“The Big Orange Splot” Art Project
Context:
This lesson is appropriate for the 4th grade. Students will have already been exposed to color mixing with the 3 primary colors. This lesson should be spread out over a couple of days, spending about 45 min. on the project each day.
Objective:
-By the end of this lesson, students will know the difference between “having a dream” for the future and “having a dream” while you’re sleeping, through class discussions.
-By the end of this lesson, students will be able to express their own dreams by drawing a house that represents their own life dreams.
-During this lesson, students will be gaining more practice in color mixing by painting the house that represents their dreams with mixed colors.
Preparation:
“The Big Orange Splot” by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
White construction paper 12”x15”
3 primary colors of paint (cayan, magenta, yellow)
Paintbrushes (small and large)
Colored transparencies of examples of houses from the book
Lesson Introduction: 20 min.
Discuss with students what it means to “have a dream.” Compare the differences between having a dream while you’re sleeping and having a dream for the future. Have students share some of their own dreams for the future. Tell them that today you will be using the term “dream” in the context of wishes or goals for the future, not dreams they have at night.
Learning Activities:
1. Read “The Big Orange Splot” to students, afterwards reiterating what is meant to “have a dream.” Show students some of the overheads of the different houses in the story and discuss what possibly the dreams of the characters were. (15-20 min.)
2. Have students draw a rough draft replica of a house that represents their own dream.
Have students write in the color they want to paint everything so that when it comes to paint, they will be ready to get started right away. (20 min.)
3. Then students will draw a final copy of their “dream house” on a piece of 12”x15” white construction paper. (10 min.)
4. Students will then mix colors using the 3 primary paint colors and paint their house vibrantly. This could take a couple of days so that paint can dry before layering colors.
5. After students have finished painting their house and it is dry, have them trace over the lines of their picture with a thin black marker. Then student can cut out their “dream house.” (15 min.)
Extension:
1. Students with a severe disability that may not be able to draw, could have an aide assist them by discussing with them their dreams for the future. Then the aide could draw a house that represents their dreams by them telling them what they would like the house to look like. If they could not paint, possibly they could either use crayons or have the aide paint or color it for them. This way, the student would still be able to have their dreams represented with the rest of the classes.
2. Create a bulletin board displaying the classes “neat street” with the quote, “Our street is us and we are it. Our street is where we like to be, and it looks like all our dreams.”
Closure:
After the whole class has finished making their replica of the house that represents their dreams, we will have a class sharing time so that everyone can see how each other’s
”dream house” turned out. I will then discuss with the students that dreams are not always permanent, what they dream today may not be their dream in a few years from now. Then I will ask students what they think might cause someone to change their dreams.
Student Evaluation:
During the class discussion, I will be able to tell if the students are grasping the concept of “having a dream” by their responses to the questions I prompt and their responses to what their dreams are for the future.
When they are color mixing their paint, I will be able to observe whether or not they are able to come up with the color they want by mixing the two appropriate colors.
Teacher Self-Reflection:
Before-I am anticipating that there will be some students who are going to come up with some dreams that are pretty “far out there” and that they may not be able to represent through a drawing of a house. To assist in this, I will reiterate that our dreams for the future need to be realistic and that we shouldn’t just be silly and choose something that is unlikely to happen in our future.
I am also anticipating that during the painting of the houses, things may get a little chaotic with children needing more paint on their plate, spills, etc. I plan on having my mentor teacher around to assist with these needs. We will also be enforcing the “Art path” during this time, which is a designated path that we use during art lessons, which students must follow to prevent paint spilling, etc.
After-The lesson went very well. I did a good job of preparing all of the materials before hand and having everything set up in an orderly fashion, with the assistance of my mentor teacher. The students were very engaged in our discussion of dreams and everyone wanted to share what their dream for the future was. They also enjoyed the book, “The Big Orange Splot.”
As I had anticipated, there were a couple of boys whose dreams were to be “video game” designers. When they went to draw their house, they got too detailed which then made it hard for them to paint. There were some other students who drew items on their house too small, which also made it too difficult to paint. For the future, I think I would stress the importance of not getting too detailed and the importance of drawing the details big enough that you will be able to paint them.