Exploring Visual Expression

Overview

Grade Level: 5th Grade
Subject: Fine Art
Duration: 45 minutes
Class Size: 30 students
Curriculum Alignment: Aligned with the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) for Visual Arts, specifically Creating, Presenting, and Connecting strands at the 5th-grade level.

---

Learning Objectives

By the end of this 45-minute lesson, students will:

• Analyze and interpret how artists use shape, color, and texture to convey feelings.
• Experiment with collage techniques using mixed media to express a personal emotion or memory.
• Reflect on how their artistic choices communicate a specific mood or story.

Based on NCAS Visual Arts Standards for Grade 5:
VA:Cr1.1.5a — Combine ideas to generate an innovative idea for art-making.
VA:Cr2.1.5a — Experiment and develop skills in multiple art-making techniques and approaches.
VA:Re7.1.5a — Compare an image of art from two different eras or cultures.
VA:Cn10.1.5a — Apply formal and conceptual vocabularies of art and design to understand works of art.

---

Materials Needed

• Construction paper (assorted colors)
• Scissors
• Glue sticks
• Magazines/newspapers (for found imagery)
• Textured materials (fabric scraps, foil, sandpaper, bubble wrap, etc.)
• Markers, pastels, and crayons
• Individual sketchbooks (optional)

---

Prior Knowledge / Skills

Students should be:

• Familiar with the elements of art: line, shape, color, texture, space, and form.
• Able to use scissors safely and apply glue appropriately.
• Some previous experience with basic collage and drawing.

---

Instructional Sequence

⏱️ Minute 1–5: Welcome & Learning Intentions

• Greet students and explain that today’s focus is on how artists express emotions visually.
• Present the Essential Question:
  “How can colors, shapes, and textures express how we feel without using words?”
• Introduce the concept of abstract emotional collages.

Teacher Tip: Keep energy high and spark curiosity by holding up a mysterious mixed-media collage at the start without explaining it.

---

⏱️ Minute 6–15: Visual Inquiry & Class Discussion

1. Art Analysis Activity: Display 2–3 abstract artworks (e.g., by Alma Woodsey Thomas, Mark Rothko, or Jean-Michel Basquiat).
2. Facilitate discussion using VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies):
   • What do you notice?
   • How does this image make you feel?
   • What do you think the artist was trying to share?

Encourage divergent thinking. There are no wrong answers.

---

⏱️ Minute 16–20: Demonstration of Technique

• Show example of an expressive mixed-media collage made with torn paper, found textures, and bold color contrasts.
• Model how to:
  • Layer different textures and shapes.
  • Use color and space purposefully.
  • Connect the artwork back to an emotion or personal memory.

Pro Tip: Use a document camera or overhead to make sure all students see the demonstration clearly.

---

⏱️ Minute 21–35: Studio Time – Create Your Emotional Collage

Task: Students will create their own mixed-media collage based on a single emotion or memory (e.g., joy, confusion, sadness, excitement).

Guidance for students:

• Choose colors that match your chosen feeling.
• Consider which textures feel like your emotion.
• You can tear or cut shapes — there’s no one “right” way.
• Use at least 3 different materials/textures in your composition.

Encourage students to think beyond representational art — their work doesn’t have to look like anything, it just has to feel like something.

Circulate the room to offer specific praise and support. Ask reflective questions like:

• “Why did you pick that texture?”
• “What feeling are you trying to evoke here?”

---

⏱️ Minute 36–42: Artist Share Circle

• Invite 4–5 students to show their piece and describe:
  • What emotion or memory inspired them
  • One artistic choice they’re proud of

Build in peer acknowledgment — have classmates describe the mood or feeling they see before the artist reveals their intentions. This fosters visual literacy.

---

⏱️ Minute 43–45: Clean-up & Reflection

1. Begin structured clean-up with an art materials monitor system.
2. Students complete a 2-minute reflection in their sketchbooks or on sticky notes:
   • “My artwork makes me feel…”
   • “One thing I learned about expressing emotions through art is…”

---

Differentiation Strategies

• For ELL/Language Support: Pre-teach emotional vocabulary using visuals.
• For Gifted Learners: Invite them to incorporate symbolic imagery or text.
• For Students with Fine Motor Challenges: Offer pre-cut shapes or adaptive scissors and thicker markers.

---

Assessment Criteria

Formative Assessment:

• Teacher observations during group discussion and independent work.
• Exit reflections for emotional/artistic understanding.

Success Criteria Anchor Chart (shared early in lesson):

• ✅ My collage uses at least 3 types of materials or textures.
• ✅ I’ve made color and shape choices that match a feeling or memory.
• ✅ I can explain what I was trying to show visually.

---

Extensions & Connections

• Cross-curricular: Make connections with ELA by writing a narrative or poem inspired by their collage.
• Art History Extension: Explore how abstract art was rooted in historical and cultural shifts (e.g., post-war expressionism).
• Home Connection: Invite families to respond to their child's artwork with “What do you see or feel when you look at this?”

---

Closure

Encourage students to remember:

“Art doesn’t have to look like ‘something’ to say something powerful. You are the storyteller—your materials are your words.”

Make a small gallery wall in the class or hallway with student collages and titles like "The Color of Memory", "Invisible Feelings" or "Textures of Tomorrow".

---

Teacher Reflection Prompt

At the end of the day or week, consider:

• Which students surprised you with their emotional insight or artistic risks?
• What could be added next time to deepen their understanding of abstraction?
• How did the interdisciplinary elements support student expression?

---

Standards Summary

• VA:Cr1.1.5a — Combining ideas to develop art.
• VA:Cr2.1.5a — Developing and refining technique.
• VA:Re7.1.5a — Interpreting art with reasoning.
• VA:Cn10.1.5a — Linking art-making to personal experience and real-world ideas.

---

Prepared for maximum creativity. Designed for reflective learners.