Grades:		Lower Elementary (K–2)
Subjects: 		Visual Arts
Time Required: 	1 hour in a museum gallery
Author: 		This lesson was adapted by J. Paul Getty Museum Education staff from a curriculum originally published on the Getty’s first education Web site, ArtsEdNet.

Featured Getty Artworks
A Storm on a Mediterranean Coast, by Claude-Joseph Vernet 
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o144721.html
A Maid Milking a Cow in a Barn, by Gerard Ter Borch
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o830.html

Lesson Overview
This is the second lesson in a sequential unit. Students practice looking skills from Lesson 1 in a museum gallery. Through a drawing exercise and discussion, students use the elements of art to explore the differences between viewing original works of art and reproductions. Students also compare how the elements of art are used in different works of art in the same gallery.

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
-  point out differences between viewing an original work of art and viewing a reproduction. 
- deepen their understanding of a particular work of art and the artist who created it.
- point out similar uses of the elements of art in different works of art.
- use vocabulary about the elements of art to discuss a work of art. 
- use the elements of art in the same way that an artist used those elements in his or her work.

Materials 
-  A work of art on view at your local museum. 
- Drawing paper and colored pencils. Be sure to confirm with the museum’s education department that it is okay to bring these materials into the galleries. 
- Clipboards

Lesson Steps
1. Once you arrive at the museum, help students find the focus work of art using a map or other guidance system offered by the museum. 
2. Once you have arrived in the gallery where the work of art is displayed, ask students to find it and to quietly look at it for one minute. Give students 5 to10 minutes to express their immediate reactions to the original work, as you did at the beginning of Lesson 1. As students bring up points, categorize their responses and bring the vocabulary of formal analysis and the elements of art into the discussion. For example, “Shawn pointed out the ladder in the ter Borch. What elements of art can we see in the ladder?” (line, color, shape). Or, “Veronica mentioned the people pulling bodies from the water in the foreground of the Vernet. What else do you see in the foreground?” 
3. Ask students to compare the original artwork to the reproduction they viewed in class. You can discuss the following points: 
- Surface texture. What is the condition of the work? Did they expect the surface to look the way it does? Compare the surface to that of other works in the gallery. 
- Vantage point. Is the work three-dimensional? How does the work change when you view it from another angle?
- Scale. How big is the artwork? Is it bigger or smaller than you expected? Does the size affect your experience of the artwork? How does the size of the gallery or the other works around it affect its appearance? 
4. Hand out clipboards and drawing supplies, reminding students not to point at works of art with writing implements.
Grades K–2: 
Ask students to choose one detail from the work of art to draw. Give students 10 minutes to draw. When they are done, take turns looking at each student’s drawing as a class. For each drawing, prompt students to identify and discuss how their classmates used the three elements of art covered in Lesson 1 (color, shape, and line). 
Grades 3–5:
Ask students to make a drawing based on the original work of art. They can copy an area of the original or create their own original work using the same elements and style of the artist. Give students 20 minutes to draw. Look at each of the students’ drawings as a class, prompting the class to identify the elements of art and discuss how their classmates used them in their artworks.
5. Ask students if they can identify other works in the gallery by the same artist. If there are none, are there any similar works by other artists? Compare the styles of these works by focusing on the way the artists use the elements of art. Do you see the same kinds of lines in the different paintings? Do you see similar use of color in different paintings? Describe similar shapes you see in the paintings.
6. Ask students if they preferred viewing the reproduction artwork in the classroom or the original at the museum. Discuss their reasons and prompt them to compare the two experiences, record their responses, and save the list for Lesson 3. 

Standards Addressed

Visual Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools
Kindergarten
1.0 Artistic Perception
Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design
1.3 Identify the elements of art (line, color, shape/form, texture, value, space) in the environment and in works of art, emphasizing line, color, and shape/form. 

2.0 Creative Expression
Skills, Processes, Materials, and Tools 
2.6 Use geometric shapes/forms (circle, triangle, square) in a work of art. 

4.0 Aesthetic Valuing 
Derive Meaning 
4.1 Discuss their own works of art, using appropriate art vocabulary (e.g., color, shape/form, texture). 
4.2 Describe what is seen (including both literal and expressive content) in selected works of art.
 
Grade 1
1.0 Artistic Perception
Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design
1.3 Identify the elements of art in objects in nature, in the environment, and in works of art, emphasizing line, color, shape/form, and texture. 

2.0 Creative Expression
Communication and Expression Through Original Works of Art
2.8 Create artwork based on observations of actual objects and everyday scenes.

Grade 2
1.0 Artistic Perception
Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design
1.3 Identify the elements of art in objects in nature, the environment, and works of art, emphasizing line, color, shape/form, texture, and space.

4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
Make Informed Judgments 
4.4 Use appropriate vocabulary of art to describe the successful use of an element of art in a work of art. 

Grade 3
1.0 Artistic Perception
 Develop Perceptual Skills and Visual Arts Vocabulary
1.1 Perceive and describe rhythm and movement in works of art and in the environment.
1.2 Describe how artists use tints and shades in painting. 
1.3 Identify and describe how foreground, middle ground, and background are used to create the illusion of space.
Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design
1.5 Identify and describe elements of art in works of art, emphasizing line, color, shape/form, texture, space, and value. 

Grade 4
1.0 Artistic Perception
Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design
1.5 Describe and analyze the elements of art (color, shape/form, line, texture, space and value), emphasizing form, as they are used in works of art and found in the environment.

Grade 5
1.0 Artistic Perception
 Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design
1.3 Use their knowledge of all the elements of art to describe similarities and differences in works of art and in the environment. 

United States National Standards for Visual Arts Education
Content Standard #1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
Achievement Standard: Students use art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner. 

Content Standard #2: Using knowledge of structures and functions 
Achievement Standard: Students know the differences among visual characteristics and purposes of art in order to convey ideas. Students describe how different expressive features and organizational principles cause different responses. Students use visual structures and functions of art to communicate ideas.