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Title: Day 2: Anthropomorphic “Cartoon” Collages

[Day 1: Drawing Environments]

Curriculum Theme: Community

Lesson Plan Number: 7

Teaching Assistant: Kelly Enskat

Student Teachers: Meredith Pyle

Grade Level: 1st and 2

nd

Date Taught: October 24, 2009

Aim/Goal of the 5-wk Curriculum:

• Students will learn about and discuss the idea of a community and its connection

to art, the students’ daily lives, and their surroundings. They will examine the way

in which people, places, and things interact with one another in the community.

The students will experiment with a variety of media including both two-

dimensional and three-dimensional forms of art making. Students will be

introduced to new techniques and will continue to build upon already learned

skills. They will work together to problem solve and to share ideas while

learning/observing the ways in which the classroom itself works as a type of

community. They will explore their different environments whether natural or

man-made, the interactions between humans and environments, and lastly the

parts that make up their being and how they integrate within their community.

State Fine Art Goals met by the Lesson Objectives:

• 25.A.1d Identify the elements of line, shape, space, color, and texture; the

principles of repetition and pattern; and the expressive qualities of mood,

emotion, and pictorial representation.

• 26.B.1d Demonstrate knowledge and skills to create visual works of art using

manipulation, eye-hand coordination, building, and imagination.

• 27.A.1b Identify how the arts contribute to communication, celebrations,

occupations, and recreations.

• 27.B.1 Know how images, sounds, and movement convey stories about people,

places, and times.

Objectives - Students will be able to:

• Continue their exploration of community by thinking critically about their

community and their environment.

• Examine and illustrate how people, places, and things (nature and man-made

objects) interact with one another in the community.

• Utilize objects not normally considered art-making materials, both natural and

man-made, to create a piece of artwork.

• Build an understanding of how the environment is part of their community.

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• To do this in a playful and imaginative way, the students will give

anthropomorphic qualities to their natural and man-made objects. These objects

transformed in characters will be placed in a setting in which they are interacting.

• Participate in a discussion concerning the topics of recycling, environmentally

friendly actions, anthropomorphism, mixed media collage, and natural and man-

made objects as co-inhabitants.

Vocabulary:

• Community: in biological terms refers to a group of interacting organisms sharing

an environment.

• Environment: the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors

surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.

• Anthropomorphism: is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human

creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts.

• Characteristic: a distinguishing feature or quality.

• Natural: Things that occur in nature by themselves without the assistance or

interference of human beings, like plants, animals, or weather.

• Manufactured/Man Made: An object that does not occur or appear naturally in the

environment without the assistance or interference of man in creating it.

• Recycle: to alter or adapt for new use without changing the essential form or

nature of.

• Mixed media: a technique involving the use of two or more artistic media such as

drawing, pasting in paper or objects, painting, etc.

• Collage: a technique of composing a work of art by pasting on a single surface

various materials not normally associated with one another; paper, leaves, plastic,

found objects, painting, newspaper clippings, etc.

• Thought bubbles: typically used in comic strips, text used to explain the actions or

conversations occurring in an image.

• Transform: to change in form, appearance, or structure.

• Environmentally friendly: some one or some thing that is helpful, supportive, and

kind-hearted towards the environment/world in which it/one lives.

• Moderation: being within reasonable limits; not excessive or extreme.

• Coexist: to live in peace with another, live together.

Materials:

Teacher Materials:

• Laptop

• LCD Projector

• Extension Cord

• Digital Camera with charger

• Paper Towels

• First Aid Kit

• Ziploc Bags

• Garbage Bags

• Blank 8”x11.5” computer paper

• Drying Rack

• Sponges

• Poster of Rules/Expectations

• Front Door Poster

• Classroom Rugs

• A variety of objects found in

nature- leaves, bark, twigs, rocks

• A variety of recyclable plastic

objects- water/juice/soda bottle,

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small microwaveable dessert

containers, EasyMac container,

mouth wash bottle, yogurt/cream

cheese container, etc.

o At least 40 plastic and

natural objects

• Cardboard boxes- cereal/granola

bars/tissue box, etc.

• Newspaper

• 6 buckets (“water cups”) for

markers

• Teacher made exemplar

• Multicultural/Historical

exemplars

Demo Materials:

• 1 12x16” white matte board

• Glue dots

• Glue stick

• Scissors

• Pencil

• Markers placed in bucket - variety of colors

• Permanent marker

• A piece of bark

• A yogurt container

• Piece of cereal cardboard box

• Construction paper- variety of colors

• Exemplar- completed character collage and one ! of the way finished

Learner Materials (Number of Students: Session #1: 20, Session #2: 20)

• Sketchbooks

• Nametags

• Pencil/Eraser

• Colored Pencils, Crayons, and Markers

• 12x16” white matte board- 1 per student

• Glue dots- a strip of 10 per student

• Glue sticks

• Scissors- 1 per student

• Markers placed in buckets at each table- variety of colors

• Permanent markers- 1 per student

• A variety of objects found in nature- leaves, bark, twigs, rocks

• A variety of recyclable plastic objects- water/juice/soda bottle, small

microwaveable dessert containers, EasyMac container, mouth wash bottle,

yogurt/cream cheese container, etc.

o At least 40 plastic and natural objects

• Cardboard boxes- cereal/granola bars/tissue box, etc.

• Construction paper- variety of colors

• Newspaper

Motivation/Activities and Prompts:

• PowerPoint Presentation: review last week’s topics, introduce more

artists/inspiration for students’ projects, and describe the rest of the project.

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o Review natural and man-made objects.

! Moderation, environmentally friendly, recycling.

o Artists use recycled materials in their artwork.

! John Dahlsen

o Other examples of recycled art.

! Sock wreath, picnic table, necklace, and fish painting

o Discuss part of project.

! Using man-made and natural objects as characters for project.

Giving objects human qualities.

o Review anthropomorphism.

! Sponge Bob and Veggie Tales

o Discuss next part of project.

! Making our characters talk by using thought bubbles.

o Discuss examples of comic strips and thought bubbles. Thought bubbles

help the viewer better understand the picture.

o Our project is going to combine elements of man-made and natural objects,

recycling, characters, anthropomorphism, and thought bubbles, in turn

creating a collage. Now let me show how to do it.

• Teacher made exemplar- character collages

• Historical/Multicultural exemplars

o Green Bottle Totem and Plastic Bag Abstraction Triptych, John Dahlsen:

contemporary art, use of “garbage” to create art, environmental art

o Look Mickey and Wham, Roy Lichtenstein: 1950-60s, example of use

thought bubbles to understand image

o Veggie Tales and Sponge Bob: cartoons using anthropomorphic ideas

o Becky Bones, Save the Earth, Save Yourself, (Episode #5): a comic strip

with recycling as the topic, setting outside with characters using thought

bubbles

o Poster for a Recycled Art Contest: uses anthropomorphic ideas as mascot for

poster

o Russet Fish, Valerie Jeanne: acrylic paint on crushed Pepsi can, recycled art

o Various unknown artists who create recycled artwork

Classroom Layout/Physical Set-up:

• Wall Postings:

o 1st/2

nd Grade Entrance Door Poster

o Rules poster posted on chalk board in front of class

o Time schedule posted on chalk board in front of class underneath clock

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o Majority of posters from resource center will be on back wall.

• Materials Distribution Area:

o Learner materials stated above

! A bucket of markers, each student’s picture, permanent markers,

scissors, a strip of 10 glue dots, and glue sticks for each student

will be at each table. The markers are available for students to

finish their environments from the previous week.

! Natural and man-made objects will

be placed on the materials table in the

center of the room. Newspaper,

construction paper, and cardboard from

food packaging will be on the benches in

the back of the room.

! Once students are finished coloring

they may come to the table to pick out 1

man-made and 1 natural object. This will

be done by calling on the quietest table

(4 students at a time). They will “glue

dot” their objects down on their

environment, then they can go to the

back benches to get assorted types of

paper to add clothes, detail, faces, etc. to

their characters (glue sticks or glue dots

to apply). Lastly students will use their

permanent marker and a type of paper to

create thought bubbles.

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• Demonstration Area:

o The students will remain sitting

on the front rug after discussion.

o Demo materials will be on stool

next to easel.

o Exemplars as well as demo

exemplar will be taped on easel.

• Clean-Up/Sink Area:

o Make sure garbage can is handy,

several trashcans will be located

around the room.

o The sinks will be directly to your

right as you walk in the door.

• Table Formation

o Tables will be grouped together

around the room in a “U” shaped

pattern. The materials table is in

the center of the “U”.

o A rug is placed at the front of the

room where the students will sit during sketchbook and discussion.

o A visual resource center/library will be at the front of the room in between the rug

and windows.

o The sketchbooks are on the benches by the sinks as your walk in.

o Posters will be displayed around the room.

Chalkboard

Distribution

Materials and demo table

Projector

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Procedures:

• Sketchbook Time – 10 minutes

o Students will find their sketchbooks and put on their nametags as they walk

in. Parents sign in on the sign-in sheet.

o Students will finish coloring their environments from last week’s project at

their tables.

! Remember foreground, middle ground, and background. Add

details, layer colors, etc.

o If students are finished with their environments they will have their

sketchbook at their seats to draw in until discussion.

! Prompt: Sketch a comic strip about recycling in your sketchbook.

Include at least 2 characters, the environment they are in, and text.

• Discussion/Power Point – 13 minutes

o Power Point Presentation: review last week’s topics, (re)introduce more

artists/inspiration for students’ projects, describe the rest of the project.

o Last week we talked about natural objects and man-made objects. Natural

objects include things found in nature. Can anyone tell me examples of

nature? [water, trees, flowers, fresh air, grass, and all of the components that

make up those things] What about man-made objects? [water bottles,

buildings, light bulbs, cars, planes, clothes]

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o Natural and man-made objects need to coexist or live together in today’s

society, otherwise we wouldn’t have schools for learning, dishes to eat our

food out of, or cars to get from place to place. However, if man-made things

start to take over then we won’t have any nature left or fresh air to breath in.

The best way for everything to live together and be happy is through

moderation, not going to the extreme, just use or take what you need. Also,

if we, humans, are environmentally friendly by recycling and carpooling to

school for example, then our earth will remain clean and safe to live in for

years and years to come.

! Do you understand what environmentally friendly means? [You all

are nice to your friends and family and you respect them as well.

We need to be respectful of our environment also.]

o Does anyone remember what recycling is?

! Recycling is to alter or adapt something for new use. It is reusing

something for another use rather than just throwing it away.

! Reduce, reuse, recycle

o Many artists use recycled materials in their work? Artists use what some

people would consider “garbage” to create works of art instead of using

expensive paint or metal from the store.

o Do you remember John Dahlsen, the artist we talked about last week?

! Can you tell me what this 1st piece [Green Bottle Totem] is made

out of? [green soda bottles]

! What about this next piece [Plastic Bag Abstraction]? [different

colored plastic bags]

! Artists can use all sorts of items like rope, golf balls, milk jugs,

plastic bags, food containers, cardboard, Styrofoam, and more and

more.

o Here are more example of recycled art.

! The first is a necklace. Can anyone guess what it is made out of?

[some type of rubber or balloons]

! Next, is the Russet Fish by Valerie Jeanne. It is a crushed Pepsi

can with acrylic paint.

! Third, is a miniature picnic table made out of gum wrappers.

! Last, is a wreath made out of old socks. [like a holiday wreath that

you may see on your door or over a fireplace]

o We are going to add elements of recycled art into our project today. You

may remember from last week, but we are going to use recyclable objects to

create characters as well as objects found from nature. An example would be

a soda bottle and bark from a tree.

o Does anyone remember what anthropomorphic means? In order to create

our characters we have to add human qualities to our objects. This means we

are going to have our objects talk and have arms, legs, and facial features.

Last week we talked about Sponge Bob; he is a sponge, but has human

qualities and acts like a human. Veggie Tales characters are similar

examples.

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! The middle image is from a poster for an art contest. What is the

character made out of? [plastic bottles, metal canned foods lid,

aluminum cans, etc.]

o Lastly I want to explain how our objects are going to be “talking.” We are

going to include thought bubbles onto our pictures. Do you all know what

those are? [Thought bubbles help the viewer know what is going on in the

picture.]

o Here are examples of thought bubbles.

! Roy Lichtenstein was a very popular artist in the 1960s. His piece

Look Mickey includes text so we know what is going on. Donald

thinks he caught a big fish, but we can see Mickey is laughing

because the hook is attached to Donald’s shirt.

! Comic strips use thought bubbles all of the time. Here is an

example of a comic strip that is based on recycling. [Becky Bones,

Episode #5] Remember what recycling is?

o Our project is going to combine elements of man-made and natural objects,

recycling, characters, anthropomorphism, and thought bubbles, in turn

creating a collage. A collage is a technique of composing a work of art by

pasting on surfaces using various materials not normally associated with one

another. Now let me show how to do it.

• Demonstration – 12 minutes

o Students will gather around the demonstration easel, remaining seated on the

front rug.

o Make sure all students can see.

o This lesson is the second part of a 2-day lesson. Therefore, the students

should already have their environments drawn onto their matte board. If

some are not finished they can finish during work time.

o Our goal for today is to take a recyclable object and a natural object and

transform/change them into characters by giving them faces, arms, legs,

clothes, etc. We are going to make a collage by layering paper, text, and

objects onto your scene. Our characters within our collage are going to be

environmentally friendly by saying positive things about the environment.

[some one or some thing that is helpful, supportive, and kind-hearted

towards the environment/world in which it/one lives]

! All of you have already created your environment in which your

characters are going to be placed in. So the next step is gluing the

objects onto our picture with glue dots. Remember that these

characters are interacting with each other and their surroundings. [I

have 1 exemplar with the background colored and 1 character

finished in which I’ll be adding another object to.]

! At your tables you are provided with a strand of glue dots, scissors,

permanent markers, and glue sticks. You will have to share your

glue sticks.

• We are going to be using “glue dots” to glue our objects

to our picture. You have to apply them in a certain way

for it to work. I want to stress that you have to be

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patient with the glue dots. We are not going to put them

on ourselves, on others, or on the tables and floor. If I

see anyone messing around you will be removed from

your table.

• You can rip off 1 glue dot at a time. Peel off the paper

side then place onto your object. Press evenly so dot

really sticks to the object. Next peel off the plastic side.

Now you can add more, to then place onto your picture.

You should only need 2-3 dots per object. [my objects

are a yogurt container and a piece of bark]

o When using glue dots on leaves you must apply

the dots to the paper first in the same way stated

above and then press your leaf to the dot.

• Now stick your object onto your picture and repeat with

your other object.

o The characters can be made out of: bark, leaves,

twigs, rocks, plastic bottles of any kind, lids,

yogurt containers, etc. [1 man-made/recyclable

object and 1 object from nature]

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! Later we will give you 30

seconds to pick out your objects.

Be careful with your objects. Do

not crumple the leaves or knock

off the objects.

o Your character can be lying down,

jumping, standing, sitting, or doing any

type of activity. You just have to keep

that in mind so you can create the right

type of limbs or clothes for your

character.

o The teachers will check your objects to

make sure they are securely glued onto

your picture before you can move on. In

order to move to the next step you will

raise your hand.

o You can go to the back benches to gather

3-4 types of paper at a time.

• The next step is making your objects human-like,

anthropomorphic, by giving them limbs (arms/legs),

facial features, clothes, etc. Your character can be sad,

happy, excited, mad, etc. It can be wearing shoes, a hat,

gloves, etc. It can be holding props like mine with the

trash bag. [My “bark” character is wearing a hat and

is holding a trash bag; my “plastic” character will be

placing a soda can into the bag. My characters are

helping each other pick up trash in the park.]

o It is easier to draw an arm, for example, with a

pencil on the material you are using first, to then

cut it out with scissors.

o If you are applying paper directly to your

picture (paper) you can use a glue stick.

However if you are applying paper to your

natural or man-made object you must use a glue

dot, glue sticks won’t work.

• The last step is giving your characters thought bubbles.

The bubbles will have words within them (the

conversation or thoughts the objects have). These

bubbles help viewers know how the characters are

interacting with one another and the storyline behind

the picture. In our case, our characters will be saying

good things about the environment or saying things to

let others know how to be environmentally friendly.

[The” twig” will say, “Thank you for helping me.” The

“plastic” will say, “We are helping the park by

cleaning up the trash.”]

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o Write your text first then tear or cut out of

paper.

o Text should be a reflection of the interaction

between the characters and the

environmentally friendly action the characters

are participating in.

o Here is an example of what I did, this is how I made these objects

more human like, and this is how I think they would have interacted.

! My exemplar demonstrates a plastic bottle lying on the ground.

[A leaf walks up to the bottle and says, “Why are you so sad

Mr. Water Bottle?” The bottle replies back, “I am sad because

someone threw me on the ground next to trees and flowers and

I should be placed in a recycling bin.”]

! Students MUST finish their collages today.

o Does anyone have any questions? If not, could you all please go

quietly back to your assigned seats and wait until we tell you to start

working. The quietest table will be able to pick their objects 1st.

• Work Session – 45 minutes

o Students will spend time creating their characters on their scene in which

they colored last week.

o The students’ drawings, markers, permanent marker, glue sticks, glue dots,

and scissors will already be placed at their seats.

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o The quietest table will be able to pick out their objects 1st. After you glue

objects down, you can pick out paper products to make the objects human-

like. Lastly you will make your thought bubbles.

! Ask students to repeat steps back.

o After completing their drawing, students will pick two objects for their

characters [1 man-made and 1 from nature]. These items will be at the

materials distribution area in the center of the room.

! 1 table at a time will go to the materials table to pick their objects.

They are given 30 seconds to pick their objects.

o Students will then spend time gluing their objects down on their picture.

[Remember techniques for glue dots. If anyone has trouble, teachers will be

available.]

! The teachers will walk around and check the students’ pictures at

this point (environment + 2 objects) in order for them to move to

the next step.

• 30 minutes left

o After the objects are glued down, students will use construction paper,

newspaper, or cardboard to create the limbs, facial features, and thought

bubbles.

! The materials for this step are on the benches in the back of the

room. Students may take 3-4 items at 1 time. Use those items,

return the items on the table, to then get more.

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• Newspaper for arms, construction paper for eyes, and

cardboard for a hat, for example.

! It is easier to draw things with pencil on the material you are using,

first, to then cut it out with scissors.

! Students should use the glue dots if gluing paper to natural or man-

made objects but they can use a glue stick to glue paper to paper.

! Students should not waste the materials. If a student is cutting a

little eyeball out of newspaper, he/she should not just throw away

the whole paper, but put it back on the materials table.

• 10 minutes left

o Teachers will be walking around giving suggestions or commenting.

Teachers should check to see if some students are doing the project

incorrectly or going out of order and help fix it.

o The students will use a permanent marker or regular markers to write in

their thought bubbles (that is made out of newspaper, construction paper, or

cardboard). Students should practice writing their saying first for misspelled

words, length, etc.

! The students should write comments about being environmentally

friendly and the comments should be directed towards the other

character. They are interacting with each other and their

environment.

• 5, 1 minute left

o OK, everyone put your materials down and put your hands in the air! It is

time to clean up.

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• Clean-Up – 5 minutes

o Once students are finished with their character collages the teacher will call

each table 1-by-1 to bring their projects to the benches in the back of the

room.

o Close all caps on markers tightly and place them in their bucket at your

table. Place scissors, glue, remaining glue dots, and permanent markers in

middle of table.

o Call on several students to gather all paper materials to bring to the back

benches [construction paper, newspaper, cardboard].

o Call on several more students to collect any glue dots remaining on tables to

bring to the materials table.

o Ask all students to look on the ground, on tables, and around the room to

collect any little scraps to throw away, including glue dot scraps.

o Ask students to wash hands with soap and water.

• Closure – 5 minutes

o Students will come to the font of the room and sit on the rug.

o Make students clip their nametags onto their sketchbooks.

o Today we made character collages. Our characters were made out of man-

made and natural objects. The characters are environmentally friendly.

! Do you remember what that

means? [being nice to the earth-

recycling]

! We recycled our man-made

objects today to use as artwork.

! The artist John Dahlsen does this

in his artwork. Do you remember

the green bottle totem and plastic

bag abstraction?

! Do you remember what the

wreath, necklace, or picnic table

was made out of from the power

point? [socks, rubber, gum

wrappers]

- There was another word that we

reviewed today, its really BIG.

• Do you remember what that is?

[anthropomorphic- giving human

qualities to non-human objects]

• This is what we did to our objects. We gave them limbs and facial

features. We even made them talk by using thought bubbles.

o Grab 2 students’ works. Explain the use of objects and interaction. Read

what their objects are saying and why it is environmentally friendly.

o Everyone did a great job today. Your projects look great and you cleaned

really well. Have a good week.

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Timetables:

Time allotted for lesson (90 minutes total):

Activity Minutes

Discussion 13 mins.

Demonstrations 12 mins.

Design/Work Session/Sketchbooks 55 mins.

Clean-up 5 mins.

Closure 5 mins.

TOTAL 90 mins.

Preparation Time:

Activity Time

Writing lesson 5 hours

Revising lesson 6 hours

Gathering materials/resources 3 hours

Set-up (before classes) 4 hours

Making an example/board 2 hour

TOTAL 20 hours