Grades/Level: Upper Elementary (3–5)
Subjects: Visual Arts, English–Language Arts, History–Social Science
Time Required: 3–5–Part Lesson
Four one-hour sessions
Author: Ana Infante, Teacher, 186th Street School, Los Angeles Unified School District
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• paper, pencils, crayons, color pencils, pastels, tempera paint or watercolors, paper
• Come Look with Me: Enjoying Art with Children by Gladys S. Blizzard. Lickle Publishing, Inc., 1992.
• The Little Mermaid and Other Stories by Sarah Hines Stephen. Scholastic Junior Classics, 2002.
• various Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales
• selected Getty works of art listed below. Click on thumbnails for information and images. |
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1. Read aloud several fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen.
2. Discuss how authors and illustrators define their characters by what they look like, say, do, think, and feel. Cite examples from the books. Students find examples on their own.
3. Model how to compose a written character sketch using the worksheet. Describe each aspects of a character in the appropriate space. Students then select a character from an Andersen fairy tale and write their own character sketch.
4. Students use their character sketch to write a multi-paragraph composition describing a character.
5. Display various Getty portraits and guide a discussion, using various entry points.
•Visual Thinking Strategies: What's going on in this artwork? What can you say about this person? How can you tell? What do you see that makes you say that? Can you say more about that? What else can you find?
• Formal Properties of the Artwork: What lines, shapes, colors, and textures do you see in this artwork? What materials or tools do you think the artist used? What problems might the artist have faced along the way?
• Narrative Quest: What is the story that you see in this work of art? How do the colors help tell this story? What emotions seem to be expressed in this portrait? What makes you say so? What can you tell from this work of art about the story of the person or the time in which he or she lived?
6. Explain that artists can define people in portraits through the clothing, setting, pose of the body, objects, and symbols depicted. Refer back to Getty collection images for examples.
7. Students make a plan for a visual character sketch of the Andersen character they have selected. In written form they plan their choices for their character's clothing, setting, pose, objects, and dominant colors.
8. Students make a quick preliminary pencil sketch of their character. The teacher may need to model this, or assist students in solving problems like overlapping, perspective, relative sizes, how to draw hands holding objects, and how to show textures, colors, and moods.
9. Students create a visual character portrait using their choice of media (color pencils, pastels, crayons, or watercolors). |
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| Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone at Seven, Jean-Etiénne Liotard, 1755 |
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Visual Arts Standards for California Public Schools
Grade 3
Artistic Perception
1.5 Identify and describe elements of art in works of art, emphasizing line, color, shape/form, texture, space, and value.
Creative Expression
2.2 Mix and apply tempera paints to create tints, shades, and neutral colors.
Historical and Cultural Context
3.1 Compare and describe various works of art that have a similar theme and were created at different time periods.
Language Arts Standards for California Public Schools
Grade 3
Reading: Literary Response and Analysis
3.3 Determine what characters are like by what they say or do and by how the author or illustrator portrays them.
Writing: Writing Applications
2.2 Write descriptions that use concrete sensory details to present and support unified impressions of people, places, things, or experiences. |
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