective/inquiry activity
Describe the interpretive worksheet (demonstration)
-tell students to switch artwork with each other
-tell students to draw all the symbols they see in their partner’s
artwork
-give students about time to draw all the symbols they see in their partners art work (skills)
-write three sentences about what your partner’s story is trying to say
5. Instruct students on how to interpret their partner’s artwork
- tell their partner what they think the art means
-include all of the symbols they drew on their worksheet in their story
-point to the symbols you see on your partners page as you are telling your story
-tell students that while their partner is describing their art they are not going to correct them. Just let them describe the story as they see it.
-after they finish interpreting their story they can take the black symbol off the back of the artwork and read the story that they wrote
- were the stories close? What was similar and what was different?
- Once they have finished with the first story they can switch and repeat the process for the second story
6. Group discussion (Discussion)
-ask students to raise their hands if the viewer’s interpretation was close to the artists intended meaning
- ask students to raise their hands if their stories were very different from one another
Guiding questions:
How did you interpret your partners work?
How did you read their story?
Was there anything that helped you understand the work? Ex: if symbols were placed close together does that make them related to one another? If symbols are bigger does that make them more important?
Can we know an artist’s intent? Always? Are there some things that only the artist will know?
Can an artist mean to express one thing, but then express something different? How does this happen?
-show Kandinsky slide
Is it ok if the artist and viewer create different meaning about the art?
"We all look at the same things, yet see different things." Claude Monet
What do you think he meant by this?
Who is correct about the meaning of a work of art, the artist or the viewer? What if the artist isn’t there to tell us?
7. Classroom art walk
-discuss the atmosphere in an art gallery
-students are to be quiet and respectful
-any talking should be about the art and what story they can see
-use the last few minutes of class to allow students to look at the work of their peers
-Remind them to try and think of what the artist was trying to say as they are looking at the piece – what is the story?
8. Clean up
Return art to the class bin
Make a stack of the black symbols paper by the bin
Return paper clips to the box
Return pencils to their bin and place on the island
First table sitting quietly will be dismissed
Post-assessment:
See attached rubric
Self-Reflection:
This lesson turned out to be a big success. At first I was worried that the lesson was going to take too long, but by working slowly the results were much stronger than they would have been if we had rushed. In the end the students produced very interesting images.
I think the key weakness in this lesson was effectively filling wait time. There were several stages where students had to wait for their paint to dry. For example, students painted their background black but had to wait until the next class period before they could add the white symbol on top. Most students finished their black background within thirty minutes and then there was fifteen minutes still left in class. When this happened I had students practice making dot drawing with markers. I feel that the time could have been better spent with something more challenging that was still related to the assignment such as asking students to invent their own symbols and design a story around them.
Another thing that I would have changed would be to provide more visual examples for students to refer to. This assignment had many different steps and I should have had an example for each step rather than pointing to a final draft and saying today we will only be working on this part.
As far as materials are concerned I found that small brushes were really the only way to go, even during the black background day which required students to cover a large area with paint with only a few details. I thought when students had a lot of area to cover it would be fine to give them a bigger brush but in general found that students were really globing on the paint and the end results looked very sloppy. A simple change in brushes made a world of difference for the following classes.
The student’s icon stories in their animals were actually quite detailed. I know this is because we spent so much time developing their understanding of the symbols and the stories they would create with them.
All in all, this lesson went very well. I learned that several careful steps will get you to a much better destination than a few rushed steps. The real key is to be prepared for any down time you might encounter while you are taking your steps slowly.
dot_painting_rubric.pdf | |
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