Drawing Straight and Curved Lines
Create an abstract drawing using straight lines, curved lines and light, medium and dark color values.
Grant Street School
Teaching artist: Wanda LeClerc
GRADE: K-3
Lesson: Students differentiate between straight and curved lines as well as light, medium, and dark color values and use those elements to create an abstract composition.
Target Learning: Classifies color according to its value.
Criteria: Identifies and sorts light, medium and dark color swatches.
Target Learning: Identifies type and orientation of lines.
Criteria: Names and draws zigzag lines oriented horizontally and vertically.
Target Learning: Identifies curved lines.
Criteria: Names and draws circular, oval or free-form shapes using curved lines.
Target Learning: Identifies and uses a range of color values in composition.
Criteria: Uses dark and medium value colors outside of curved shapes, and light value colors inside of curved shapes.
Vocabulary (click here for the glossary)
abstract/modern
circle
composition
curved line
curved shape
dark value color
free form shape
horizontal line
light value color
medium value color
oval
straight line
vertical line
zigzag line
Resources
The Fourth R: A Visual Art Curriculum Abstract Painters who emphasize shape and color, not recognizable subjects: Kandinsky, Miro, Klee and Mondrian
Materials
Color pencils, crayons, or oil pastels
9x12 white or black drawing paper
Introduction of lesson concepts:
Display and discuss color swatches and have students classify the colors according to value: light, medium or dark. Display and discuss samples of straight lines: zigzag, horizontal and vertical lines. Display and discuss samples of shapes created with curved lines: circular, oval and free-form. Introduce concept of abstraction.
Lesson Steps:
• Give each student a sheet of 9x12 drawing paper for their composition. Guide them in making straight zigzag lines across the page as shown:
Then oriented vertically
• Guide each student in drawing 2 or 5 curved shapes (circular, oval or free-form) on paper over the zigzag lines. Demonstrate that if desired, part of the shape can extend off one edge of the paper. The entire shape does not have to be contained within the picture as shown below.
• Guide students in adding color in the spaces they have created using dark and medium values outside the circular areas and light value colors inside the curved shapes.
Demonstrate how a dark colored crayon or pencil can become a light color if it is used with a very light touch. Yellow, however, will never be a dark color, no matter how hard you press: it can be made brighter or more intense, but not dark.
Assessment
Peer review/critique, group critique, peer work using new vocabulary; teacher assessment through anecdote and observation of participation.
Check for:
• Vertical and horizontally oriented zigzag lines
• Curved shapes drawn on top of zigzag lines
• Dark and medium value outside of curved shapes
• Light value inside of curved shapes
Essential Learnings
Visual Art 1.1.1 Understand art concepts and vocabulary: Elements: line, shape, color value
• Uses line to create shapes
• Identifies and uses geometric and organic shapes
• Identifies primary and secondary color
• Identifies and uses dark and light colors
Common Core Math Standards:
K.G.2: Correctly name shapes regardless of orientation or overall size.
K.G.3: Identify shapes as 2-D or 3-D.
1.G.2: Compose two-dimensional shapes to create a composite shape.
2.G.1. Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces. Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.
Teaching Artist Comments:
Variations: Use shapes of natural forms instead of circular or oval shapes (fish, leaves, flowers, birds, etc). Color the natural forms with dark colors and inside the forms with light colors (or vice versa).