Art Awareness Lesson Plan – The life of Pablo Picasso
ELA Theme:
Unit 3: Inspiring Individuals examines influential individuals and events. During the unit, students
meet people who had the courage to make hard decisions that shaped and changed our lives. Students
determine what attributes the individuals share and how they, as students and community members, are
inspired to apply these qualities to their own lives.
Objectives:
 To identify a few of Picasso’s major works and styles
 To understand that Picasso’s style changed frequently over his lifetime
 To become aware of the influence on and by Picasso
 To be influenced by Picasso and create an original piece of art
Materials:
 Power Point presentation
 Blank paper (letter size) – classroom set
 Crayons or markers (provided by the student)
 Glue sticks (provided by the student)
 Things students could use in a collage – streamers, yarn, pictures from a magazine, popsicle sticks, etc
(some of these items can be found in the 2nd floor art closet)
 You may want to read about the artist online or at the library prior to giving this presentation. Here
are two sites to get you started:
http://www.pablopicasso.org/
http://www.theartstory.org/artist-picasso-pablo.htm
Procedure:
Using the Power Point provided (or your own presentation), discuss the background of the artist, and
show/explain some of the artist’s major pieces and discuss the changes to his style throughout the years.
Because this unit is about influential people, it might be a good idea to include a brief discussion of the artists
that influenced Picasso as well as some of the artists he influenced. You probably won’t have time to do an indepth comparison, but a few words about this wouldn’t hurt.
Final Product: Have the kids create their own artwork in the style of Picasso. They can choose to create
something in the style of the blue period or collage. If they choose the blue period as their inspiration,
emphasize that their work does not have to be completely blue, rather, their work should emphasize an
emotion – joy, sadness, love, fear, etc. Their work should reflect whichever emotion they pick. If they select
collage, they will still draw 95% of the art, but they can select one of the items the volunteer has brought to
incorporate into their art. Either way, make sure you share with the children that they too have now been
influenced by Pablo Picasso.
Parent Contact:
After completing the art awareness lesson with the students, please send a note home to explain what
you did and why to the caregivers. You can print out the note and send it home or email it to the classroom
teacher and ask him or her to forward it to families.
Parent Contact example letter:
Art Awareness Presentation – KW
March 26, 2014
Dear Caregivers,
Today in your child’s class, an Art Awareness presentation and art project was completed. After
reading How to Become a Perfect Knight in Five Days by Pierrette Dube, we talked about real knights and
heraldry. Noting that few people could read in the Middle Ages, pictures were an important way to tell people
something about yourself and your family. Also, the kids noticed that once in their armor, all of the knights
looked the same. Having a family crest (heraldry) on the shields helped soldiers identify each other in battle.
We talked about the meaning behind some of the colors and pictures that you might have found on a knight’s
shield, and then the kids had a chance to create their own shield. I hope you enjoy the final product!
There are many fiction and non-fiction books at the Naperville Public Library about knights and the
Medieval Era if you and your child would like explore the topic further. You can also check out this fun
website to create another coat of arms.
http://www.imaginon.org/fun/whippingboy/createacoatofarms.asp?themeid=2&activityid=8
Sincerely,
Sandy Beris
This program is brought to the students and teachers by the May Watts Art Awareness PTA committee.