Name of Project: Comics and Cubism
Grade Level or Age of Participant: First grade
School, Teacher and Classroom: Expo Elementary, Ulla Tervo-Desnick, classroom 1108
MCAD Teaching Artist: Hanna Kivimaki
Number of Students: 26
Visual Arts Content or Standards
First grade geometry will be integrated into making comics. The students will be required to identify and design shapes, and use them as a tool for conveying a story. The lesson will involve a writing aspect as well.
Curricular Link / Standards
Reading and Writing:
1.1.7.7 “Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.“
1.8.5.5 “Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.”
Math:
1.3.1.2 “Compose (combine) and decompose (take apart) two- and three-dimensional figures such as triangles, squares, rectangles, circles, rectangular prisms and cylinders.”
Art history in form of cubism, is also a core part.
Overview of Project
The students will make a piece of art that involves both comics, cubism and geometry. They will choose from a variety of pre-cut shapes that are made of colored paper, arrange them to form a comic and then draw in them.
“Big Ideas”/ Essential QUESTION(s)
How to use shapes in a way that supports your storytelling? How to convey a story in only two to five pictures?
Student Outcome Objectives
Students will:
Learn to connect storytelling and illustration.
Identify what shapes will work together and create a good composition.
Learn about the history of cubism as an art form.
Prior Knowledge
Some basic knowledge of geometric shapes and drawing. The students should also be able to write enough to convey a story together with the pictures (just a word or two is fine)
Examples of Artwork
There will be an example drawn by the teacher and then also examples of famous cubist artworks.
Additional Resources
Extensive research about cubism and about teaching that particular age group.
Assessment
At the end of the lesson the students will put the artwork on display (somewhere in the class, it can be just on top of their desks) and walk around looking at everyone’s work. Then everyone (who we have time for) is asked to introduce their comic and tell what they thought was fun and what was difficult about the project.
Materials
60+ different drawing pens
30 sheets of colored paper approx. 8.5x11 (or bigger) pre-cut into different geometric shapes
30+ sheets of better quality drawing paper approx. 8.5x11 (or bigger)
26 glue sticks
26 pencils
26 erasers
Learning Activities and Timing
1. A power point presentation and explanation of the project (10-15 minutes)
-explanation of what cubism is
-example images
-introduction of the project
2. Choosing and arranging shapes (10 minutes)
-students choose from a variety of different shapes and arrange them on paper.
-students glue the arranged shapes on the piece of paper
-Teacher and assistants walk around helping the students and providing feedback.
3. Drawing the comic (30 minutes)
- the students start drawing the comic using their pencils.
- the students ink their comic with the drawing pens provided.
- the students should use the cubist example works as inspiration and strive to draw in a simple but effective way.
-Teacher and assistants walk around helping the students and providing feedback.
4. Sharing (5-10 minutes)
-The students will put the artwork on display and look at everyone’s work.
-everyone is asked to say what they thought was fun, what was difficult
(the students don’t have to be finished at the end of class, hopefully this can be a fun project that they continue later on their free time!)
Student Work:
Beautiful example of a student's art work; this one is very much inspired by cubism!
This student wanted to be a mermaid.
This student took a very creative and experimental approach by going outside the panels with the story!