Monday, November 2, 2009

Stained Glass Windows Grades 3-4

Resources to consider St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges, Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
Intended Grade Level(s): 3-4
Estimated Class Period(s): 2
Materials Required: 12X18 watercolor paper, rulers, pencils, examples of stained glass and stained glass windows, tempera cake paint, black electrical tape, sharpies

Goals & Objectives:
The goals of this lesson are to use a story as inspiration for a stained glass window composition and paint the design using tints and shades.
GLEs Accomplished In Lesson:
3rd Grade PP 1.D Demonstrate an additive process (black tape)
3.A Figure: Create an original artwork of a figure in an action pose.
EP 1.A Identify and use horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines.
1.G Identify and use middle ground, overlapping and change of size to create illusion of space
IC 2.A Explain how the math principle of symmetry is used in art
HS 1.A Identify works of art from Europe (realistic)
4th Grade PP Using tempera, add color to white to create a ting. Using tempera, add black to color to create a shade. PP 3.C Create artwork that communicates ideas about time (past, present and future)
EP 1.A Identify and use outlines. EP 1.G Identify and use placement and change in detail to create the illusion of space. EP 2.B Identify and use a center of interest (focal point)

Project (Steps, Examples, etc):
1. Introduce the unit with some examples of stained glass and some pictures of stained glass windows. Tell the story of St. George and the Dragon and point out books in the room about knights, castles, etc.

2. Tell my experience with stained glass and explain how the window we are painting will be very simple. Show them an example of stained glas (a candle holder) and show the solder lines.
3. Students will draw a scene from St. George and the Dragon. I point out that many stained glass windows were originally created to tell stories from the bible. This drawing will require quite a bit of realism. I had examples of how-to books with horses, knights, princesses, and handouts with copies from the book. I showed examples of how this could be a fearsome story with a scary dragon vs. a brave knight or it could tell a sweet story with a beautiful princess falling in love with her knight in shining armor.
4. The first thing students need to do is use a ruler to draw the frame. This was actually really hard for my students to hold the ruler and trace the corners to create triangles and then connect each triangle with a line to make a rectangle in the middle. The scene was to go inside the smaller shape in the middle. This took the entire class period. Students only had a little bit of time left to design their scene.


Week 2
1. Review information about Stained glass windows from last week. Emphasize the idea of solder and glass to make a scene. Show an example of a stained glass window of St. George and the dragon. Also, emphasize the idea of smaller lines within larger areas to create the sky...small pieces of glass make up larger areas and we need to draw those as part of our design.


source

2. Since I had my students make this on expensive, heavy paper, I decided to draw the frame on the paper so that all they would have to do is add the black tape over the top of my lines and transfer their sketch onto the new paper with a sharpie. I demonstrated how they would peel of long pieces of tape and cover my pencil lines with the black tape. I also told them not to waste the tape. Do not put it on free sheets. For the triangle corners, they could just wrap it around the back of the paper. I assisted the ones that need a little bit of help.
5. If time allows, after drawing their picture with a sharpie marker, pass out the colored pencils for students to begin coloring the scene. This is the opposite of how a stained glass window is made. A craftsman or artisan would actually cut all the glass, lay it on a pattern and then solder it together.


6. If a lot of time remains, students could color a picture of a cornucopia stained glass window using markers.




Week 3
1. Show an example of a real stained glass window (again) and point out the black lines. A craftsman would look at the original design and fill in the pattern with pieces of glass. The glass would be fused together using solder. Our black pencil lines and tape lines are the solder. Today we will be adding color to our design.
2. Some students still may need time to finish drawing their picture. They are only to color the main scene in the middle. We will paint the frame.
3. Demonstrate how to paint the frame using bright colored tempera paints. Mention the fact that I also have metallic paints: silver, gold and copper...these only have tiny brushes in them and are intended for things on their design that might be metal: shields, swords, crowns, etc.
4. This should take most of the art session. If time remains at the end, I had coloring pages of Christmas stained glass windows available for them to color.




Assessment and Reflection:
Students will design the Stained Glass Window painting based on a teacher created rubric as it aligns with district objectives and goals. Students should be able to complete the drawing and painting with little or no teacher assistance and the finished product should have good craftsmanship and details appropriate to the grade level.

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