Creating an Illustration of a Bay Animal, Third Grade
Sarah Sowell: Art Teacher, Huntingtown Elementary School
Concept/Topic to Teach: Environmental Appreciation, Observation, Realism
Standards Addressed:
OUTCOME I: PERCEIVING, PERFORMING, AND RESPONDING AESTHETIC EDUCATION
The student will demonstrate the ability to perceive, interpret and respond to ideas, experiences, and
the environment.
Expectation A: The student will identify and describe observed form.
Indicator 2: The student will identify and describe the content and meaning of observed visual forms.
 Discuss feelings experienced when viewing selected design principles that create compositions
in natural and human-made objects.
 Discuss similarities and differences in design qualities among natural and human-made forms.
Expectation C: The student will discover a variety of ways that artists organize art elements in a
composition.
Indicator 2: The student will draw conclusions about ways that artists create emphasis, unity and
balance in selected compositions.
Performance Standards: In Grade 3, students will:
 Develop the ability to use design principles (specifically emphasis) to structure compositions
OUTCOME II: HISTORICAL, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS
The student will demonstrate understanding of the visual arts as a basic aspect of history and human
experience.
Indicator 1: The student will apply problem-solving used in art to problem-solving used in other
disciplines.
Performance Standards: In Grade 3, students will:
 Identify professions in which art skills are needed.
 Describe how mathematics and art skills can be used to support one another.
 Discuss ways in which art can be used to further science.
Expectation D: The student will verify similarities and differences in the processes used to interpret and
express ideas in the visual arts and other disciplines.
OUTCOME III: CREATIVE EXPRESSION AND PRODUCTION
The student will demonstrate the ability to organize knowledge and ideas for expression in the
production of art.
Expectation B: The student will identify sources of art expression and describe the processes artists use
in developing their ideas.
Indicator 1: The student will select ideas and images from imagination and observation to express or
interpret through art.
Performance Standards: In Grade 3, students will:
 Express themes, moods, and emotions through objects, symbols and designs in two- and threedimensional visual forms.
OUTCOME IV: AESTHETIC CRITERIA
The student will demonstrate the ability to identify, analyze and apply criteria for making visual
aesthetic judgments.
Expectation A: The student will identify and apply criteria for evaluating visual form.
Indicator 3: The student will defend criteria that support judgments about the visual environment.
 Demonstrate the ability to use the processes of identification, description, analysis and
interpretation to evaluate quality of work.
General Goals: Students will gain an appreciation for the importance of protecting the Chesapeake Bay
and its inhabitants through the process of creating art and listening to the music of Tom Wisner.
Students will make a personal connection to the Chesapeake Bay by creating an illustration of their
favorite bay animal in its habitat.
Specific Objectives:
1. The students will discuss and analyze the importance of the Chesapeake Bay based on prior
knowledge.
2. The students will identify animals that thrive in and around the Bay area.
3. The students will observe those animals through photographs and videos.
4. The students will create a unique illustration of their favorite bay animal using a media of their
choice.
5. The students will listen to “Chesapeake Born” by Tom Wisner and interpret the meaning of the
song.
Required Materials:
8”x8” white drawing paper
Pencils
Sharpies
Rulers
Photographs of Animals from the Chesapeake Bay (in calendar form, printed from online or in a
PowerPoint)
Markers
Twistables
Oil Pastels
Colored Pencils
Paper Towels
Erasers
Anticipatory Set (Lead-In): Students will brainstorm reasons why the Chesapeake Bay is important to us.
What types of resources does it provide? How does it affect our climate and/or environment? Then, we
will discuss personal experiences with the bay that bring them happy memories (i.e. field trips to
CHESPAX or King’s Landing, trips to the beach in the summer, etc.) Next, they will hear the song
“Chesapeake Born” by Tom Wisner. Students can have an opportunity to discuss why they think Mr.
Wisner wrote this song and what they think it means in partners.
Step-by-Step Procedures:
1. Students will have a class discussion about Mr. Wisner’s music. They will chat about some of their
favorite memories of their experiences with the Chesapeake Bay (i.e. collecting shark’s teeth at the
Calvert Cliffs, crabbing, fishing, etc.) and why it is important to preserve these activities for future
generations.
2. Next, they will examine photographs and/or PowerPoint pictures of animals that inhabit the
Chesapeake Bay (i.e. blue crabs, oysters, blue herons, terrapins, rockfish, etc.). The students will choose
their favorite bay animal and brainstorm what the animal’s habitat would look like. Does it live above
water, under water, by a marsh, etc?
3. The students will observe as many characteristics of their animal as possible and include those details
in their rough draft. Students will complete the rough draft using pencil and drawing paper. Next, they
will add the habitat around their animal. Again, they should pay close attention to the characteristics of
the habitat. Are there grasses, sand, water, etc? Once their rough draft is approved by the teacher,
students will begin the final copy of their animal.
4. Students may choose a media that they feel suits the needs of their drawing. (i.e. if they are creating a
lot of value in their artwork, they might choose colored pencils)
5. We will pause to discuss Emphasis in a work of art. How can an artist create Emphasis? How do they
draw the viewer’s eye to the bay animal? Could they change the scale or proportion of their animal and
habitat to do so? Will they use more than one medium to draw focus to the animal and not just the
habitat? Is it important that some creatures blend in with the habitat?
6. While students work on their final copies, they will listen to Tom Wisner’s CD “Sunshine Over
Chesapeake.” This reinforces the idea of the Bay being important and will hopefully encourage further
discussion about it.
Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set):
Students will display their work on the white board in the classroom and have a gallery walk. Next, we
will critique the artwork. What are the most successful pieces? Why are they successful? Did students
use their observation skills to add lots of detail to their work? (This process could be done orally or in
written form.) Next, they will come back to discussing Tom Wisner’s music. Why would it be important
for people who live near the Chesapeake Bay to create music and/or visual art reflecting the Bay’s
offerings? As a closing activity, students will answer this question on an exit slip: Do you have more of a
desire to help save the Bay after doing this project? Why or why not?
Project Assessment
Bay Animal Illustration Rubric:
1. The student created a detailed illustration of a bay animal from observation. (25pts)
2. The student created a detailed habitat reflecting where the bay animal lives. (25pts)
3. Craftsmanship - The student manipulated a media of his or her choice neatly and appropriately
to reflect the details of the animal and its habitat. (25pts)
4. Emphasis – The student placed emphasis on his or her animal by adjusting the scale and/or the
colors within the composition. (25pts)
Total Possible Points: 100 (90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, <60 = F)
Adaptations (for students with Learning Disabilities)
Extra time will be allowed for students who need it. Also, some students who may have trouble drawing
from observation could be given stencils or texture plates to create realistic illustrations.
Extensions (for gifted and talented students)
Students who finish early, or who can adapt their skills to something more advanced, could create a
poster stressing the importance of conserving the Chesapeake Bay and its inhabitants. These could then
be displayed around the school for awareness.
Connections to Other Subjects:
SCIENCE:
Life Science and Diversity of Life
3.5.A.1 Explain the idea that in particular environment, some kinds of animals survive well, some less
well, and some cannot survive at all. (How could this relate to the animals in the Bay?)
 Identify the kind of environment needed by the Diamondback Terrapin to survive.
 Explain that the survival of an individual organism and entire population can be affected by
changes in the environment.
 Evaluate a local environment to determine if the individual needs of this organism can survive.
Environmental Science
6.2.B.1 Recognize and describe that consequences may occur when Earth’s natural resources are used.
 Explain how human activities may have positive consequences on the natural environments.
 Explain how human activities may have a negative consequence on the natural environment.
MUSIC:
Students can study Mr. Wisner in music as well and discuss his use of chants, rounds and rhythms to
convey his messages about the Chesapeake Bay. They can make connections between Art and Music as
vehicles to get a message out to people.
*I have also adapted this lesson to focus more on the terrapin population and relate further to their
science unit. We have created diagrams of terrapins and then made clay sculptures including a carapace
with the diamond pattern on it.