Each year Morning Star Elementary School in Bozeman, Montana participates in
Original Works project. Students create original artwork that can then be purchased
in various forms by parents (i.e. mugs, shirts, mouse pads). This particular project
allows the teacher to connect curriculum content to art and students to create
original artwork.
Bozeman, Montana is a small community in southwest Montana that is home
to Montana State University, many profitable technology companies and non-profits.
Morning Star Elementary is located at the southeast boundary of Bozeman School
District. This location provides ample mountain views of the Bridger Mountains to
the north, as well as Hyalite and Spanish Peaks to the south. An open field lays to
the west, providing distant views of the Tobacco Root Mountains. Houses lie to the
immediate east. A majority of the students attending the school are from middle to
upper income families. Many families have access to resources that greatly benefit
the school and are highly involved in all aspects of school life.
This fifth grade class was ready for a challenge in this year’s original artwork
project. This fifth grade class currently has thirty-one students. There are fourteen
girls and seventeen boys. Four students currently have IEPs. One of these IEP
students struggles primarily with math concepts and reading comprehension. The
other three IEP students require additional assistance in writing, math,
organizational skills and behavior management strategies. A majority of the
students are Caucasian, but there is an African American/Caucasian female and an
Eastern Shoshone male in the class. Student desks are arranged four to six desks in
a group, which allows for cooperative learning.
The purpose of the Original Works project is to create a colorful piece of art
that represents the student at this point in time. Past projects have focused on a
portrait of the student or a favorite animal, sport, etc. The concept of surrealism and
cubism as introduced through Marc Chagall presented a challenge to the students to
incorporate facets of their lives within their piece. Students had to alter their
conceptual, organized ideas into an imaginative disarray of images.
The pre- and post-assessments (Appendix A) consisted of three simple
questions to evaluate prior learning. Who is Marc Chagall? What is surrealism?
What is cubism? Most students connected the class schedule to the content of the
lesson and identified Chagall as an artist. This content was unchartered territory for
the students. Most attempted to answer the questions to the best of their ability, or
they responded with question marks to signify no answer. Each question was
valued at two-points, for a possible total of six points. The following graphs
demonstrate prior knowledge of the lesson content and average result differences
between boys and girls.
Chagall Lesson Pre-Assessment Results
Number of Students
8
7
6
5
4
Girls
3
Boys
2
1
0
0
1
2
3
Points
4
5
6
Figure 1 Pre-Assessment Boy and Girl Result Comparison
Figure 1 illustrates boys scoring mostly zero or two points, no boys scored
higher than a 3, or fifty percent. Most girls scored one point with the highest score
being a four. On average, girls scored higher than boys with an average of 2 points
and boys scoring an average of 1 point. Due to more boys than girls in the class, the
class average was 1 point. The following lesson describes in detail the methods
utilized to present and assess learned content.
Marc Chagall Art Lesson
Standard Information: 5th grade
Estimated Time: One 30-minute lesson with continued work time over the course
of several weeks.
Title: Expressing ourselves through the eyes of Chagall.
Lesson Description: Students will be introduced to the artistic methods of Chagall
and techniques of cubism and surrealism. Students will create an original art piece
using the same techniques as Chagall.
Objective:
 Students will describe who Marc Chagall is.
 Students will explain the idea of surrealism.
 Students will define or illustrate the method of cubism.
 Students will create an original art piece using surrealism and cubism
techniques.
Key Words/Concepts:
 Marc Chagall: 20th century Russian Jew artist who blended surrealism and
cubism.
 Surrealism: images representing thoughts, dreams and fantasies; unreal and
imaginary.
 Cubism: method of art turning life forms into abstract geometric shapes,
often on a set of planes.
Students Background Knowledge: Students begin this lesson with no previously
knowledge of Marc Chagall, surrealism or cubism. Students are aware that this
information is being presented during an art lesson.
Materials and Teaching Aides:
 Marc Chagall: Life is a Dream by Britta Hoepler
 Marc Chagall: Art for Children by Ernest Raboff
 Pre and Post-Assessment
 Scratch paper and pencil
 Elmo
 Official Original Art paper (8 ½” x 11”) and student labels
 Extra Fine Point Black Sharpies, markers, pastels, crayons
Classroom Management: Students will remain at their desks during preassessment. After the pre-assessment, the teacher will lead a short discussion on
the pre-assessment questions and continue to the lesson content. After instruction,
students will work independently and be allowed to visit with their tablemates.
Assessment: The teacher will monitor each student’s engagement during each
segment of the lesson. The teacher will record students staying on task and
following directions. Summative assessment consists of the post-assessment quiz
and final original art piece. Introduction of the rubric for grading their artwork will
be presented during initial instruction.
Standards: Montana Standards for Arts 5th grade
 Content Standard 1—Students create, perform/exhibit, and respond in the Arts.
 Content Standard 2—Students apply and describe the concepts, structures, and
processes in the Arts.
Links outside this lesson: Students will continue work on their original artwork during
read aloud, independent work time and recess.
Accommodation for Diversity: Students may use books and the Internet to help
formulate ideas for drawing images. Teacher and/or aide will assist students in
measuring borders, tracing initial sketch in Sharpie and coloring difficult areas.
Technology Integration: The Elmo and projector are utilized to present images of
Chagall paintings for students to analyze. Students who are struggling with creating
initial drafts are invited to use classroom computers to look at images.
Indian Education for All Integration: The teacher leads a class discusses on how
Native American art is similar to Chagall’s pieces. The class discusses how Native
Americans used art to tell stories, just as students are using art to tell stories about
themselves. The discussion also includes ways to identify objects and figures in a
painting to discover meaning. Essential Understanding 6 says, “History is a story most
often related through the subjective experience of the teller.”
Model: Hunter Model
 Anticipatory Set: Please answer the questions on the handout the best you can.
If you are not sure, give your best guess. Who is Marc Chagall? What is
surrealism? What is cubism?

Lesson Objective: Students will be able to describe who Marc Chagall is and the
techniques he used in his paintings. Students will define surrealism and
cubism, as well as demonstrate these concepts in their own piece.

Teacher Input: The teacher will read about the life of Marc Chagall and lead a
discussion about who he was, why he created surreal pieces and how to identify
cubism in Chagall’s art. Students will then be introduced the original artwork
project’s parameters of completing their own piece for reproduction.
o The teacher will demonstrate the process of creating a surrealist piece of
art on the Elmo. The teacher drafts a 1 inch border, draws a figure coming
out of the border, rotates the paper ninety degrees, draws a mountain

emerging from the border with a tree growing up the middle of it, rotates
the paper ninety degrees, sketches a sun that can also be viewed as the
profile of a girl, etc.
o Students are instructed to draft their original art. Figures need to be large
and uncomplicated so that they may be reproduced. The final piece must
be fully filled in (small sections may be visible if part of a figure).
o It needs to represent who they are. Once the design is approved, students
will receive the paper for the final piece.
o When students receive the final piece, the teacher instructs students to
measure a minimum of a 1-inch border and to sketch their piece in pencil.
o When the sketch is approved, students may outline their picture in Sharpie
and begin coloring with bright colors (i.e. color a tree blue).
o Completed pieces are hung around the class as examples for other
students.
o Finished pieces will be sent home with a form to order products with the
image on it.
Checking for Understanding: Conferencing with students while they work will
allow the teacher to assess the students’ level of understanding.

Guided Practice: The teacher will guide the initial conversation of Chagall,
surrealism and cubism. Students will work independently on their original art,
conferring occasionally with their neighbor.

Individual Practice: The original artwork needs to represent who the student is;
therefore, it must be completed individually.

Formative Assessment: The attached rubric will be used to assess student’s
ability to transfer their understanding of Chagall, surrealism and cubism to their
own personal original artwork. A post-assessment will demonstrate attainment of
the learning goals.
Attachments: Pre and Post Assessment, Rubric for original art, Chagall sample and
original art samples.
Students made surprising gains in their knowledge and understanding of
surrealism and cubism. The post-assessment scores surpassed the pre-assessment scores
and student artwork. In addition, further demonstrated their understanding of Chagall’s
surreal, cubist techniques.
Original works were assessed by the rubric presented in
Appendix A. Of the thirty-one students, twenty-nine completed their original works.
One student did not complete the project because he/she was absent for an extended
period; the other student, currently on an IEP program, became frustrated with the
project.
All but one student scored higher on the post-assessment than the pre-assessment.
The class average increased from 1 point to an average of 4 points on the postassessment. The girls continued to score higher on the post-assessment, averaging 5
points compared to the boys’ average of 4 points. The following graphs demonstrate
post-assessment results by points scored out of six and a comparison of girl and boy
averages.
Figure 2 illustrates the points scored on the post-assessment, comparing boys and
girls results. Figure 3 demonstrates class improvement between the pre- and postassessments.
Chagall Lesson Post-Assessment Results
Number of Students
7
6
5
4
3
Boys
2
Girls
1
0
0
1
2
3
Points out of 6
4
5
6
Figure 2 Boys and Girls Post-Assessment Results Comparison
Number of Students
Chagall Lesson Pre and Post Assessment
Comparison
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Pre Test
Post Test
0
1
2
3
4
Points out of 6
5
6
Figure 3 Pre- and Post-Assessment Comparison
At the beginning, some students voiced reluctance to altering known images and
rising to the challenge of surrealism. The student samples in Appendix C demonstrate
the success students achieved after applying their knowledge of surrealism and cubism.
The original works were evaluated on craftsmanship, creativity/aesthetics and remaining
on task. Craftsmanship refers to clear and concise shapes and lines defined by rich colors
presented in markers, crayons or pastels. The creativity and aesthetic category refers to
student originality, ability to emphasize surrealism and cubism techniques, and visually
appealing presentation. Finally, students were assessed on their ability to complete the
project in a timely manner and use materials responsibly. The original works artwork
assessment is based on a total of 25 points. The class averaged a score of 20 points. A
majority of boys scored 19 points, whereas, a majority of girls scored 21 or 25 points.
Figure 4 demonstrates the scores for boys and girls.
Original Works Scores
9
Number of Students
8
7
6
5
4
Boys
3
Girls
2
1
0
0
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Recorded Points Scored - Minimum 0, Maximum 25
25
Figure 4 Original Works Boys and Girls Scores
The pre- and post-assessment results indicate the lesson was successful. Students
were able to utilize their imagination and produce works different from previous
experiences. Students gained an understanding that art is produced using different
methods and also gained the ability to recognize these different methods in other pieces.
On multiple occasions illustrations were presented in textbooks and magazines that
possessed surrealist and cubism attributes. Students were able to identify a similarity to
Marc Chagall and techniques of surrealist and cubism from other print sources
This was a fun project to begin student teaching. Even students that began
reluctantly quickly embraced the new methods of surrealism and cubism. Music was
played during independent work time to set a mood for engagement and provide a
welcoming environment.
As the semester has progressed, connections to Chagall and his techniques have
arisen in other subject areas. In math, students learned about finding area of
parallelograms and prisms, common figures in cubism. Many students carried their
understanding of surrealism into the creation of their social studies Founding Fathers
posters of Benjamin Franklin.
Three of the four IEP students did very well; only one of these students did not
complete his/her artwork. The final artwork of these students was complex and
insightful. The Eastern Shoshone student represented his culture through the piece by
including images of cultural traditions he participates in. Another student who struggles
with handwriting created an accurately proportioned and detailed piece.
The student who did not complete the project provided insight for
accommodations in future projects. For instance, a variety of tools, calendars and
magazines would help the student brainstorm ideas and stencils would aid in drawing
shapes and figures. If the student is still struggling, the use of computers to make
pictures created by the student that could be colored by hand; this eliminates the drawing
stages.
According to the post-assessment, all students did gain new knowledge in the art
content presented on Chagall, surrealism and cubism. Further in-class discussions on
Chagall, surrealism, and cubism and conferencing with individual students showed their
interest in the content. Many students were able to recall details about Marc Chagall’s
life from Hoepler’s book Marc Chagall: Life is a Dream (1998). This book engaged
students with a story of Chagall’s life and showed his most famous paintings. On several
occasions I found students leafing through the books provided to gather ideas and marvel
at his innovative style.
This project could certainly be used within any subject area. It allows students to
organize their understanding in a way that makes sense to them, particularly those
students who doodle. This project could allow students to demonstrate reading
comprehension through illustrations, strengthen coal studies concepts, mathematical
figures, and science concepts.
This lesson was successful because students ultimately learned to perceive image
representation through a non-linear and spatially complex manner. They challenged
themselves to reach beyond their previous skills into unchartered territory. Some
students produced surprisingly innovative pieces. They were able to look beyond what
they believed to be normal and awaken their imagination. It was a pleasure watching
student reluctance transfer into amusement, then self-amazement as students became
absorbed in their creations and entered the world of Marc Chagall.
References
Chagall, Marc. 1911. I and the Village. (oil on canvas). Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chagall_IandTheVillage.jpg
Hoepler, B. (1998). Marc Chagall: Life is a Dream. Prestel Publishing: New York, NY.
Office of Public Instruction. (2010). Essential understandings. Indian Education for All.
Raboff, E. (1988). Marc Chagall: Art for Children. Bantam Dell Publishing: New York,
NY.
Appendix A
Name: ____________________________
1) Who is Marc Chagall?
2) What is surrealism?
3) What is cubism?
Grade 5 Chagall Original Artwork Rubric
N
NP
Craftsmanship
N-1
NP - 4
10 pts
The media is used
The media is used
sloppily. Erasures are somewhat sloppily.
evident. Graphite is Erasures are evident.
left uncovered by
The marker and oil
marker or oil pastels. pastel lines are not
The images are
strong. The images
difficult to identify. are somewhat messy.
Creativity and
N -1
Aesthetics
10 pts
The work displays no
creativity. The
images are poorly
drawn. There is no
evidence of Cubist or
Surrealist inspiration.
On Task and
Behavior
5 pts
N -2
The student is almost
always off task
during work time,
does not follow
directions, or refuses
to participate in the
project fully.
NP - 4
The work displays
some creativity. The
images are drawn
somewhat nicely.
There is some
evidence of Cubist or
Surrealist inspiration.
NP - 3
P
AP
P -7
AP -10
The media is used
The media is used
appropriately. The exceptionally well.
oil pastel and marker The oil pastel and
lines are clear and
marker lines are
strong. The images strong and some
are easily identifiable shapes were filled.
The images are clearly
recognizable and
clearly drawn with
contrasting colors.
P-7
AP - 10
The work displays The work is exciting
much creativity. The to view and
profile is drawn very aesthetically pleasing.
nicely. There is clear The profile is drawn
evidence of Cubist or exceptionally well.
Surrealist inspiration. There is clear
evidence of Cubist or
Surrealist inspiration,
but the student's
originality also shines
through.
P-4
AP - 5
The student is
The student is
The student is always
frequently off task
usually on task and on task during work
during work time and follows directions for time and always
may not follow
the project.
follows the directions
directions.
for the project the first
time they are given.
Appendix B
Appendix C