Portraying Emotional Messages Through Visual Art

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Arts Education

Grade(s)

4

Overview

Students will read an article on Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream.The class will discuss the message Edvard Munch was trying to convey. The students will then be given an emotion to portray in a painting or sketch. The class will discuss which emotion each work of art conveys.

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.20

Use details and examples from a text to indicate what the text explicitly states.

UP:ELA21.4.20

Vocabulary

  • Details
  • Examples
  • Explicitly

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Explicit means directly stated within the text.
  • Specific details and examples from the text an be used to demonstrate an understanding of the text's explicit meaning.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify details and examples from a text that demonstrates comprehension of the text's explicit meaning.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Explicit meanings are directly stated in text, and they can use specific details and examples from the text to show they understood the text's explicit meaning.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 4 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.4.11

Analyze components in visual imagery that convey meanings and messages.

UP:AE17.VA.4.11

Vocabulary

  • Constructed environment
  • Cultural traditions
  • Digital format
  • Engagement
  • Tertiary color
  • Preservation
  • Proportion
  • Principles of design
    • Unity
  • Shade
  • Style
  • Tints & shades

Essential Questions

EU: Visual imagery influences understanding of and responses to the world.
EQ: What is an image? Where and how do we encounter images in our world? How do images influence our views of the world?

Skills Examples

  • Compare Gyotaku Japanese fish printing and printing with a rubber stamp.
  • Make conclusions about the artist's feelings and perspective.
  • Analyze the meaning of Edvard Munch's The Scream.
  • Interpret Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware River and its relevance to the Revolutionary War.
  • Discuss and form an opinion about the social and personal value of a piece of art.
  • Apply one element or principle of design to discuss how students' outcomes are different even though they used the same criteria for a work of art/ design.
  • Formulate criteria for discussing and assessing works of art.
  • Use art vocabulary when discussing and judging artworks.
  • Engage in group critiques of one's work and the work of others for the purpose of personal reflection and on-going improvement.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 4 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.4.13

Apply one criterion from elements or principles of design to evaluate more than one work of art/design.

UP:AE17.VA.4.13

Vocabulary

  • Constructed environment
  • Cultural traditions
  • Digital format
  • Engagement
  • Tertiary color
  • Preservation
  • Proportion
  • Principles of design
    • Unity
  • Shade
  • Style
  • Tints & shades

Essential Questions

EU: People evaluate art based on various criteria.
EQ: How does one determine criteria to evaluate a work of art? How and why might criteria vary? How is a personal preference different from an evaluation?

Skills Examples

  • Compare Gyotaku Japanese fish printing and printing with a rubber stamp.
  • Make conclusions about the artist's feelings and perspective.
  • Analyze the meaning of Edvard Munch's The Scream.
  • Interpret Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware River and its relevance to the Revolutionary War.
  • Discuss and form an opinion about the social and personal value of a piece of art.
  • Apply one element or principle of design to discuss how students' outcomes are different even though they used the same criteria for a work of art/ design.
  • Formulate criteria for discussing and assessing works of art.
  • Use art vocabulary when discussing and judging artworks.
  • Engage in group critiques of one's work and the work of others for the purpose of personal reflection and on-going improvement.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

Learning Objectives

I can analyze components in visual imagery that convey a message.

I can evaluate more than more work of art.

I can refer to details in the text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. 

Activity Details

The students will read the article "Forms of Art: Symbolism" on ReadWorks.org. This article has questions at the end that can be used to guide a class discussion. The teacher will need to guide the class discussion to analyze components in Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream that convey a message. 

After reading and discussing the article, the teacher will assign an emotion to each student to portray in a painting or sketch. The students must use the emotion to send a message to the audience. Examples of possible emotions are anger, fear, excitement, happiness, sadness, frustration, disgust, etc. You might want to place parameters on the paintings or sketches, such as it must be a self-portrait. 

The students will end the learning activity by trying to identify the emotional message the student artists were trying to convey. You can allow the students to go on a gallery walk or just discuss each painting or sketch as a whole group.

Assessment Strategies

Students will analyze components in visual imagery that convey a message and refer to details in the text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text through class discussions. The given discussion questions at the end of the ReadWorks article can be used.

Students will evaluate more than one work of art to identify the emotional message the student artist is trying to convey. 

Background / Preparation

The teacher and students will need ReadWorks.org accounts. ReadWorks is a free online resource that includes a variety of reading passages. Students can simply use their Google account to create a ReadWorks account. The teacher will need to create student accounts if the students do not have Google accounts. Once the teacher has created his or her account, simply create a class and give the class code to the students to join. The teacher can search for the article "Forms of Art: Symbolism" and assign it to the class.

The students will need a device with Internet access to view the article. If students do not have access to a device with Internet, then the teacher can use a classroom projector to display the article or print and copy the article for the students.

Forms of Art - Symbolism ReadWorks Article
https://www.readworks.org/article/Forms-of-Art---Symbolism/12f8de65-d75a-4118-9…

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

scarver17
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