Transformation Creations

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

Subject Area

Arts Education

Grade(s)

2

Overview

The students will use critical thinking skills and artistic abilities to "transform" an image into something completely different. The original images can be taken with a digital camera and printed out or cut from old magazines.

Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.2.2

Explore personal interests and curiosities with a range of art materials.

UP:AE17.VA.2.2

Vocabulary

  • Principles of design
    • Balance
  • Brainstorming
  • Composition
  • Concepts
  • Characteristic
  • Elements of art
    • Space
    • Value
  • Expressive properties
  • Foreground
  • Middle ground
  • Neutral colors
  • Resist

Essential Questions

EU: Artists and designers shape artistic investigations, following or breaking with traditions in pursuit of creative artmaking goals.
EQ: How does knowing the contexts, histories, and traditions of art forms help create works of art and design? Why do artists follow or break from established traditions? How do artists determine what resources and criteria are needed to formulate artistic investigations?

Skills Examples

  • Create two-dimensional artworks such as drawing or painting by using a variety of media.
  • Use the book, The Goat in the Rug by Charles L.
  • Blood & Martin Link to learn about weaving.
  • Use clay or pipe cleaners to create small animal sculptures.
  • Work in groups to brainstorm ideas for a collaborative art project.
  • Use a book about clay, When Clay Sings by Byrd Baylor to study Native Americans and their traditions.
  • Use the book A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle to explore collage techniques.
  • Create a real or imagined home using two-and-three-dimensional media.
  • Learn how to properly use and store brushes, close glue bottles and marker tops.
  • Use found objects such as leaves, rocks, paper tubes, egg cartons, etc.
  • to create artworks.
  • Use the book A Day with No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch to explore different colors and values.
  • Create a landscape showing depth by placing the foreground, middle ground and background in their correct positions.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.2.3

Extend skills by individually following sequential steps to create works of art on subjects that are real or imaginary.

UP:AE17.VA.2.3

Vocabulary

  • Principles of design
    • Balance
  • Brainstorming
  • Composition
  • Concepts
  • Characteristic
  • Elements of art
    • Space
    • Value
  • Expressive properties
  • Foreground
  • Middle ground
  • Neutral colors
  • Resist

Essential Questions

EU: Artists and designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and artmaking approaches.
EQ: How do artists work? How do artists and designers determine whether a particular direction in their work is effective? How do artists and designers learn from trial and error?

Skills Examples

  • Create two-dimensional artworks such as drawing or painting by using a variety of media.
  • Use the book, The Goat in the Rug by Charles L.
  • Blood & Martin Link to learn about weaving.
  • Use clay or pipe cleaners to create small animal sculptures.
  • Work in groups to brainstorm ideas for a collaborative art project.
  • Use a book about clay, When Clay Sings by Byrd Baylor to study Native Americans and their traditions.
  • Use the book A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle to explore collage techniques.
  • Create a real or imagined home using two-and-three-dimensional media.
  • Learn how to properly use and store brushes, close glue bottles and marker tops.
  • Use found objects such as leaves, rocks, paper tubes, egg cartons, etc.
  • to create artworks.
  • Use the book A Day with No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch to explore different colors and values.
  • Create a landscape showing depth by placing the foreground, middle ground and background in their correct positions.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.2.8

Explore a variety of ways to prepare artwork for presentation.

UP:AE17.VA.2.8

Vocabulary

  • Principles of design
    • Balance
  • Brainstorming
  • Composition
  • Concepts
  • Characteristic
  • Elements of art
    • Space
    • Value
  • Expressive properties
  • Foreground
  • Middle ground
  • Neutral colors
  • Resist

Essential Questions

EU: Artists, curators, and others consider a variety of factors and methods including evolving technologies when preparing and refining artwork for display and or when deciding if and how to preserve and protect it.
EQ: What methods and processes are considered when preparing artwork for presentation or preservation? How does refining artwork affect its meaning to the viewer? What criteria are considered when selecting work for presentation, a portfolio, or a collection?

Skills Examples

  • Take part in the setup of a theme-specific display.
  • Glue artwork on larger paper or mat board to create a finished look.
  • Create a name card for artwork.
  • Prepare artwork for final display by selecting from pre-made supplies, such as different colors of paper or matting that have been cut to size and different choices of labels that have been printed.
  • Look at examples of public sculptures, murals, and buildings from the surrounding community and discuss the benefits of art to the people who live there.
  • Create a community art map showing the placement of publicly displayed artwork in one's own community.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 5: Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation.

Primary Learning Objectives

Students will:

  • create original visual art.
  • discuss their art using appropriate language and vivid descriptive words.
  • use developmentally appropriate artistic language explain how they converted their images into new images.
  • improve skills in using digital cameras and word processing software.

Procedures/Activities

1.) If using digital cameras, allow the students to take pictures of simple things in the classroom or around the school. If a digital camera is not available, use the school's Ellison Die cutter and cut out various shapes (white paper cut-outs allow for more creativity) or use pages torn from old magazines to get cut-outs.

2.) If using the cameras, print the photographs onto paper. Then have the students cut out one simple image from their photos. For example, if taking a picture of a desk in a classroom, just cut out the desk. For outside images, a tree, a bench, a car, a swing, or other simple objects would be great for this activity. The teacher may need to help the students with their photo selections.

3.) Now, whether using a cut-out or a cut-up photo, this step applies to all. On a large piece of white paper (14" x 17" copy paper works great), have the students write the sentence "It's not a _____________, it's a..." They need to look at their pictures for a few minutes. Have them turn it, twist it, rotate it, etc. until they are able to see something else creative in the image. If they are using a cut-out of a desk, they may write "It's not a desk, it's a train car."

4.) After the students come up with their "transformation" and they write it on their papers, they will position it on their papers so that it can be transformed. They then glue it down (after plenty of thought). The desk example could be glued down toward the side of the paper. The student could then draw a train engine in front of the desk. The desk could become the second train car. And other cars could be added behind it.

5.) Adding Details: Really push the children to add details to their drawings. Examples: Smoke coming from the engine, coal spilling out of the desk/train car, a street with a railroad crossing sign. Kids are so creative with a little encouragement! Color the transformations after all details are drawn.

6.) WRITE: After the "transformation" is complete, the students will add descriptive writing to their pictures. This is a creative writing activity that will be typed on the computer or on the Alphasmarts. The students create a story that goes along with their photos. Sticking to the train example, the students could write: "This is the Maylene Express. It is filled with coal and gravel and it's on its way to the factory. The factory is going to use the coal for fuel, and the gravel will be spread over the bumpy road. The engineer needs to hurry, though, because it's running late today! I hope the boss doesn't get mad!"

7.)Students will then do a final edit. Run the spell checker and reread the stories to be sure they make sense. These writings are short; a paragraph would be quite sufficient. However, to adapt it for upper grades, have the students develop a full-length story to accompany the drawings.

8.)Help the students print their writing out on paper and attach it to their pictures. These cute and creative transformations make great displays for outside your classroom or on a bulletin board!

Assessment Strategies

{This is an activity that can be an excellent indicator of gifted behavior! These work samples can be saved to present to the gifted resource teacher.}

To assess, look at the transformation that occurred. If a student turned a tree, which is a plant, into a flower, which is another plant, that is a fairly simple and common transformation. Turning a tree (plant) into a lion (animal) is a little more creative. However, both are living things. Now, turning a tree into a car's tailpipe is creative! A huge score booster is if the child takes a part of the image and lets it stick off the paper. An example of this would be when a student took a picture of an old canister vacuum cleaner and transformed it into a scorpion. The canister was the scorpion's body and the hose became the scorpion's stinging tail. To add dimension to this, the student curled the hose around his pencil and left it sticking up off the paper. This work sample indicates a student who might need to be referred for evaluation for a gifted program.

Total Duration

31 to 60 Minutes

Background/Preparation

Students will need to be familiar with digital cameras if you decide to use them for this activity. Students will need basic knowledge of how to use Alphasmarts and/or word processing software. This activity requires very little typing, so the teacher may choose this activity as a teaching opportunity with the Alphasmarts or word processing software.

Also, students need to be familiarized with the "It's not a ________, it's a _______." activities. To do this, cut out a yellow paper banana. Hold it up in the air and say, "It's not a banana, it's a smile!" Hold the banana over your mouth as if it is a smile. Then have the kids finish the statement. Make them say, "It's not a banana, it's a " before their ideas. Possible ideas: It's not a banana, it's a frown, canoe, boat, bridge, moon, tongue, etc.

Materials and Resources

White paper (construction paper or large [14" x 17"] copy paper), crayons, glue

Technology Resources Needed

Digital Cameras (optional), Alphasmarts or other portable keyboard or computer with word processing software

Approved Date

2018-06-07
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