Europe and the Middle East, as well as medieval Africa and China. Today you need to help me make a list of the elements of art -- those things we look at especially when we look at artworks.
Give the students some hints if they need them so that they come up with the elements:
color, line, shape, texture, space and light. (They have also been briefly introduced to the concept of mass as it applies to three-dimensional works such as sculpture and architecture. You may want to add that to the list.) Brainstorm with them about each element so that you can jot a few descriptive words for each element on the list (e.g. for texture, the words might be rough, smooth, soft, hard, etc.; for line, horizontal, vertical, curved, wavy, zigzag etc.; for shape, circular, square, triangular etc.) If you prefer to have this posted in the classroom for the first few weeks of the year, the list with the elements and their descriptive words could be put on chart paper.
Next, draw the following chart on the board and ask: What colors do these letters stand for? (clockwise: yellow, green, blue, purple, red, and orange; you may want to write them out next to their respective circles) What do you notice about the circles? (3 smaller, 3 larger) What do the 3 larger have in common? (primary colors) Are those 3 also the warm colors? (no) What are the warm colors? (reds, oranges, yellows -- think of the sun, fire) What are the cool colors? (greens, blues, purples -- think of a lake, a mountain, leaves of a tree) What do the colors red, yellow, and blue have in common? (primary colors) What about purple, orange, and green? (secondary colors) What does that mean? (Secondary colors are produced by mixing two primary colors.) Ask: Who can put into words what the chart is telling us about the relationship between primary and secondary colors? (blue + yellow = green; yellow + red = orange; red + blue = purple) Be sure that the students can see what the chart is demonstrating: that, in each case, a secondary color is placed between the two primary colors that make up that secondary color.
Ask: How else can we make changes in a color? How could we lighten or darken it? (create different shades of a color -- add a bit of white to lighten the shade, a bit of black to darken the shade) Provide some examples for the class -- first producing a lighter shade of a color by adding white, then producing a darker shade by mixing color with just a bit of black. (Be sure they notice how little black is needed to produce a darker shade.) Tell the students that they are each going to choose three colors of paint plus black and white to use in a painting. Remind them that if two of the colors are primary colors, they will be able to produce a secondary color with them and that they can produce any number of shades by experimenting with adding small amounts of black or white to a color.
Pass out paper, shallow containers, and the paints to each student. Have them each draw lightly with pencil two large, simple objects side by side on the paper. It could be two large pieces of fruit, two outlines of faces in profile, two animals, two houses -- anything whose outlines are clear and simple. Circulate among the class, making sure that the objects are simple and large. Then tell them to draw three horizontal lines from edge to edge on their papers, so that each line passes through the two objects they have drawn and intersects with their outlines. Circulate around the room again to make sure the students have completed that much before going on.
Once the first steps have been completed, have the students observe that they have created many different sections in their drawings. They are to finish the art works by painting every section a different color or shade. If there is time when they have finished their paintings, you may want to brainstorm with them about the kinds of designs they have created with their careful use of various colors and shades.
Note: Have the children note their shadows and the shadows of buildings, people, etc. going to and from school for the next wee