PROJECT: HISTORICAL FIGURES

TEACHER: MILLIE EICHLER

SCHOOL: LAFOURCHE PARISH TAG PROGRAM

CONTENT: History and Visual Art

GRADE LEVELS: Elementary (2nd –- 5th)

OBJECTIVES:

  • Obtain awareness of other countries and cultures
  • Create a portraiture collage of an historical figure using costume details to suggest a period in time.

TIME: Three 60-minute class periods

MATERIALS:

  1. books on other cultures (ex. History of Costumes)
  2. samples of artists’ portraiture work (ex. DaVinci, Klimt, Rembrandt, Holbein)
  3. large mat board or canvas (at least 24”x18”)
  4. masks
  5. paints (acrylic or tempera)
  6. brushes
  7. cups to hold water
  8. paper towels
  9. markers (thin, thick, metallic, etc.)
  10. collage materials (ex. tissue paper, fabrics, beads, lace, feathers, construction paper, felt pieces, etc.)
  11. glue, glue gun and glue sticks
  12. glitter

ACTIVITY:

History: Portraits tell us a lot about the place and time of a person. It is like a frozen slice of time or a peek into a window. A portrait gives a viewer a chance to discover a great deal about its subject and the point in history in which the subject lived.

As the students delve into their chosen character's history have them also discuss what their clothing and/or background would tell our future generations.

Vocabulary:
portraiture –- a formal painting of a person
collage –- an artistic composition constructed of odd bits of materials.
composition –- made up of several parts
culture –- the characteristics of a society
costumes –- the mode of dress typical of a time, place, etc.

STEPS:
FIRST DAY
1. Explain to the students that they will be creating a portraiture collage of a historical figure.

2. Present the children with as many examples of costumes from different countries and time periods as you can find. The students can discuss why certain costumes were worn. (war, religious, work, etc.) Have each student pick a costume they like and have them do more research on their choice.

3. Next, show several different artists’ examples of portraits. Explain that in the past this was the only way to preserve a person's likeness. Also, historical portraits are very important to us today because they tell all sorts of things about what people wore and what they did.

4. Give each student a piece of mat board and a mask and have them lightly sketch an outline of their figure. Encourage them to think of the whole composition such as what their figure will be doing and what the background will include. Ask them to bring materials from home that they might want to use in their composition.

SECOND AND THIRD DAY
5. Lay out a variety of materials for the students to browse through and explain that they will decorate their figure with several different mediums. (acrylics, watercolors, markers, pastels, felt, lace, burlap, yarn, ribbon, etc.)

6. Give them their figures and mask and encourage them to keep looking back at their research. Also remind them that a collage is made up of a collection of different things and to be creative.

7. The background is important in telling about what the person does or where he/she is from.

8. Finally, each student is required to write a poem, riddle or story about their person or give a montage.

HANG THEM UP TO SHOW!!!!

 

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:

Have each student share with the group the role of the chosen subject, the country/period in which the subject lived, and why the student chose the clothing and background in the composition. Ask the other students to assess how accurately the composition portrayed the figure.

 

ART CONTENT/CONCEPTS:

Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.

GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS:
Louisiana High School World History GLEs:
6 Analyze the point of view of an historical figure or group in world history. (H-1A-H2)
17 Conduct historical research using a variety of resources to answer historical questions related to world history and present that research in an appropriate format. (H-1a-H5)


National Standards for Arts Educaton – Visual:
4. Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.
a. know that the visual arts have both a history and specific relationship to various cultures
b. identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures, times, and places
c. demonstrate how history, culture and the visual arts can influence each other in making and studying works of art

TEACHER'S REFLECTION:

This project would be good for any lesson that includes a focus on a key person (George Washington, Louis Pasteur, George Bush…). The extra time the students put into coming up with a costume and background to tell about their figure's life will be an unforgettable experience and a great tangible product to showcase after. This lesson was interesting and exciting.

 

GALLERY | EXHIBITS | K-12 | STUDENT TEACHERS | HOME