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How I See Nature:
Using Watercolors and Paper Collage
Rebecca Tiani
Northern Illinois University
Fall 2012
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Unit Description & Lesson Plan (One of Two)
ARTE482
Student Teacher: Rebecca Griffith and Rebecca Tiani
Class Information
Grade Level(s): Ages 7 - 12
Number of students: 9
Time available for this lesson: 5 hours
Class Location: Northern Illinois University, Jack Arends Building, Room 301
Teaching dates: September 22, September 29, and October 6
Unit Big Idea: This lesson’s big idea’s is perspective. The students will understand the
difference between personal and other people’s perspective and how they shape the world.
Essential Questions:
 What is perspective?
 Why is it important to understand your own perspective?
 Why is it important to understand other’s perspective?
 How do artists use perspective in art?
 How do you think you can incorporate perspective in your artwork?
Title of Lesson: How I See Nature
Art/Cultural Connections related to the Big Idea that will be explored in this lesson:
 Basic principles of fundamental perspective
 Fundamental paper collages techniques for 2D and 3D
 How to mimic and gather inspiration from artists presented
 How to use shape and color successfully in work
 How to use water-based watercolor paint
List of Teaching Resources:
 The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury
 The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
 Images of artwork done by Pablo Picasso, David Hockney, Helen Musselwhite, Ingrid
Siliakus, and Brian Dettmer
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1. Objectives:
1.1 Conceptual/Cognitive Objectives:
OBJECTIVE I: Given artwork by various artists from different time periods, students will
understand clearly how to manipulate images to show personal perspective.
OBJECTIVE II: Given the process of creating a personal collage, students will explain
clearly how they expressed their perspective on nature.
1.2 Artistic Skill Objectives: 2
OBJECTIVE III: Given construction paper, students will construct skillfully a collage
highlighting what they feel is the most important part of nature.
OBJECTIVE IV: Given the art works of Helen Musselwhite and Brian Dettmer, students
will creatively meaningfully how to layer paper to create interesting compositions while
incorporating shape and color.
2. Assessment Criteria:
OBJECTIVE I: Did students clearly understand how to manipulate images to show personal
perspective?
OBJECTIVE II: Did students clearly explain how they expressed their perspective on
nature?
OBJECTIVE III: Did students skillfully construct a collage highlighting what they feel is
the most important part of nature?
OBJECTIVE IV: Did students meaningfully incorporate how to use shape to emphasize
their perspective?
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3. Learner Characteristics:
3.1 Developmental Rationale
This is a great lesson for this age group because it deals with identity. How they see the
world. Accompanied with an artist statement, the students will be able to critically think
through how they see the world. They are also then able to compare their perspectives
against other students in the class. This is made easy because they are all dealing with the
same topic of how they see nature. This will only benefit students in the future because they
are beginning to think open mindedly to other people’s views.
3.2 Students with special needs
No accommodations needed
4. Literature and References
4.1 Art Terms/Vocabulary
 Shape: 2-dimensional line with no form or thickness. Shapes are flat and can be grouped
into two categories, geometric and organic.
 Color: refers to specific hues and has 3 properties, Chroma, Intensity and Value. The
color wheel is a way of showing the chromatic scale in a circle using all the colors made
with the primary triad. Complimentary pairs can produce dull and neutral color.
 Size: refers to variations in the proportions of objects, lines or shapes. There is a variation
of sizes in objects either real or imagined
4.6 List of references
 "Visual Arts: Elements and Principles of Design." Visual Arts: Elements and Principles
of Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/files/elements2.htm>.
5. Integration/Connecting Links
5.1 Daily/Ordinary objects
 Not relative
5.2 Music and other art forms (optional)
 Not relative
5.3Poetry/Story/Myth/Tale/Literature (optional)
 Not relative
5.4 Non-art related subject areas (optional)
 Not relative
6. Illinois State Goals
Goal # 25.A3d Visual Arts
In this lesson: Students will be able to identify and describe the elements of shape and
scale and the principals of harmony through their work and writing.
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Goal # 26.B.3d Visual Arts
In this lesson: Students will be able to demonstrate skillfully how to create 2dimonsional works in an abstracted way.
Daily Lesson Plan Components
7. Media/Art Materials Needed and Organization of Supplies
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Construction paper
Glue sticks
Markers
Scissors
Table Covers
Cups (Dividing markers)
Sketch book
Pencils
Erasures
Watercolor paper
Watercolor
Brushes
Blow dryer
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8. Instructional Procedures Outline with Time Frame
Time Frame
Day 1
15 Minutes
Teacher Activities
Student Activities
Introducing/ ice breaker
Introducing themselves by
drawing a quick sketch about
themselves
20 Minutes
Introducing Ideas – What is
perspective?
Read The Real Story of The Big
Bad Wolf
Critically think and participate
with teacher.
10 Minutes
Presentation of other artists
Actively participate and compare
and contrast artists
5 Minutes
Break
Break
20 Minutes
Brainstorm as a class what they feel
is the most important part of nature
and how and what to sketch
Come up with concept and begin
to sketch inside sketchbook
10 Minutes
Demonstration on how to use
watercolors
Pay attention to demo
15 Minutes
Begin to work with watercolors and
practice on separate paper
Practice watercolor for their
collage
10 Minutes
Start watercolor backgrounds
Start watercolor backgrounds
5 Minutes
Clean up
Clean up and put materials away
Begin sketching with a daily topic
and share with the class (draw your
element in 3 different ways)
Sketch
10 Minutes
Continue watercolor a backgrounds
based off skies
Continue water color backgrounds
15 Minutes
Lecture on how to use scale, shape,
and color to emphasize importance
and how to use unity to give a
personal perspective
Actively listen and respond to
questions
Day 2
10 Minutes
7
5 Minutes
Break
Break
10 Minutes
Demonstration on how to make
paper collages
Pay attention to demo
40 Minutes
Allow students to work on collages
Continue working on collages
10 Minutes
Clean up
Clean up
Begin sketching with a daily topic
and share with the class
Sketch and share
10 Minutes
Prezi presentation
Actively listen and respond to
questions
10 Minutes
Demonstration on adding three –
dimensional elements
Pay attention to demo
50 Minutes
Finish Collages
Finish collages
5 Minutes
Break
Break
15 Minutes
Artist Statement worksheet
Write out artist statement
15 Minutes
Critique and share
Participate in critique
10 Minutes
Clean up
Clean up
5 Minutes
Next lesson presentation
Actively listen and brainstorm
ideas
Day 3
10 Minutes
9. Instructional Procedures Script
Day 1:
Entrance Activity
I will have open sketchbooks on the table and ask the students to draw something describes
them. They will later use these to introduce themselves to their new classmates. “Good
Afternoon, I have a sketchbook at your seat; I would like you to draw something that describes
something about yourself.
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Introduction:
“Hello Everyone! We are going to start off by sharing what you have sketched to describe
yourself and add to your describing by also sharing why you are here, and what you want to be
when you grow up.”
Students will share about themselves.
“We are going to read a book called The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Can someone tell us
the story of the three little pigs? Ok, that’s one perspective. Let’s see how the wolf sees it.”
“We’re going to start off by defining perspective. What is perspective? (Responses) Why is it
important to understand your own perspective? (Responses) Why is it important to understand
other’s perspective? (Responses) How do artists use perspective in art? (Responses)”.
Presentation:
“This is Pablo Picasso, has anyone heard of him before? What do you know about him? Do you
know any of his art work? We are going to look at his time period called Cubism. David
Hockney is another artist we will look at; he is a contemporary photographer and painter. He
approached perspective in a very interesting way by creating photo collages. In what ways is his
work different from other photographs you have seen? What does his work say about his
perspective on the world?”
I will then re-introduce the students to Picasso and Hockney and ask them to compare and
contrast the artist’s perspective on the world.
“We are going to look at your personal perspective on nature. Take out your sketchbooks and
start sketching the first thing you think about w1hen you think of nature. Talk with the people
around you if you need to, but remember, I want to make yours unique to you.”
Students will brainstorm and sketch what they think is the most important thing about nature.
I will then take the students outside (weather permitting), take them to the window, and show
them a power point of different images of nature to sketch a landscape, and other different
components outside that they think will add to their collage.
Demonstration and Art Making Activities:
The students will be first need to be shown how to use water color. I think it is important for this
project to work with wet on wet. I will show them first how to apply the water to the paper then
apply the color. Once it dries a little bit, you can add more color to make it darker.
I will allow students time to experiment with the water color.
…
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Then we will pull out larger sheets of watercolor paper, a practice sheet, and images of different
types of skies. I will show the students how make an appearance of a sky and how to save light.
They will first practice on the small sheet to see how the colors mix, and then tackle the big
sheet.
…
The students will take a couple of colors that you want to use in your collage. Make a basic
outline of the shape you want to create. What do I want to create first? One way to emphasize the
importance of your main object is to make it bigger or make it unique in color. Why is it
important to not put detail in right way? I will show how to use different shades of the same
color and different colors to achieve a sense of detail.
Once you have an object ready, you do not have to glue it down right away. It’s important that
you don’t because you can change the composition as you add more components to your image.
…
I will call the students back after they work on their pieces for a while, and show them how to
integrate the objects by drawing them together.
Clean Up:
“I want everyone to check their art work to make sure that there is no extra glue bubbling out; I
am going to stack these on top of each other. If there is, wipe it off with a paper towel please.
Once you have checked for glue, bring up your work and stack them neatly on top of this table.
Put your markers and scissors back into your cups and put them nicely on this table.
Scrapes that can be reused need to be sorted by color so we can use them next week. The scrapes
that cannot be reused need to be put in the recycling. When you are done, sit down and sketch in
you sketchbook.”
Lesson Closure/Concluding Activities:
“Did anyone discover anything working with the paper and/or watercolor? How are you
emphasizing your personal perspective on nature? Is there anything you would do differently?
Does your work resemble David Hockney or Pablo Picasso, in which ways or how?”
Just in Case:
Students will layer the construction paper instead of using watercolor. Then draw on top of the
paper to learn how to integrate to mediums.
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Day 2:
Entrance Activity:
I will have open sketchbooks on the table and ask the students to draw something describes
them. They will later use these to introduce themselves to their new classmates. “Good
Afternoon, I have a sketchbook at your seat; I would like you to draw you important element in 3
different ways.
Introduction:
“We’re going to start off by looking at different ways to emphasize the importance of your
element in your college. How do you think you can make you element stand out? (Responses)”.
Presentation:
“We’re going to look at 3 ways to tackle this issue. We’re going to look at shape, color, and
scale. What do you notice about these images? (Students will be shown 3 simple images on each
element) Can you use more than one at a time?”
Next I will show the students a series of advertisements utilizing the different elements.
I will then re-introduce the students to Musselwhite and ask them to identify what elements she
used and discuses unity.
“How can you use these different elements in your collage? Why is it important to use these
elements? How can using these elements benefit people’s understanding of your perspective?
How can you use unity to benefit your college and how does it show your perspective?”
Demonstration and Art Making Activities:
The students will be first need to be shown how to use water color. I think it is important for this
project to work with wet on wet. I will show them first how to apply the water to the paper then
apply the color. Once it dries a little bit, you can add more color to make it darker.
I will allow students time to experiment with the water color.
…
Then we will pull out larger sheets of watercolor paper, a practice sheet, and images of different
types of skies. I will show the students how make an appearance of a sky and how to save light.
They will first practice on the small sheet to see how the colors mix, and then tackle the big
sheet.
…
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The students will take a couple of colors that you want to use in your collage. Make a basic
outline of the shape you want to create. What do I want to create first? One way to emphasize the
importance of your main object is to make it bigger or make it unique in color. Why is it
important to not put detail in right way? I will show how to use different shades of the same
color and different colors to achieve a sense of detail.
Once you have an object ready, you do not have to glue it down right away. It’s important that
you don’t because you can change the composition as you add more components to your image.
…
I will call the students back after they work on their pieces for a while, and show them how to
integrate the objects by drawing them together.
Clean Up:
“I want everyone to check their art work to make sure that there is no extra glue bubbling out; I
am going to stack these on top of each other. If there is, wipe it off with a paper towel please.
Once you have checked for glue, bring up your work and stack them neatly on top of this table.
Put your markers and scissors back into your cups and put them nicely on this table.
Scrapes that can be reused need to be sorted by color so we can use them next week. The scrapes
that cannot be reused need to be put in the recycling. When you are done, sit down and sketch in
you sketchbook.”
Lesson Closure/Concluding Activities:
“Did anyone discover anything working with the paper and/or watercolor? How are you
emphasizing your personal perspective on nature? Is there anything you would do differently?
Does your work resemble David Hockney or Pablo Picasso, in which ways or how?”
Just in Case:
Students will layer the construction paper instead of using watercolor. Then draw on top of the
paper to learn how to integrate to mediums.
Day 3:
Entrance Activity:
I will have open sketchbooks on the table and ask the students to draw something describes
them. They will later use these to introduce themselves to their new classmates. “Good
Afternoon, I have a sketchbook at your seat; I would like you to draw yourself with your
emphasized element in nature; something that has happened or wished what happened.
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Introduction:
“We’re going to start off by looking at different ways to improve your collages. What are some
ways you think this could be accomplished?” (Responses)”.
Presentation:
“We’re going to look at some artists who use paper to make three dimensional objects. What are
some ways you have seen paper turned into a 3-d object? We are going to look at some artists
who do this.
This is Brian Dettmer. How to you think he does this? … Well, he takes a real encyclopedia and
cutes into them; he does not add any of his images. How is he achieving the 3- dimensionality
with flat paper and images?
Is there anyone else we have looked at who did this?.... YES! Helen Musselwhite. However, she
adds paper on top of each other instead of taking it away.
This is Ingrid Siliskus. How is she achieving three- dimensionality? … Has anyone seen a pop
out book? Very similar way. With the recourses we have here today, we will not have as much
detail if you want to do this but we can get some cool lines with this approach.
How are you going to enhance your collage with adding 3 dimensional qualities?”
Demonstration and Art Making Activities:
“So what were some techniques we saw the artists using?”
I will then go through and show the students how to bend paper into a 3-D form, make tabs,
make feet, and how to layer the paper.
Clean Up:
“I want everyone to check their art work to make sure that there is no extra glue bubbling out; I
am0 going to stack these on top of each other. If there is, wipe it off with a paper towel please.
Once you have checked for glue, bring up your work and stack them neatly on top of this table.
Put your markers and scissors back into your cups and put them nicely on this table.
Scrapes that can be reused need to be sorted by color so we can use them next week. The scrapes
that cannot be reused need to be put in the recycling. When you are done, sit down and sketch in
you sketchbook.”
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Lesson Closure/Concluding Activities:
“Did anyone discover anything working with the paper? How are you emphasizing your personal
perspective on nature? Is there anything you would do differently? Does your work resemble
David Hockney, Helen Musselwhite or Pablo Picasso, in which ways or how?”
Just in Case:
Students will make paper origami out of paper.
10. Handouts
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See page 20
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11. Visual examples for instruction
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12. Students’ artwork examples
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13. Recommendations for Future Use
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Spend more time on watercolor. Students would have the ability to go back and
incorporate more watercolors into their work.
Expose the students to the 3D techniques earlier in the lesson.
Introduce the students to less vocabulary words and focus on two words rather than three.
14. Photos of Classroom Organization
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15. Photos of Final exhibition:
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Name: __________________
Paper Collage: Post Thoughts
Describe what your perspective on nature and why. (Think about what you wrote in your
journals. What other purposes does your element benefit or help?)
How did you emphasize your element? (Think: Color, Scale, Shape)
What artists did you draw your inspiration from? How did you do this? (Artists names: Pablo
Picasso, David Hockney, Helen Musselwhite, Ingrid Siliakus, Brian Dettmer)
Why is it important to share your perspective on nature?