Saint Paul Public Schools Visual Arts Elementary Scope and Sequence – Grade 1
Subject: Visual Art – Unit 6: Balance, Emphasis and Unity
Timeframe: (# days/week): First Quarter
Unit: Elements of Art - Balance, Emphasis and Unity
Skills / Concepts:
MN Academic Standard in the Arts:
Strand 1: Artistic Foundations
Standard 1: Demonstrate knowledge of the
foundations of the arts area
1. Identify the elements of visual art, including
color, line, shape, texture, and space.
Standard 3: Demonstrate understanding of the
personal, social, cultural, historical contexts
that influence the arts area
1. Identify the characteristics of visual artworks
from a variety of cultures including the
contributions of Minnesota American Indian
tribes and communities.
Strand 2: Artistic Process: Create or Make
Standard 1. Create or make in a variety of
contexts in the arts area using the artistic
foundations
1. Create original two and three dimensional
artworks to express ideas, experiences, or
stories.
Big Idea:
Students that experience art will begin to see the
elements in art that make an impact. They will begin to
recognize what balance, emphasis and unity are and
begin using these elements in their own art.
Skills: Recognition of balance, emphasis and
unity in art.
Concepts: Apply balance, emphasis, and unity in
their own artmaking.
Essential Questions: How does an artwork achieve
balance, emphasis and unity? What is aesthetic to the
eye?
1. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Vocabulary
Balance
Emphasis
Unity
Mola
Symbols
Mask
Landscape
Sculpture
Monument
Rubbing
Resources
Activities
Visual Artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Joe
SRA Art Connections:
seaweed, Rene Magritte, Marc Chagall,
Lessons: #1, 3, 6
Stuart Davis, Ida Kohlmeyer, Gilda Snowden,
Henry Moore, Miriam Schapiro.
Projects:
1. Create a transfer print design
Websites:
that has balance.
www.panart.com/mola_gallery.htm
3. Create a landscape with
www.magritte.com
emphasis.
www.moma.org
6. Create a unified sculpture.
www.ibiblio.org/wm/
Assessment
Pre-Assessment: Have student do
quick sketches to display what they
think balance, emphasis and unity
are.
Formative: Their artmaking for each
element will display their
understanding of the concept.
Summative:
Rubrics and Assessment forms: pp.
189A, 193A, 197A, 201A, 205A,
209A.
Show what you know, p.212.
2. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Reading
This is Baseball by Margaret Blackstone
The Chick and the Duckling by Mirra Ginsburg
Feelings by Aliki
To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda
Snow is Falling by Franklin M. Branley
Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Jack Norworth
The Josefina Story Quilt by Eleanor Coerr
Writing
Cross Curricular Connections
Discuss the writing process that creates balance: Math: Using pictorial models, discuss how both
beginning, middle, and an end.
sides of an addition or subtraction sentence are
After looking at Marc Chagall’s dream paintings
balanced.
write a poem of a dream or fantasy.
Discuss fractions and equal parts of a whole as you
Monument contains symbols that remind the artist talk about each half of a balanced face.
of her family. Have students use the writing
Discuss symbols used in mathematics.
process to make a list of symbols that remind them
of their families.
Science: Demonstrate how students can use a
balance to compare the weights of objects.
Discuss how animals’ bodies can be balanced. Can
students think of any animals whose bodies do not
have balance?
Have students study nature and discover what
stands out, as if an artist had created emphasis in
the world.
Discuss with students way animals or plants have
natural emphasis, such as colorful feathers or
flowers.
Have students look for unity in people forms or
animal forms.
(Other)s: Using a computer program paint half of a
design. Copy and paste the half, flip it horizontally,
and line it up next to the other half to create a
balanced design.
Using a digital camera, take pictures of their faces,
enter in the computer’s paint program and draw a
line down the middle to observe the balance of
facial features.
Using the computer paint program create a
geometric shape design. Decorate one of the
shapes differently than the rest to create
emphasis.
3. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Leonardo da Vinci. (Italian). Mona Lisa, 1503.
Joe Seaweed. (Kwakiuti Peoples,
Canada). Mask of the Moon, c. 1946.
Artist Unknown. (Kuna Peoples, Panama) Mola.
Marc Chagall. (Russian). Birthday, 1945.
Ida Kohlmeyer. (American). Symbols, 1981.
Artist Unknown. (United States). Arapaho Man’s
Shirt. c. 1890.
Stuart Davies. (American). Visa, 1951.
Gilda Snowden. (American). Monument, 1988.
Rene Magritte. (Belgian). Time
Transfixed, 1938.
Henry Moore. (British). Study for Time-Life Frieze,
1952
4. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Art Criticism – Blooms Taxonomy



Describe what you first notice in this painting. (Describe)
What made you notice that first? (Analyze)
Why did the artist give it the title “Time Transfixed”? (Interpret)
Visual Thinking Strategies Protocol www.vtshome.org
1.
2.
3.
4.
Take a quiet moment to look.
What’s going on in this picture?
What do you see that makes you say that?
What more can we find?
5. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Saint Paul Public Schools Visual Arts Elementary Scope and Sequence – Grade 1
Subject: Visual Art – Unit 3: Color
Timeframe: (# days/week): First Quarter
Unit: Elements of Art - Color
MN Academic Standard in the Arts:
Big Idea:
Strand 1: Artistic Foundations
The students will learn and understand the color wheel
Standard 1: Demonstrate knowledge of the
and the basic principles in mixing colors: Primary and
foundations of the arts area
secondary.
2. Identify the elements of visual art, including
color, line, shape, texture, and space.
Essential Questions:
Standard 3: Demonstrate understanding of the What do we see every day that color helps us identify?
personal, social, cultural, historical contexts that
influence the arts area
1. Identify the characteristics of visual artworks
from a variety of cultures including the
contributions of Minnesota American Indian
tribes and communities.
Skills / Concepts:
Skills: Color recognition, brush technique, color
mixing.
Concepts: The color wheel: Primary and
Secondary colors
6. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Vocabulary
Color Wheel
Rainbow
Primary Colors
Secondary Colors
Spectrum
Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange, Green,
Violet, Purple
Resources
Activities
Visual Artists: Mary Cassatt, Ellsworth Kelly,
David Hockney, Piet Mondrian, Selden
Connor Gile, Rufino Tamayo, Ivan Eyre,
Georgia O’Keeffe, Grace Hartigan, Henri
Matisse, Thomas Hart Benton, Maurice
Prendergast
Websites:
www.hockneypictures.com/home.php
www.moma.org
www.okeeffemuseum.org
www.musee-matisse-nice.org
www.mostateparks.com/benton.htm
Reading
The Listening Walk by Paul Showers
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Ernst by Eliza Kleven
Ferryboat Ride! by Anne Rockwell
Moo Moo, Brown Cow by Jakki Wood
Is Your Mama a Llama? by Beborah Guarino
The Purple Coat by Amy Hest
This Plane by Paul Collicutt
Writing
Assessment
SRA Art Connections:
Lessons: #1, 6
Pre-Assessment:
List colors in the rainbow.
List primary and secondary colors
Projects:
2. Create a drawing and painting of
a rainbow world.
2. Create a secondary color
painting.
Formative: Create a color wheel
with the colors in their proper place.
Create flashcards with equations
showing:
red+blue=violet
yellow+blue=green
yellow+red=orange
Summative:
Assessment forms and rubrics on
pp. 99A, 103A, 107A, 111A, 115A,
119A.
Multiple choice test on p. 122
“Show what you know.”
Cross Curricular Connections
Draw a rainbow and list the colors it includes.
Math: Chart how many squares in each color in the
Write a story about living in a fantasy rainbow
painting by Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie.
world.
Make a list of your favorite things that are made of Science: Use a prism to demonstrate how light can
primary colors. Then make a list of secondary color be separated into the rainbow colors of the
favorite things.
spectrum.
Write a how-to for mixing primary and secondary Red, yellow, and orange are colors that indicate
colors.
heat. Discuss changes caused by heat.
Write a poem about their favorite color.
(Other)s: On the computer create a world or
creature with only primary colors.
7. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Mary Cassatt. (American). In the Garden, 1904.
Ellsworth Kelly. (American). Spectrum III, 1967.
David Hockney. (British). Hollywood Hills House,
1982.
Thomas Hart Benton. (American). July Hay, 1943.
Maurice Prendergast. (Canadian/American). Summer, New England,
1912.
Art Criticism – Blooms Taxonomy
Visual Thinking Strategies Protocol www.vtshome.org
4. List the primary and secondary colors (Knowledge).
5. Create a color wheel that includes the primary and secondary colors
(Synthesis).
6. Choose only secondary colors to paint a landscape (Evaluation).




Take a quiet moment to look.
What’s going on in this picture?
What do you see that makes you say that?
What more can we find?
8. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Saint Paul Public Schools Visual Arts Elementary Scope and Sequence – First Grade
Subject: Visual Art – Unit 4: Form and Shape
Visual Arts Vertical Alignment Connections:
Timeframe: (# days/week): First Quarter
Unit: Elements of Art - Form and Shape
Skills / Concepts:
MN Academic Standard in the Arts:
Strand 1: Artistic Foundations
Standard 1: Demonstrate knowledge of the
foundations of the arts area
3. Identify the elements of visual art, including
color, line, shape, texture, and space.
Standard 3: Demonstrate understanding of the
personal, social, cultural, historical contexts
that influence the arts area
3. Identify the characteristics of visual artworks
from a variety of cultures including the
contributions of Minnesota American Indian
tribes and communities.
Strand 2: Artistic Process: Create or Make
Standard 1. Create or make in a variety of
contexts in the arts area using the artistic
foundations
1. Create original two and three dimensional
artworks to express ideas, experiences, or
stories.
Big Idea:
Skills: Students will observe the difference
Space is all around us. Artists can fill spaces with forms between two dimensional shapes and three
and shapes. Forms take up space and are surrounded by dimensional forms.
space, and can have space inside of them.
Concepts: A form has height, width, and depth.
Essential Questions: How does an artist create forms
Space is all around it.
from shapes?
9. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Vocabulary
Sculpture
Form
Space
Two Dimension
Three Dimension
Empty Space/
Negative Space
Height
Width
Depth
Mobile
Geometric Form
Free-Form Form
Architecture
Cube
Sphere
Pyramid
Cone
Solid/Empty space
Resources
Activities
Visual Artists: Claus Oldenburg, Alexander SRA Art Connections:
Calder, Frank Stella, George Sugarman,
Lessons: #1, 3, 5
Jacques Lipchitz, Barbara Hepworth, Patricia
Walker, Gabriele Munter
Projects:
3. Create a shapes and forms
Websites:
mobile.
www.calder.org
7. Create a clay free-form form.
www.metmuseum.org
 Create a three-dimensional
www.nmwa.org
house.
Assessment
Pre-Assessment:
Measure the height and width of an
object.
Draw a square, circle, rectangle,
triangle. Define the space inside and
outside. Draw a sphere, cube,
pyramid, cone.
Formative: Explain the difference
between 2 dimensional and 3
dimensional.
Summative: Rubrics and assessment
forms on pp. 129A, 133A, 137A,
141A, 145A,149A.
Show what you know test on p. 152.
10. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Reading
Writing
America: My Land, Your Land, Our Land by W.
Nikola-Lisa
Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
Paper Crane by Molly Bang
Wheels Around by Shelley Rotner
Sweet Dreams: How Animals Sleep by Kimiko
Kajikawa
Communities by Gail Saunders-Smith
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Career Day by Anne Rockwell
Write a few sentences to describe a mobile.
Make a list of adjectives to describe sculpture.
Have students create a list of features they
would include in a three-dimensional selfportrait.
Write about an imaginary creature and design
a home for it.
Write a poem about a building special to the
student.
Cross Curricular Connections
Math: Teach the names of geometric forms:
pyramid, cone, sphere, cube.
Have students make a sketch of what each
sculpture would look like if it were made from
geometric forms instead of free-form forms.
In a still life, measure the distance (or space)
between objects.
Science: Measure the height of each student and
the width. Chart it.
Discuss the possibility of removing pieces from the
forms of everyday objects and how it would
change the way they work.
Have students make sketches of the front and back
of their hands and record their observations.
Discuss the properties of the earth’s layers and
where clay comes from.
Discuss building materials that come from the
earth.
(Other)s: Look at the computer CAD programs for
the design three dimensionally.
The hardware of technology is often geometric
forms rather that free-form forms. Discuss with
students why they have been designed that way.
11. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Claus Oldenburg. (American). Shoestring Potatoes Alexander Calder. (American). Red Rudder in the
Spilling from a Bag, 1966.
Air, 1975.
Barbara Hepworth. (British). Figure: Churinga,
1952.
Gabriele Munter. (German). Still Life with
Porcelain Dog, 1911.
Art Criticism – Blooms Taxonomy
5. How is your form different from your classmates? (Analyze)
6. What is the statue doing? (Interpret)
7. Organize geometric forms to create a building. (Synthesis)
Frank Stella. (American). Loomings 3X, 1986.
Artist Unknown, (Romania, Hamangia Culture).
The Thinker, 5500-4700 B.C.
Visual Thinking Strategies Protocol www.vtshome.org
1.
2.
3.
4.
Take a quiet moment to look.
What’s going on in this picture?
What do you see that makes you say that?
What more can we find?
12. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Saint Paul Public Schools Visual Arts Elementary Scope and Sequence – Grade 1
Subject: Visual Art – Unit 2: Shape
Visual Arts Vertical Alignment Connections:
Timeframe: (# days/week): First Quarter
Unit: Elements of Art - Shape
MN Academic Standard in the Arts:
Strand 1: Artistic Foundations
Standard 1: Demonstrate knowledge of the
foundations of the arts area
4. Identify the elements of visual art, including
color, line, shape, texture, and space.
Standard 3: Demonstrate understanding of the
personal, social, cultural, historical contexts that
influence the arts area
1. Identify the characteristics of visual artworks
from a variety of cultures including the
contributions of Minnesota American Indian
tribes and communities.
Big Idea: The student understands that objects are
Skills: The students will learn to see,observe and
represented by shapes (free-form or geometric) which create the shapes in their environment.
are define by outlines/edges.
Concepts: Lines outline shapes. Shapes are
created when lines connect. Lines create edges.
Essential Questions: How does an artist choose a
Identify free form organic shapes and geometric
particular shape to represent an object? How does the shapes.
artist see the shape to recreate it? (Using lines: straight, Draw the organic shapes of the human body and
thick, thin, curved, angled, broken.)
animal bodies.
Vocabulary
Geometric Shape
Free-form Shape
Organic Shape
Still life
Outline
Circle
Square
Rectangle
Triangle
Position
Edges
Angled line
Resources
Skills / Concepts:
Activities
Assessment
Visual Artists:
SRA Art Connections:
Pre-Assessment: Students draw
Lois Mailou Jones, Francesca Puruntatameri, Lessons: #1, 4, 6
geometric shapes and organic
Carmen Lomas Garza, Isabel Bishop, Jacob
shapes listed in the vocabulary.
Lawrence, Janet Fish, Deborah Butterfield, Projects:
Henri Rousseau, Hung Liu, Paul Cezanne,
4. Create a crayon resist watercolor Formative: Use VTS to describe the
Pablo Picasso.
ocean.
shapes in the artists’ paintings.
4. Create a life-sized self portrait Break down the shapes used in the
Websites:
with free-form shapes.
human body and animal bodies.
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/
6. Create a tableau using an
www.jacoblawrence.org
illustration from a book.
Summative: Rubrics and assessment
www.expo-cezanne.com
forms: pp. 69A, 73A, 77A, 81A, 85A,
www.aboriginalartonline.com
89A.
www.moma.org/momalearning/artsafari/
Show what you know, p. 92.
13. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Reading
Writing
Cross Curricular Connections
Moongame by Frank Asch
Have the students draw the shapes that make up
Miss Malarkey Doesn’t live in Room 10 by Judy
their favorite animal and label the shapes (circle,
Finchler
square, triangle, rectangle, oval).
My House Mi Casa by Rebecca Emberley
Timothy Goes to School by Rosemary Wells
Write a poem to go with the fish they painted.
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Make a list of the objects you see in a painting. List
I Read Signs by Tana Hoban
the shapes that make up that object.
The Old Woman Who Loved to Read by John Welch
Mommy Works, Daddy Works by Marika Pedersen Using free form, organic shapes create a fantasy
and Mikele Hall
creature and write a few sentences describing the
life of this creature.
Lois Mailou Jones.
(American). Esquisse for Ode
to Kinshasa, 1972.
(Australian). Muniti Red
Snapper, c. 1998.
Deborah Butterfield.
(American). Rex, 1991.
Math: Create a sequence of shapes, a pattern,
predict what shape will come next.
Count and compare the objects in a still life.
Science: Draw an outline of the moon in different
phases. Discuss the amount of moon we see
changes over time and repeats in a cycle.
List the man made objects, and the organic objects
(nature items) in a still life.
(Other)s: The above activities could be created on
the computer and charted.
Create a self portrait on the computer.
Create a still life collage from clip art on the
computer.
Isabel Bishop (American).
Ice Cream Cones, 1942.
Paul Cezanne. (French).
Still Life with Apples and
Peaches, c. 1905.
14. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,
Art Criticism – Blooms Taxonomy
8. What kind of shapes were used to create this painting? (Describe)
9. Why would the artist leave such a small area of sky? (Analysis)
10. What kind of feeling do you think the artist had about this jungle?
(Interpret)
Visual Thinking Strategies Protocol www.vtshome.org




Take a quiet moment to look.
What’s going on in this picture?
What do you see that makes you say that?
What more can we find?
15. July, 2011
J Spencer de Gutierrez, R Webster,
J Elliott,