Optical Illusions for Elementary

One of my favorite parts of being an Elementary Art Teacher is the excitement and joy the students have when they come into my classroom.  I feel like a mini-celebrity. Now don't get me wrong, not every kid loves coming into my classroom; I have those students who choose to do the opposite of what I suggest, cry when they make a mistake, or just use the time to socialize.  But the majority of my day is filled with students who show the desire to make and learn from me, which has been a new experience coming from an urban middle school.

Sometimes when coming up with ideas for projects and different ways to teach a concept, I purposely look for the hook.  How can I get the students excited for the project? Seeing their reaction to new materials, mediums, and skills just doesn't seem to ever get old.  It definitely keeps the repetition of teaching the same lesson several times a day interesting for me.

I decided to challenge my third and fourth grade students with a project that I did with my sixth graders the year before.  When comparing my elementary students at my new school with my middle school students at the old school, I would say that the elementary students are just as advanced as most of the sixth and seventh graders I taught in regards to their ability to follow directions, create interesting ideas, making connections to subject matter outside the art room, and a good portion of their motor skills. This new project was to create an optical illusion.

The optical illusion project was an assignment that one of my pre-internship teachers, Brenda, taught her students while I was teaching with her.  It was an easy project with several steps, combining basic skills the students learned over the course of their few weeks in her class such as composition, value, color blending, and using a ruler.

Having just finished this lesson, I've been doing some heavy reflection.  My 3rd and 4th grade students have been more successful than my 6th and 7th grade students in some ways and in others have been lower on the totem pole of success.  This project took much longer than I had anticipated partly because they were stuck on their rough draft idea and partly because I only have them for an hour once as week so by the time they build up momentum, it's time to clean up.  There were minimum tears when strips of paper got lost or someone glued their piece upside down, but the students and I both survived and made some pretty nice art in the process.

The optical illusions are now hanging in the hallway in preparation for conferences this week.  As cool as these pieces of art are, they are difficult to photograph and attach to bulletin boards.  I found myself having to use multiple staples in each piece of art, mainly stapling in the fold creases to try and keep them as accordion shaped as possible.  Hopefully these images will give you an idea of how they look in person.

Happy dabbling.

Title: Optical Illusions
Grade: 3-4                Class Periods: 3- 60 minute Class

Elements of Design: Form, Color, and Texture
Principles of Design: Emphasis, Movement, and Contrast

Materials & Resources:
Previous student work                                                    Teacher demonstration/work Images/books on optical illusions                                   Rough Draft Paper                    
White Drawing Paper 10" x 8"                                        Misc. Paper 8" x 20"
Crayons                                                                             Rulers
Glue                                                                                   Scissors
Pencils

Objectives: 

• The student is able to describe and identify an optical illusion. 
• The student can create an optical illusion by utilizing cutting and folding skills.
• The student is able to measure accurately with a ruler, draw and cut straight lines.

Learning Activities:  3 Day Project

Day 1:

1. Show and discuss optical illusions.  Introduce the project by showing examples and give an overall demonstration of the creation process.
2. Students  should begin to come up with ideas for their optical illusion.  I like to have students choose either two objects that go together like peanut butter and jelly or two objects that don't go together like a dog and a cat.  Have the students practice drawing their object or subject matter.
3. After the final draft is complete, have the students draw their final draft.  Each object/subject they chose gets its own piece of 8" x 10" white drawing paper.  For example the dog would be drawn on one piece of paper and the cat would be drawn on the second piece of paper.  Discussing composition in regards to negative and positive space is helpful to get the students to fill the paper 
4. After students have started the drawing of their final draft, demonstrate value application and blending of crayons to enhance the visual interest of their artwork. 
5. Allow the students to begin applying value to their artwork. 

Day 2:

1. Review information about Optical Illusions, value, composition (negative/positive space).
2. Allow students some time to finish the color application part of their assignment.  
3. As students get closer and closer to finishing the color application portion start demonstrating how to use a ruler. Show the students how to measure one inch marks at the top of their drawing and the bottom.  Connect the top and bottom notch to create a straight vertical line that breaks the drawing into one inch strips of paper.  Have students do this on the back of their drawings as it won't damage their art if they make a mistake. 
4. Have students label one picture A and one B with each strip getting a number after the letter.  For example, picture A would have strips labeled as A1, A2, A3 and so forth. This helps identify missing or unidentifiable pieces.

Day 3: 

1. Review Optical illusions, how to use a ruler accurately, and demonstrate the next step of the assignment.  
2. Have each student cut their two drawings into the one inch strips they measured  from the previous class. Put each picture back together like a puzzle so the drawing is facing up.  This eliminates pieces from getting glued upside down.
3. Students should combine both drawings by alternating one inch strips.  An example of this would be A1, B1, A2, B2, A3, B3.  Do this until they reach the end of their pictures.  The strips should be glued next to each other not overlapping one another.
4. Using the 8" x 20" sheet of paper, have students use just enough glue to attach each strip in the order above to the paper.  Too much glue will result in a super stiff piece of art and the students will not be able to fold the artwork when the glue dries.
5. It is best to fold the artwork when the glue has dried a bit but you don't have to. Have students do an accordion or fan fold in between each strip.

Assessment:

4.0 - The student understands and can make an optical illusion by using a ruler and value without help. They can help another student or teach a friend.

3.0- The student understands and can make an optical illusion by using a ruler and value with minimal help from the teacher. 

2.0- The student needs help from the teacher to make an optical illusion by using a ruler and value. The student needs assistance when identifying and describing an optical illusion.  

1.0- The student is dependent on help from the teacher to complete an optical illusion by using a ruler and value. The student needs assistance when identifying and describing an optical illusion.   

0.0-  The student is unable to create an optical illusion by using a ruler and value even with a teacher's help.  The student does not understand nor can they identify and describe an optical illusion.