UNIT OVERVIEW LESSON TITLE: Henri Matisse Paper Cutouts TEACHER NAME: Nicole Jacob, Brianna DeWitt, Taylor French CO­TEACHING ASSISTANTS’ NAMES (if applicable): UNIT TITLE (if applicable): ​
Narrative​
: “Let’s Tell a Story” th​
GRADE LEVEL: 6​ grade CLASS TIME: _84m__Minutes __2_Days/week __1_# Session(s) LESSON SET SUMMARY: The theme of this lesson set is on the narrative or “Let’s Tell a Story”. Students will learn to look to the world around them for artistic inspiration and see how famous French artists Henri Matisse and Georges Seurat did the very same thing! During Lesson One, students will be introduced to French artist Henri Matisse, learning about the events of his life, his artistic development and his very prolific art career. Matisse is perhaps most well­known for being one of a few 20th century artists, called “Les Fauves”, who created the art style of Fauvism. This style lead him to focus more on the use of bright colors and bold lines to give his pieces an expressive value, rather than representational or realistic qualities. This can be seen even when he began making his paper cutouts during his late years and up until his death. Students will have the opportunity to look at some examples of his paper cutouts and will be encouraged to reflect upon what they think the underlying “story” may be. Then, in keeping with the theme, each student will write down their own brief narrative about someone important to them in their lives (be it friend, relative, or pet) and use it as inspiration for a construction paper cutout composition, in the style of Henri Matisse. During Lesson Two, students will learn about another French artist, who inspired Matisse himself! Georges Seurat was a post­impressionist painter, who is noted for his invention of pointillism, a method of painting in which small “dots” of color are applied to form patterns, creating an image. Seurat also looked to the world around him for inspiration, as can be seen in his paintings of public parks, rural and suburban life, and even the circus (another thing he and Matisse had in common!). Students will have the opportunity to learn about Seurat’s life, career, and see some of his many works of art. They will also learn about the painting method that he created: pointillism. Once again, in keeping with the theme, students will use their narrative skills to write a short story, expanding their horizons from including one person to including multiple figures, as can be seen in Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”. This change in subject will encourage them to consider not only themselves and those close to them, but also all the other inhabitants of their community. LESSON PLAN ONE SUMMARY: During Lesson One, students will watch a powerpoint presentation that will introduce them to artist Henri Matisse introduced to Henri Matisse and his different styles of art through a Powerpoint presentation. They will then write a short narrative about someone in their lives (a friend, relative, or even a pet) and produce a construction paper cutout composition, in the style of Henri Matisse, that depicts this story. For this project, they will be able to use up to 6 colors of construction paper to create various shapes and place them on a piece of 9”x12” bristol board. The students will use scissors to cut out their shapes and arrange them to create a rhythmic and colorful composition. Their written stories will then be attached to the back of their pieces, upon completion. CLASSROOM LC PLAN: MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT: Room Arrangement: Management Approach:​
Students can get up on their own and get their own supplies, as needed. The teacher circles the room, readily available to any student who may require assistance. Classroom Rules, Roles and Norms:​
Students may sit where they desire. The teacher does give out roles when needed (getting supplies for the rest of the class from the closet, etc.) Students are also responsible for putting all supplies away and leaving their work area in it’s original state. Technology Needed:​
Computer/Internet, Projector. Materials Needed: ​
9”x12” white or colored bristol paper, 9”x12” colored construction paper, glue sticks/Elmer’s glue, scissors, pencil/pen to write with. Research Material: Henri Matisse "Jazz", Book Henri Matisse “Drawing with Scissors” Video ​
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN0okOq8Hyc Various works of art, by Henri Matisse Artistic Language: Composition­ ​
The arrangement of the parts of an artwork, within its boundaries. Negative Space­​
Negative space is the space around and between the subject(s) of an image. The use of negative space is a key element of artistic composition. Focal Point ­ ​
A focal point is anything that stands out, or is of interest and draws your eye to the subject of a composition. There are many ways to create a focal point e.g. through the use of color that stands out above the other colors, OR, the size of the object can be large in comparison to other objects, OR, the shape can be different from other shapes. Shape­ ​
A 2­dimensional element of art. Geometric shapes include: squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, etc. There are also “organic” shapes, that have less defined edges or boundaries. Color­ ​
An element of art, referring to “Hue”. There are primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Colors can have an impact on “mood”. Mood­ ​
A general atmosphere, state of mind, or feelings that a work of art inspires in the viewer. Les Fauves­ ​
A group of modern 20th century artists who created art in the style of Fauvism. This style was not well­received by critics and these artists were infamously called, “Les Fauves”, which is French for “Wild Beasts”. Fauvism­ ​
A style of painting that originated in France, during the turn of the 20th century. This style of painting is characterized by vibrant color applied aggressively and freely, to give the piece a more expressive quality than most representational or “realistic” art. Academic Language: Creating­ ● Compose​
: Students will compose/illustrate their own creative story. Applying­ ● ​
Show​
: Students will show an understanding of the interactions between composition, shape and space through their own artmaking. Remembering­ ● Identify​
: Students will be able to identify the artwork of Henri Matisse and that he was a French artist who is considered the founder of Fauvism. Analyzing­ ● Deconstruct: ​
Students will take apart the written elements of a personal story and reconstruct them using shapes and color to create a visual narrative. Understanding­ ● Describe​
: Students will be able to describe the visual characteristics of Henri Matisse's artwork as well as that of their own. ● Explain: ​
Students will be able to explain the artistic movement of Fauvism, in their own words. REFERENCES/SOURCES: Mrs. Portelli’s lesson plans Jazz​
, Book, by Henri Matisse Henri Matisse “Drawing with Scissors” Video ​
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN0okOq8Hyc Moma.org ­ Henri Matisse Biography.com ­ Henri Matisse TLC II Textbook­ ​
Emphasis Art: A Qualitative Art Program for Elementary and Middle Schools (9th ed.) STANDARDS & OBJECTIVES TWS 2: Task A 2.1­2.4 Learning Outcomes: What should students know, understand and be able to do? Enduring Understandings/big ideas: Big Idea: ​
Narrative Enduring Understanding: ​
Creativity and innovative thinking are essential life skills that can be developed. Artists and Designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media and art making materials. Essential Questions: What conditions, attitudes, and behaviors support creativity and innovative thinking? What factors prevent or encourage people to take creative risks? How does collaboration expand the creative process? How do artists work? How do artists and designers determine whether a particular direction in their work is effective? How do artists and designers learn from trial and error? National Standards: NCAS VA Cr1 Artistic Process: Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work. Anchor Std 1: Creating: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Anchor Std 2: Creating: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work. NjCCCS 1.1 The Creative Process All students will demonstrate an understanding of the elements and principles that govern the creation of works of art, in dance, music, theater and visual art. Our lesson will teach students the importance of various elements and principles that impact the creation of works of art, such as: focal point, positive and negative space, and symbolic use of color and objects, by watching a PowerPoint presentation about Henri Matisse and his use of these elements and principles. In addition, they will get to experiment with them, through their own art making. Content Statement:​
Art is a universal language. Visual communication through art crosses cultural and language barriers throughout time. Through our lesson, the students will learn how art can be used to communicate ideas and emotions, by looking at the artwork of Henri Matisse and speculating on their meanings. Though Matisse was a French artist and was from a different culture, they are still able to understand his work. They will understand that colors can be symbolic, standing for ideas or concepts, by watching a PowerPoint introduction about the life and work of Henri Matisse. CPI: 1.1.8.D.1 Describe the intellectual and emotional significance conveyed by the application of the ​
elements of art and ​
principles of design​
in different ​
historical eras​
and cultures. Students will learn about the intellectual and emotional significance of art during the turn of the 20th century in France, by watching a PowerPoint presentation about Henri Matisse and Fauvism. They will learn about the impact of Fauvism on modern art and how we think about color and expression. OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: Knowledge Based Students will know that… ● The artistic movement of Fauvism impacted the art world, more specifically modern art. Students will know that it led to abstract expressionism, separating color from representational purposes, by participating in a teacher led discussion after viewing a powerpoint introduction. ● Henri Matisse was a French painter in the late 1800’s who is known as the founder of Fauvism, an art movement that is identified with the emotional and bold use of color, by participating in a teacher led discussion after viewing a powerpoint introduction. ● Art can tell a story that is sometimes not obvious at first glance by examining a work of art and inferring the story/meaning behind it during a class activity. Skills Based Students will be able to… ● Write a brief story that will serve as inspiration for their cutout composition ● Use the expressive properties of shape and color to create a figure cutout, in the style of Henri Matisse. ● Create a composition that includes the main character of their story as a focal point, and demonstrates the proper use of positive space with little negative space. ● Skillfully use a pair of scissors to create a variety of shapes with clearly defined edges. RATIONALE & BACKGROUND INFORMATION Our Cooperating Teacher is placing a lot of focus this marking period on famous artists from the past and art history. We feel that our lesson plan set fits in well with her long­range instructional goals and will also be taught in a manner that is consistent with her daily classroom procedures. Our Collaborating Teacher begins new lessons with a presentation, using the projector and she writes the requirements for projects on the board, so that students always know what is expected of them. We wanted to execute our lesson in a manner that is based on what the students are accustomed to, so that they are less focused on new, sudden changes to classroom rules, norms, and procedures and can perform more productively. Prior Knowledge/Experiences Applicable​
: ● Students have studied fauvism and modern art. ● Students have practiced cutting with scissors and gluing. ● Students have prior knowledge of the basics of composition. ● Students have prior knowledge of basic principles and elements of art. Developmental Traits: In class we discussed that students ages 13­15 include visual images of non­concrete ideas and emotions represented by symbolic objects. At this age symbolism is an important cognitive advance for students as they start to move from a literal type of thinking to a more symbolic and metaphoric way of thinking about the world. Students are now starting to see that an object or color can represent something other than what it is visibly seen; color and objects can have deeper meanings and can express an emotion/feeling that can be different for each of us. This lesson addresses these needs, by looking at the symbolic use of color used by Henri Matisse in his paper cutouts, through a powerpoint presentation. Students will also be able to explore their own use of symbolic objects and color, through making their own cutout compositions, focused on a narrative theme. Cultural Contexts: Though most of our students come from similar socioeconomic backgrounds and primarily speak only the English language, it’s important for students to learn about European (French) culture and how it has influenced the artwork of our own. After all, the history of academic training in art originated in Europe. Most American artists left America to train in Europe, specifically in the French Academies, to master their artistic skills. At this age, students are experiencing many changes in their lives and are learning to have their own “voice”, looking at the world through curious eyes and forming their own opinions and conclusions. By having students experience and experiment with styles of art that are new to them, we are opening more doors for them to create and express themselves more freely and completely. In our TLC II textbook, Emphasis Art: A Qualitative Art Program for Elementary and Middle Schools (9th ed.)​
, the authors discuss 6th grade students’ interest in experimenting with new techniques and we believe that this lesson will open a new door for them to create art in a way that they may have never considered. Also, this lesson teaches students that personal stories can inspire their art­making, as it does for most artists. ASSESSMENT PLAN STUDENT ASSESSMENT A formal, summative Analytic Rubric will be used at the end of this lesson. The criteria for this rubric will be based on: 1. One page paragraph on what their composition will be about. 2. All tasks that are needed to complete the final project. Matisse Cutout Project Rubric Name: Class/Grade: Date: 1 = Weak 2 = Moderately Weak 3 = Average 4 = Moderately Strong 5 = Strong Questions 1 2 3 4 5 Student created a one paragraph (3­4 sentence) narrative about their composition Student has utilized positive shape to create a composition with little negative space (Has filled the page) Student created a focal point. Animal or Man Student created a border with contrasting and bold accents Student overlapped a majority of the shapes Student met the deadline of the narrative and final composition Comments: Total Points: _____________________________________ THE LEARNING PLAN INTRODUCTION ​
(Motivational Dialogue) Topic Question: T: Do you think this piece of art tells a story? S: No! I can’t tell what’s really going on.. T: What do you think the artist is trying to tell us? S: I don’t know! T: Give it a try. S: I think the story is about a girl who likes to dance. T: Good you’re on the right track. It’s about (you tell the story)… T: Can you recognize any of the shapes in this piece of art? S: I see a person, a squiggle, a border. T: What can you tell us about the colors in this artwork? S: The background is black, the person is bluem, and the border is yellow. T: Are people blue? S: No T: Well why do you think the artist made a person blue, when we know they’re not. S: It’s just paper so artists can make people any color they want. T: How does the color blue make you feel? S: Maybe sad T: Yes exactly…or calm. This is what we call the symbolic or emotional use of color. Artists often use color to create a mood or make the viewer feel a certain way. T: How would you go about making a piece of art like this? S: Paint! S: Markers. S: The computer. T: Good, but what about paper? Association: T: (Shows Matisse cut­out) This is the artwork of Henri Matisse. This piece is depicting the character in Greek Mythology named Icarus. He made an artificial pair of wings, and when he flew too close to the sun, they melted and he fell into the ocean. T: Art often tells a story! Visualization: T: This art was achieved by “drawing with scissors”. This type of approach was made famous by Henri Matisse, in which he uses scissors to cut out shapes to arrange into a collage. Transition: T: We are now going to be creating a story of our own with a Matisse style picture to go with it. T: What do you think needs to be done first? S: We need to choose a story? T: Yes. This will help us determine the colors and shapes we need to make. T: What story do you want to create? SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES​
(Outline Procedures Step­by­Step) Before the lesson starts Objectives will be written on the board outlining the major points that need to be completed: Focal point of Man or Animal, Border with accents, no more than 4­6 colors, Positive and Negative space. 1. Opening activity: Showing Matisse’s Icarus. We will ask questions about what the students see, feel or get from the piece of art. 2. PowerPoint: Matisse introduction and examples of his work. We will explain Fauvism, and how it influenced Matisse’s work. We will then show a video of Matisse himself “drawing with scissors”. 3. We will introduce (or review, depending on what our students have already learned) important terms, such as “Focal Point”, “Positive and Negative Space”, and “Symbolic Color”. 4. Let the students go back to their seats to begin writing their story, on the writing worksheet that will be handed out, that will inspire their own Matisse style artwork. Story must be one paragraph (3­4 sentences) long. Students will be given a period of ten minutes to do so. While the students are doing this, we will begin setting up for the demo. 5. First, we will tell the class our story for our demo piece. For example, “My friend Sally is a ballet dancer. She had a recital last weekend. She moved very gracefully to the music. When the music stopped, she took a bow,”. One of us would write this story down on the writing worksheet and begin the piece by choosing a background color and gluing it to the front of the bristol board. Then, we will explain that another one of us will be helping to cut out the shapes, for the sake of saving some time (a dancer­like figure, some swirls, some confetti­like pieces, etc.) As one of us cuts out the shapes, another will be starting to place them on the page, experimenting with different possibilities, before gluing them down. During this demo, we will explain that we will only be using 4­6 colors to create a composition. Then, we will add a border and decorate it with bold accents. We will also show an example of using positive and negative shapes, in our piece, incorporate overlapping shapes, filling the page, and we will also be sure to point out the focal point of our piece. After we are satisfied with the composition, we will glue the writing sheet to the back, to complete the demo piece. 6. Students will choose their construction paper for their solid background, and accent shapes. 7. Students will first design their border for their picture to their background using strips of construction paper and small shapes for designs. 8. Students will then begin to draw with scissors­ planning shapes, cutting and placing them compositionally, to tell their story. 9. After they are happy with their shapes and arrangement of their compositions, they will glue them down to their background. 10. Once students have completed their Matisse inspired work, they will glue their stories to the back and we will then wrap up and ask review questions. CLOSURE/CULMINATING EXPERIENCE​
(Sharing & Reflecting) Celebrating Accomplishments​
: Upon completion of their projects, we would like to have the students gather around at the front of the classroom to have a look at what they have accomplished, as a group. Sitting comfortable in a circle, we would have a discussion about some of the students’ works. We would spread all of the works out on the floor and have the students point out the ones that get their attention, asking them why they chose certain pieces. Though this method of celebrating accomplishments could seem childish, we believe that they would enjoy it, regardless. Students like to voice their opinions! Recalling Important Concepts: 1. What is a focal point? Where is/are your focal point(s)? Why did you choose to emphasize these? 2. How did you use positive and negative space? 3. What is symbolic color? How did you use color symbolically? ADAPTATIONS/MODIFICATIONS Our 6th grade group includes a few students who require extra attention and help. For this reason, there is an aide in the classroom, who sits with this group of students to better meet their needs. Upon asking our CT about whether we should make any adjustments to our lesson to accommodate the needs of our students, she responded by saying that it will not be necessary. Due to the part of our lesson in which students will have to write a story, these students may need a little extra time to do so. We will allow these students to have some extra time and make sure that they are ready to move on to the next step. One of us will also stand near by, so that if a student needs help with their writing, they could tell one of us what their story is and we could write it down for them. The requirements for this project will be clearly displayed, so that if any of our students need to refer back to them, they can. Sometimes, it is difficult, for any student, to remember all of the things that they need to include in their projects, if it is not clearly stated or written for them to see. TEACHER SELF­EVALUATION AND REFLECTION