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Introducing Elements of Art: The Line

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

To build upon last year's community of artists, we wanted to instill a love of creativity, expression, and innovation in our students early on in the year. To begin, we introduced a basic element of art: the line.  We noticed a strong interest in lines when our students were drawing, writing, or constructing at various centres throughout the classroom. Initially, and to get our students' "minds on" to this concept, we talked about lines we see in our world. By investigating our classroom, we discovered many lines around us; on the ceiling, on the floor, on the wall, on the shelves, and all around us! Every time a student found a line, he/she was asked to describe it. Surprisingly, our students came up with amazing vocabulary. Lines found were described as: thin, think, straight, wiggly, zigzag, broken, dotted, wavy, scribbled, crossing, horizontal, and vertical! One student in particular shouted out: "It's a hopping, happy line!" - I.D.

 

Intended as an exercise in visualization and a kinesthetic approach to line drawing, the students were then asked to close their eyes as we played classical music in the background. Once the music stopped, they were individually provided with a marker and large paper to which they were asked to draw their emotional responses to the music that they just heard. With the music back on, they recorded what they saw and felt in their minds.



At first there was a lot of giggling, but after the initial excitement it became very quiet in the classroom! All of the students became deeply engaged in the activity while listening to Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." We immediately found a temporary space to display everybody's work and we began an introductory exercise in art criticism. We asked our students to take a "sitting gallery walk" and observe the work of their peers. Next, we asked them what kinds of lines they saw and they discovered when two lines met, that they became a shape! Finally, everybody shared their work in front of the group and talked about what they liked most about their work.

This simple exercise demonstrates how important art experiences are for children. They play an important role in a child's physical, emotional, and cognitive development while also tying in perfectly to the curriculum. The students were able to express emotions, experienced autonomy and built self-confidence during this experience. In the past few weeks, our class has engaged in many more creative experiences. From printing with lines, marble-painting, working with weaving frames and elastics, popsicle sticks and more, our students have truly enjoyed creating different line designs!

Food for thought: Next time you venture into the outdoors, a supermarket, your home, or even your backyard, see what kind of lines you can find!

Thanks to my amazing DECE, Heidi Theis, for planning, implementing and documenting such a wonderful activity! Looking forward to seeing where "lines" take us!


    3 comments:

    1. I taught high school art for two years, however this year I am embarking on a new journey, teaching art to elementary school students. Kindergarten has really blown me away with their creativity and passion for learing. I am so excited to have a new found inspiration! As for your post, a huge Thank You! I was planning on teaching the element of line using the book, " Harold and the purple crayon," however I think your approach is more exciting! Thank you so much for sharing your lesson.

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      1. Hi Claudia,

        Thank you so much for taking the time to visit, read, and comment on my blog! I always love hearing from other educators! I can't speak enough about the creative potential in our youngest learners! Their ability to take risks with any art medium is inspiring and the products they create are incredible! My DECE, Heidi Theis, is also incredibly talented within the realm of visual arts. Given that it's her area of "expertise," I have truly enjoyed watching her experiment, teach, and apply different art techniques using a diverse range of materials with our students. I'm so glad our lesson was able to inspire you and I truly feel like it would be a hit for any age group!

        Stay tuned because we hope to post lots about our exploration with the arts this year! I'm actually trying to convince my DECE to create her own Kindergarten blog just around Visual Arts!

        Sincerely,
        Jocelyn

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    2. I am moving to art next year and will definitely be using this. LOVE it - thanks!!

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