America the Beautiful Elementary
The Art Problem
Bring music and pride for the
3. Have students illustrate the
phrase in pencil.
United States into the artroom.
4. Have students outline the draw-
Objective
ings “dark and waxy” with a black
Students will create an illustration crayon and paint over the crayon
of a phrase from the song “Amer- with watercolors using a resist
ica the Beautiful.”
technique.
5. Display each student’s work
Materials
alongside the lyrics on a bulletin
pencils, 9 x 12"( 23 x 30. 5 cm)
board.
white paper, black crayons, water-
colors, brushes
Assessment
How well did each student’s illus-
Procedures
tration match the words? How
1. Discuss with students the con-
dark did he or she outline their
cept of pride in one’s country. Talk drawings, and how well did they
about the wonderful things found fill them in with paint?
in America. Write the words to
“America the Beautiful” on the
chalkboard and have the class
By Tracey Hunter-Doniger,
sing the song together. Discuss
the meanings of the words and
an art teacher in the Portage
Township Schools in Portage,
phrases and how they can be illus- Indiana.
trated.
2. Beforehand, type up the song’s
lyrics and cut them into strips and
put them into a bowl. Have stu-
dents pull a phrase out of a bowl.
Expressive Site Drawing High School
The Art Problem
your paper. Encourage them to be
Students will create a work en plein expressive and focus on lights and
air, which is a French expression
darks. Allow the surface of the
that means “in the open air,” and is paper to dry.
used to describe the act of painting 3. Using a viewfinder, ask students
outdoors.
to find an interesting composition
Objective
in the landscape. They should find
Students will utilize simple materials an area that allows for a strong
to create a modern landscape.
focal point and complexity of com-
position.
Materials
4. Once they have blocked in their
scrap paper or canvas, paint
drawings, ask students to utilize line
washes, desktop drawing materials and value to add interest.
such as ink pens and grading mark- 5. Allow students to add creative
ers, classic drawing materials such
elements such as collage or stencils.
as charcoal and graphite, masking 6. Have students draw the interior
tape and stencils, other assorted
of the buildings and create draw-
materials
ings that show two- and three-
Procedures
point perspective utilizing the same
1. Select a location, on campus or technique.
off, that has interesting architecture
and/or landscape.
2. Have students create acrylic or
gouache washes on the surface
of your paper. Using gradation,
they should apply a variety of
paint washes to the surface of
By Nicole Brisco, an art teacher
at Pleasant Grove High School in
Texarkana, Texas, and a contrib-
