Overview   Timeline   Lesson 1: The Sensory Palette   Lesson 2: The Literary Palette    Lesson 3:  The Color Palette 
Lesson 4: The Studio Palette  Enhancements & Follow-Up   Resource List  Illustrative Materials & Showcase Gallery 
Assessments & Evaluation Strategies    Gallery Guestbook   Teacher Diane Lufrano's Adaptation of this Unit
Link to Other Lessons by Lori  (middle school level)

Lesson #2: The Literary Palette: Illuminating Information: Artists' Styles

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

1.  explore a variety of periods in art history utilizing classroom books, magazines, photos and Internet research.

2.  investigate the periods in art history known as Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Surrealism, Realism, and the Modern Art Movement.

3.  analyze and appreciate the unique painting styles of van Gogh, Monet, Seurat, Dali, Rockwell, Hopper, Matisse, Warhol, and Hokusai.

Time Required: Days 3 & 4 from  timeline. Two  40-minute periods. 

Advanced Preparation: Preview Getting to Know The World’s Greatest Artists:  "the best way to introduce kids to art and artists is through fun, if kids can look at art in a fun way, and think of artists as real people, the exciting world of art will be open to them for the rest of their lives.”

Materials: Mini Lessons: Read Aloud: Getting to Know The World’s Greatest Artists: Vincent van Gogh, by Mike Venezia and Camille and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt

 Vocabulary:        Day 3: brushstrokes, emotions, temperament, bold, brilliant, color

      Day 4: picture book, author, illustration, reproduction, ochre, harvest gold

Procedure: Day 3: Teacher reads aloud to students, Getting to Know The World’s Greatest Artists: Vincent van Gogh, by Mike Venezia. Upon completion of the read-aloud, students will respond to the following during class discussion. Students will follow this line of questioning as they explore classroom library of books of artists they would like to study for this project.

• What did you “get to know” about the artist van Gogh that you hadn’t known before? (He was a preacher, and worked in an art gallery, and never smiled in his self-portraits.)

• What did Van Gogh try to capture in his paintings? (The emotional color of the water, flowers, and trees.)

• Why was his life so sad and tragic? (His brother seemed to be his only friend who understood and supported him; many didn’t understand his paintings until his death.)

Day 4: Teacher reads aloud Camille and the Sunflowers.  After story has been read, students will respond and discussion will follow.

• Can we tell why van Gogh painted “Sunflowers”? (When van Gogh was in the South of France, the warm colors of the surrounding sunflowers in the countryside made him feel better.)

• Why is this book called Camille and the Sunflowers?

Cooperative group work to share and discuss results of homework research reports and pictures to decide which artist’s work is best suited for a 3D Installation.

Homework/Evaluation: Students will be given a homework assignment to read and explore other artists to be considered for their project from our classroom Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists Series and classroom Scholastic Arts Magazines: Vincent van Gogh, Salvador Dali, by Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Hokusai. (See Resource List)

They may also opt to explore a variety of museum websites to reflect upon today’s class discussion of paintings and to start creating sketches for their final project.

http://giverny.org - Monet’s house and gardens

http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl – the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam

http://philamuseum.org/exhibitions/exhibits/dali/sp_ex/ -Salvador Dali exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

HOME