HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
by Rob Arego PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover Jack Ramsdale. 1 ThinkStock/SuperStock. 2 Jack Ramsdale. 3 ThinkStock/ SuperStock. 5 Michael Freeman/CORBIS. 6 Bob Rowan; Progressive Image/CORBIS. 7 James L. Amos/CORBIS. 9 Kelly-Mooney Photography/Corbis. 10 Jack Ramsdale. Copyright 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. With the exception of nonprofit transcription into Braille, Houghton Mifflin is not authorized to grant permission for further uses of this work. Permission must be obtained from the individual copyright owner as identified herein. Address requests for permission to make copies of Houghton Mifflin material to School Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116. Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02002-0 ISBN-10: 0-547-02002-3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 RRD 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08
What are those huge paintings on city walls? They are called murals. Maybe you have seen an artist painting a mural in your area. It might show famous leaders from your community. It might show kids playing in a park. One thing is sure. Painting a mural is a lot of work. Many cities have murals painted on buildings. a mural on a building 2
A mural artist is like other artists who paint. Many Steps A mural artist is like other artists who paint pictures. But murals are very, very big pictures painted on walls. A mural artist must follow a lot of steps to make a mural.
First, Think of an Idea The first thing a mural artist needs is an idea. The artist has to decide what the mural will show. Then the artist needs to figure out what the mural will look like. Sometimes artists work alone. Sometimes they get ideas by talking to others. Two mural artists plan what their mural will look like.
This artist looks in a book to do research about bugs. Mural artists do research about the ideas they choose. They look in books and magazines to find out what things look like. Sometimes they use computers to do research, too.
This artist draws sketches of different ideas. Second, Draw Your Idea Next, the artist draws sketches of different ideas. The sketches do not look like finished drawings. They just help the mural artist see how different ideas might look. After the sketches are done, the artist chooses one to make into the mural.
Third, Make a Small Picture The next step is to make a small drawing of the mural. The artist may work with different kinds of drawing tools, such as pencils, markers, and paints. This mural artist shows off the small drawing for his big mural. small drawing 7
Fourth, Put It on the Wall The next step is tracing the mural on the wall. This will help the artist when its time to paint the mural. Painting such a big mural can be hard without outlines to guide the artist. These artists are tracing an outline with charcoal pencils.
paints A helper shares the painting work with a mural artist. Fifth, Paint the Mural Now the artist is ready to begin painting the mural. The artist chooses paints that will look best on the kind of wall where the mural will appear. Many times, a mural artist works with helpers. This makes the painting go a lot faster. 9
Last, Enjoy! Finally, the mural is finished. Now it s time to invite people to look at it. It s time for everyone to enjoy it! These kids enjoy the mural about friendship in their neighborhood. 10
Responding TARGET SKILL Text and Graphic Features How did text and graphic features help you learn about murals? Copy the chart below. Write one example of each feature. Also write the page number where you found the example. Text or Graphic Feature Example Heading Many Steps Page 3 Photograph?? Drawing?? Page Number Write About It Text to World How is a mural different from an illustration in a book? How is a mural like an illustration in a book? Write a paragraph to tell how they are alike and how they are different. 11
TARGET VOCABULARY illustrate imagine research scribbles sketches textures tools tracing TARGET SKILL Text and Graphic Features Tell how words and photos work together. TARGET STRATEGY Analyze/Evaluate Think about what you read. Then form an opinion about it. GENRE Informational text gives factual information about a topic. 12
Level: K DRA: 20 Genre: Informational Strategy: Analyze/Evaluate Skill: Text and Graphic Features Word Count: 423 3.2.7 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02002-0 ISBN-10: 0-547-02002-3 1031875