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.

Getting to Know Me: Dec the Board Lesson

We're now a few weeks in the school year and I thought I would share my favorite Get-to-Know-You lesson for middle school.  There is just so much I enjoyed while working on this lesson,  the enthusiasm of my students, the knew things I learned about each of them, and their creative

Hallway Display

designs.  I used this lesson as the first lesson of semester two last school year; at my previous school, the middle schoolers only had art for a semester, so I saw almost all new students in January.

This lesson took about three full 50 minute class periods to complete.  It extended the entire week because of going over the syllabus, classroom procedures, and general icebreakers. The students and I created a skateboard with basic shapes using the step-by-step approach with the entire classroom. I stressed the details while drawing the skateboard deck, pointing out the axle, what it did, and why it was important.  We even had a short discussion on flat head and Phillips screwdrivers when "attaching" our axle to the deck. To personalize the deck, I required the students to include three things about their self.  As they brainstormed and worked on their rough draft, we looked at images on deck designs for skateboards and how each skater tends to personalize their deck with either their own artwork, stickers, and logos.  

A basketball enthusiast deck

On my example in class, I included my name, which spurred a lot of interest with graffiti lettering. For the students who wanted to use graffiti style font, we visited Graffiti Creator, a website that allows you to type in your word or name and it turns it into a graffiti font. The cool thing is, the students can add decoration on the site to their letters such as paint splatters, drips, and they can even adjust the size of the letters.

This student used Graffiti Creator.

I think this lesson was successful because I got to learn more about my student's including their skill level they were coming into art with.  Everyone who saw the art hanging in the hallway complimented it, stating how unique the assignment was. I'm not teaching at a PK-4 elementary school and I think with some alterations, this could be a fantastic end of the year project, perhaps focusing on what they'll be "skating" into for summer fun.   

Below is the basic lesson plan outline of what we did. It is in a simplified version of what my previous district mandated us to use. I hope you enjoy this lesson I've shared in your own room.  I'd love to see results!  

Happy dabbling!

Title: Dec the Board: All About Me                 Grade: 6-8                  Class Periods: 5

Elements of Design: Line, Shape, Color, and Value
Principles of Design: Balance, Contrast, and Emphasis

Materials & Resources:
Previous student work                         Teacher demonstration/work          
Sketchbooks/rough draft paper           Skateboard Deck Images
Drawing paper (16" x 11")                    Black Construction Paper (18" x 12")
Rulers                                                   Pencils
Colored Pencils                                    Scissors  
Glue

Objectives: 

• Knowledge:  Vocabulary-The Elements of Design, The Principles of Design, Art, Artist, Medium/Media, and Deck. Students will know how to create a visual representation of their self.  Students will use their knowledge and visual information from the decks to create a strong community bond.  Students will be able to define their vocabulary terms, as well as link terms to real examples. 

• Understanding: Students will understand how the Elements and Principles of Design can be found in everyday events.  Students will understand the different demands different art mediums have.  Students will understand that art is a universal visual language. 

• Do: Students will be able to identify Elements of Design used to create their deck. Students will be able to create a successful visual representation of their self.  Students will be able to identify similarities among peers to make community connections.   

Assessments: 

• Pre-Assessment- Students will create a list of the following information to prepare their rough draft: self portrait, what you like to do in your free time, what you would like to become, picture of your family, favorite food, favorite sport/activity.  The teacher will then create a class dialogue on how many different ways a person can represent objects.  After the demonstration, the students will begin drawing a rough draft of their chosen characteristics, and will finalize with at least three.  
• Artist Reflection-   Students will be asked to write a reflection of their work.  Students will describe the image that they created through the use of the Elements of Design and how the subject successful conveys a clear message about their joys of life.  Students will state what parts they feel were successful and which needed more attention.  The students will then provide examples of things that they learned throughout the course of the assignment.
• Final Presentation- Students will present their Decks to their groups and look for community similarities.  The project will be graded with the use of a rubric that covers the objectives and learned techniques that were taught during this lesson.  When the students finish with the projects, a written artist reflection will be required for final submission as well as a self-evaluation with the student-self evaluation form.  After their personal statement, a class critique will be held to strengthen each student’s ability in talking about their work and supporting their aesthetic decisions when making art. 
• Project Review- Students will review vocabulary with the teacher and peers during class periods as well as through the creation of their work.  The students will take written notes for individual review during the course of the assignment. 
• Exit Cards- 
• Tuesday- Why is it important to explore other options for images for your final draft? Or do a rough draft?
• Wednesday- What are the elements of design? 
• Thursday- Do you consider yourself an artist? Why or why not? 
• Friday- What is the importance of creating a community? 

Learning Activities: 5 Day Project

• Day 1- Students and teacher will go over syllabus, classroom expectations, and materials.  Students and teacher will start the process of developing a sketchbook and portfolio, outlining the semester.
• Day 2- Students will create a list of things that represent who they are and what they like to do. The teacher will then create a class dialogue on how many different ways a person can represent objects.  The teacher and students will review skateboard deck images to further ideas and discussion of demonstrating their self artistically. Students will complete their rough draft.
• Day 3-Wednesday- Students and teacher will review the vocabulary and assignment requirements.  The students will then finish their rough draft if not completed from the previous day. Once the students have finished their rough draft, the students will begin working on their final draft. Students should be able to complete the drawing portion of this assignment today.
• Day 4- Students will complete the drawing portion of their final draft if not completed from the day prior.  With teacher approval, the students will begin applying color.  The teacher will circulate among the students focusing on guiding students with their work.  

Lesson Closure:

• Day 5- Students will complete the color aspect of their final draft.  After the color has been completed, the students will then cut out their deck and glue it to a black piece of construction paper for display. Students will then fill out a student self-evaluation form and artist reflection.  Once all of the drawing has been completed the teacher will gather the students for the “building foundation” community activity.  Students will turn circulate their room, grouping themselves with peers who have created a deck with similar characteristics.