Art and Culture Center of Hollywood Distance Learning Integrated Art Lesson Title: The Thankful Turkey Description and Overall Focus: The purpose of this lesson is to teach students how using simple geometric shapes can create more accurate representations of everyday objects. Students will also learn about the Thanksgiving celebration and how important it is to count our blessings and to remember the things for which we are thankful. Length of Lesson 45 minutes Grade Range Elementary/ESE Objective(s) This lesson will teach students how to create an animal from simple geometry. The turkey greeting will give the opportunity to write personal messages to share things for which students are thankful. Students will share some supplies in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Materials: PLEASE NOTE: Some materials must be acquired prior to this lesson Teacher Supplies: 1 Turkey Template - PER 2 STUDENTS - on card stock or thick paper. (includes body, head, feathers, etc.) Student Supplies: 8 ½ x 11 colored construction paper 1 sheet of each color per student: light & dark brown, light & dark green, orange, red, yellow, blue Pencils & erasers Glue and/or glue sticks Scissors Sharpie or similar marker 1 per student Introductory activity Students will be exposed to the famous art of Norman Rockwell and its influence on American tradition. His narratives of family life will be the focus of being thankful, which were based on the original Thanksgiving harvest celebration. Students will ponder 5-7 things for which they are thankful.
Core activity Students will review the geometric shapes needed to create the different pieces of the turkey (circle, oval, etc.). Students will continue by choosing paper colors. They will trace their templates onto the colored paper. They will consider placement for dryassembling all pieces before gluing. The turkey will be formed when all of the components are applied. Closure activity Students will complete their creations with 5-7 thankful messages. Several students will then share their work. Assessment The students will have completed the colorful turkey with 5 different thankful messages in the feathers. They will learn about Thanksgiving and the true meaning of this holiday and about the wonderful art of Norman Rockwell. Teacher follow-up idea Teachers can allow the students to use this same process to create a cornucopia with the beans, cranberries, corn and pumpkins that usually fill these wonderful horns of plenty. Student follow-up idea Students can share their turkeys with their families and ask others what they are thankful for in their lives. Students can continue to create progressively more sophisticated work by increasing the size, creating their own components and incorporating different materials (different papers, found objects). Cooking Lesson Book/Web references Candy Cornucopia www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/thanksgiving/ www.nrm.org Art and Culture Center of Hollywood www.artandculturecenter.org Revised Lesson Plan created by Traci Petersen, MFA; Original Lesson Plan prepared by Sherie Tengbergen, artist and educator.
Some Geometric Shapes used in Making Art:
TEMPLATES (copy onto card stock/thick paper):
Preparation Active Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1 hour Recipe Ingredients Candy-Cornucopia Candy Corn M&Ms Salted Peanuts 8 inch Circles of yellow paper 6 inch Circles of orange paper 3 inch Circles of white paper Yellow tissue paper sheets Ribbon Recipe Instructions 1. Create the Candy-Cornucopias by layering the yellow, orange and white papers and curling into cones. Secure with stapler or glue. 2. Mix candies & nuts in a bowl. 3. Place candies & nuts into the center of the tissue paper, tie with ribbon, and tuck into premade cones. 4. Share with the family & friends for whom you are THANKFUL! ENJOY!