OBJECTIVES:
The student should be able to:
• Construct a tessellation template. (Application)
• Construct a design using their tessellation template. (Application)
• Create a pattern in their design using color. (Synthesis)
TIME: 60 minutes
MATERIALS
Fabric Swatches
Tessellations PowerPoint (Appendix 1), computer
Example Designs (Appendix 2)
Index Cards
Tape
Loose-leaf Paper
Pencils
White Construction Paper
Crayons
Tessellation Checklist (Appendix 3)
Tessellation Color Sheets (Appendix 4)
INTRODUCTION/PREPARATION/ANTICIPATORY SET:
The teacher will show the students several fabric swatches. The teacher will ask the students to tell her what they see on the fabric and what they like about the fabric (A.R.: patterns, designs, shapes, etc…). The teacher will tell the students that today they will be making pictures that look like the fabric swatches. The teacher will explain that their pictures will be created using repeating shapes. These pictures will be something called tessellations.
ACTIVITY:
Teaching Model: The teacher will show the students a PowerPoint Presentation about tessellations (Appendix 1). The presentation will explain what a tessellation is, discuss M.C. Escher and his work with tessellations, and show the students some of M.C. Escher’s designs. The students will be asked to identify examples of symmetry and identify patterns while looking at the slides.
Guided Practice:The teacher will show the students some tessellations that she has created using the same methods the students will be using today. These examples will be placed on the board to serve as examples of what is expected for the final product. The teacher will tell the students she created these tessellations using the following steps:
Create a design template
Trace the design template on paper
Color the design to create a pattern.
The teacher will write these steps on the board and then practice each step with the students.
The teacher will explain that the design template will be created using index cards. She will hold one index card up and model cutting into it. She will begin cutting at one vertex and end at the adjacent vertex. Then she will slide the two flat sides together and tape them together to create a shape. She will then give each student an index card and tape and instruct the students to create a design template as she just did.
The teacher will model tracing the design template on paper once, then sliding the design template over and tracing it again. The teacher will remind the students that in a tessellation, the shapes touch exactly, so they students should not leave spaces when tracing their designs. The teacher will give the students a sheet of loose-leaf paper and instruct the students to practice tracing their design template. This will not be for the final product. It will just be practice.
The teacher will remind the students that the tessellations all had patterns that were made using color. The teacher will ask the students to name some patterns they could use on their designs (A.R.: ABAB; AABAAB; ABBABB; ABCABC; ABCAABCA, etc…). The teacher will record their responses on the board. The teacher will explain that they will be using their crayons to make these patterns. An AB pattern might be red/blue or green/purple, etc… The teacher will suggest that the students draw a small color dot inside each shape to create their design then color the entire tessellation. This may prevent them from making careless errors.
Independent Practice: The teacher will tell the students that they will now create their own tessellation. The students are to follow the three steps listed on the board to create their own tessellation as practiced. The teacher will give the students a sheet of white construction paper to create their tessellation on. If students mess up, they will be given another sheet of paper. Early finishers will be given tessellation color sheets found at www.tessellations.org to color (Appendix 4).
Closure: The teacher will call on a few students share their completed tessellations with the class. She will have the students identify the patterns in the designs and look for examples of symmetry. The teacher will ask the students if they have ever seen patterns that tessellate around their school, at home, or in the community (A.R.: brick walls, tile floors, stained glass windows). The teacher will tell the students that they will look for examples of patterns that tessellate when the walk to lunch during the week.
EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:
Formative- The teacher will observe and monitor the students for understanding during guided practice. The teacher will complete a Tessellation Checklist (Appendix 3) as the students work on independent practice. This checklist will be combined with other performance assessments to determine a participation/class-work grade for the nine weeks period.
Summative- The students will be formally assessed on patterns and symmetry later in the week.
ART CONTENT/CONCEPTS:
Technology- (Technology Standard 6- Technology Operations and Concepts: Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems and operations. Students: a) understand and use technology systems, b) select and use applications effectively and productively, c) troubleshoot systems and applications, d) transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.)
Social Studies- The teacher will inform the students the life of M.C. Escher and the importance of his work in art history.
COMPREHENSIVE
CURRICULUM, GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS:
Second Grade Math GLE #31- Recognize, extend, create, and explain patterns that involve simple rotations or size changes with geometric objects.
Second Grade Math GLE #32- Recognize and apply patterns in problem-solving in other content areas and real-life situations.
Visual Arts Content Standard 1- Explore and identify imagery from a variety of sources and create visual representations.
Visual Arts Content Standard 3- Use art vocabulary and the elements and principles of design to convey the language of art (create and discuss own artwork).
Second Grade Language Arts GLE #42: Deliver informal presentations that demonstrate understanding of a topic.
Second Grade Language Arts GLE #43: Give rehearsed oral presentations about general topics using eye contact, appropriate volume, clear pronunciation, and appropriate visual aids.
Second Grade Language Arts GLE #44: Use active listening strategies, including asking for clarification and explanations
MODIFICATIONS | ACCOMODATIONS:
The teacher will have a few tessellation templates already constructed. She will give these to students if they have difficulty constructing their own.
The teacher will allow early finishers to complete tessellation color sheets found at www.tesslations.org (Appendix 4)
Peer assistance and teacher help will be used as needed when creating the tessellation templates and designs.
Repeated directions will be used as needed.
Popsicle-pulls will be used to ensure an equal number of genders and races are called upon.
VARIATIONS | ENHANCEMENTS:
none provided
TEACHER REFLECTION:
My students absolutely loved looking at the pictures of M.C. Escher’s tessellations. They were much more eager to point out the patterns and symmetry they saw in his pictures than in simple pictures I had already shown in class. Before teaching this lesson, I became nervous that creating the template and tracing their design may be too difficult for some of my students. I made several sample templates and traced a few designs to have on hand in case I needed them. Overall, the students exceeded my expectations during the activity. They all successfully created a tessellation template; however, some of them created very complicated templates with many details. The complicated templates were difficult to trace, so these students used one of my samples when creating their design. Only one student had trouble tracing his design. I let him practice for a while, but he became very frustrated, so I gave him a design I had traced ahead of time. I have one student who has very poor fine motor skills and always has trouble cutting, so I thought he would probably have trouble tracing his design. Although he took longer than some of the other students, he surprised me having one of the neatest traced designs. The finished tessellations were beautiful. Many were neater than the sample designs I made. My students loved this lesson and all wanted to make more tessellations. One student came to school the next day and said he taught his mom how to make tessellations and they made several that evening.
Level 2
When I teach this lesson again, I will stress the importance of creating simple tessellation templates. I did not expect the students to get so complicated with their designs. The creation of the templates also took a little longer than I had anticipated. I would suggest that anyone who is short on time skip creating the template and give the students pre-made templates. This would allow the students more time to focus on creating their designs and identifying patterns and symmetry in their designs. When the students finished their tessellation, I gave them pictures of tessellations I found on the Internet to color. They were ok with this, but I think next time I will let my early finishers create another tessellation. I think some of their second attempts would be even more impressive than their first attempts.
Level 3
I used the Conceptual Framework “Responsible Educators Engaging in Professional Practice” in the planning and implementation of this lesson. I liked that I was able to teach a little art history in this lesson. The lesson required students to know about patterns, symmetry, and slides which had all been taught in previous lessons. I observed gender preferences with the choice of colors in the student’s designs. The girls used pinks and pastels while the boys used brighter and bolder colors. The students were actively engaged throughout the entire lesson. At the end of the lesson, I asked the students to identify patterns and symmetry in each other’s designs. They really enjoyed analyzing each other‘s work. If I had been formally observed by my principal or if parents had been present in my classroom, I believe they would have been very impressed with what the students created.
REFERENCES:
Louisiana Second Grade Comprehensive Curriculum; Unit 6, Activity 12
The Big Book of Quick and Easy Art Activities. Scholastic, 2007
Official M.C. Escher Website http://www.mcescher.com/Gallery/gallery.htm
Platonic Realms http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/minitext/escher/#tess
Tessellations.org http://www.tessellations.org/index.htm
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._C._Escher
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