Pam Hill

September 16, 2014

ECT 4380
Instructors Lesson Plan REACT Learning Strategy
Lesson Number and Title:
Elements of Design Lesson 5 Color Pointillism or Optical Illusion STEAM Project
Statement of Purpose:
This lesson is the fifth in a sequence of 7 that makes up the unit on elements of design. The
purpose of this lesson is to incorporate science, technology, engineering, art, and math into a
project that will allow students to experience the technique of applying individual dots of color
to a work of art. This lesson will cover how the human eye perceives color and how colors blend
with distance and size used as factors. Students will have the opportunity to collaborate and
cooperate with peers to analyze and chart math related topics. They will research and write a
descriptive paper to strengthen English skills.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will learn to and about:
Science = physical science students will learn how our eyes see an object by light
reflecting from the object. They will learn how our eyes blend colors in the technique of
Pointillism that allows us to see one unified picture.
Technology = students will use the computer to view a video on Pointillism, see pictures
of paintings using the technique, and to write a descriptive paper on George Seurats A
Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
Engineering = students will make a color wheel using a paper plates, paint in the primary
colors, and Q-tips. They will create a Pointillism painting as a graded project.
Art = art history - Pointillism and George Seurat.
Math = Measure and graph distance and relate it to the size of the work of art.
Vocabulary color, blending, Pointillism, optical illusion, distance.
Write a descriptive paper using the I-Chart.
Method of Instruction:
The teacher will:
RELATE
o Activate prior knowledge - Ask questions/discuss how our eyes perceive and
blend colors, what primary colors mix to create secondary colors, and who wears
glasses for nearsightedness and farsightedness.
EXPERIENCING

o Explain/Demonstrate vocabulary, Pointillism, and how George Seurat used dots of

color to create unified objects in his paintings.
o Show the video Get to the point: Georges Seurat and Pointillism by Nate Heck
(2012) on the computer at www.vimeo.com/28491307 as a whole group.
o Show images of Pointillism paintings by Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on
the Island of La Grande Jatte, Paul Signacs Sunday, and Maximillien Luces
Morning from the website http://www.ducksters.com/history/art/pointillism.php
as a whole group activity.
o Show images of different optical illusions from
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/opticalillusions.htm.
o Hand out and Model how to fill in the I-Chart for the descriptive writing project.
o Read aloud excerpts from the books Masters of Art: Seurat (Courthion, 1988) and
Georges Seurat (Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Artists (Venezia, 2003).
o Walk around and monitor group work, offer guidance and feedback when
necessary.
Applying
o Explain math activity, how to measure distance with a tape measure, how to graph
the information on a scatter plot graph.
o Explain color wheel activity.
o Explain I-Chart activity.
Cooperating o Pair up students for group work in the math activity and I-Chart activity.
Transferring o Explain the students individual art project Pointillism painting.
o Explain the students individual descriptive paper assignment.

Support Materials:

SmartBoard,
SmartBoard pen
Computers and Internet access
Books - Masters of Art: Seurat (Courthion, 1988) and Georges Seurat (Getting to Know
the Worlds Greatest Artists (Venezia, 2003).
I-Charts
Tape measures, pencils, and paper for math project
Paper plates, tempera paint in primary colors, Q-tips, water bowls
9 X12 Paper
Sketchbooks

Learning Activities:
Students will:

Participate and listen to questions/lecture/discussion on Pointillism, perception of color,

primary color blending, and eyesight.
View the video, websites, and images.
Listen to me read book excerpts on Pointillism and George Seurat.
Group up with classmates (4 to a group), discuss, measure, and graph the distance it takes
for each persons eyes to blend the dots in the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island
of La Grande Jatte by George Seurat in their sketchbooks. They can use a scatter plot,
bar graph, or pie chart on the computer to enter the groups results.
Analyze and share their groups measurements and graphs with the whole class.
In their groups, students will research Pointillism and optical illusions using the websites,
books, and lecture to fill out the I-Chart pre-writing activity sheet.
Students will create their own color wheel using a paper plate, the primary colors of
paint, and cotton swabs. They will section their paper plate into 6 pie pieces and use the
cotton swabs to fill in the primary colors red, blue, and yellow first using the cotton
swabs and Pointillism technique. Then they will use the primary colors to create the
secondary colors orange, purple, and blue using only cotton swabs and paint to create
dots that blend the colors together.
Students will create their own Pointillism painting using cotton swabs and primary colors
of paint.
Students will write a one page descriptive paper on A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of
La Grande Jatte by George Seurat.
Write vocabulary words and definitions in sketchbooks.

Evaluation and Grading:

Teacher will observe students during the class. Students will be evaluated on class participation.
Class participation is 20% of the overall grade and based on effort. A scale of 0 (no effort) to 5
(outstanding effort) will be used to determine a letter grade.

A (100-90) Outstanding work and effort and significant progress.

B (89-80) Good work and extra effort has been demonstrated.
C (79-70) Adequate work and effort has been demonstrated.
D (69-50) Did not meet all requirements adequately, little effort shown.
F (Below 50) Failure to complete assignment, no effort shown.

Teacher will use the following rubric to assess the students Pointillism painting. The total points
earned out of the total points possible (25) will be a percent that will be turned into a letter grade
using the above formula.
Evaluation:
1 = Weak 2 = Moderately Weak 3 = Average 4 = Moderately Strong 5 = Strong
1. The student followed directions.
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2. The overall aesthetics of the work of art.

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3. The student completed the project by the due date.
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4. The elements of design are represented clearly.
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5. The student mastered the blending technique of Pointillism.
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Additional Comments: _____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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Total Points/Grade: ___________
Teacher will use the following rubric to assess the students descriptive paper. The total points
earned out of the total points possible (40) will be a percent that will be turned into a letter grade
using the above formula.
Evaluation:
1 = Weak 2 = Moderately Weak 3 = Average 4 = Moderately Strong 5 = Strong
1. The student introduces the topic in a way that draws in the audience.
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2. The student clearly states the topic.
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3. The student focuses on his/her personal thoughts and feelings about the topic.
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4. The student uses memorable sensory description in relaying specific details.
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5. The student expresses a personal meaning or value of the topic.
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6. The student concludes in a way that reiterates his/her attitude toward the topic.
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7. The spelling, punctuation, and grammar on the writing assignment are accurate.
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8. The writing assignment is neatly typed or handwritten.
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Additional Comments: _____________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________

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Total Points/Grade: ___________
I chose the REACT learning strategy because I believe it is important to incorporate a
cross-curriculum learning environment in the school system. The art classroom can easily
integrate science, technology, engineering, math, and English (reading and writing) in lesson
plans for classes such as 2-D, 3-D, drawing, painting, sculpting, ceramics, print making,
photography, fashion, and graphic design.
Relating, the first part of the strategy includes activating students prior knowledge. This
can be accomplished by asking questions that relate to a students background and life outside the
classroom. Art topics can be related to many life experiences making them familiar and relevant
to current curriculum objectives (CORD, 2012). At the beginning of my lesson students are
expected to answer prior knowledge questions, therefor, using the active participation and
connect to prior knowledge/learning Classroom Walk-Through strategies. They are also using
an I-Chart, which asks what students already know.
Experiencing is the second part of the strategy and includes actively exploring and
discovering topics. Using manipulates in the art room is easily done with different materials,
media, and techniques to practice and complete projects (CORD, 2012). Students can be
observed using the following CWT strategies with my lesson: demonstration how to on
Pointillism, direct instruction color wheel, painting, giving student examples George
Seurats images and video/websites, identify key words for students vocabulary,
lecture/presentation how we see/optical illusions/Pointillism, modeling how to fill out IChart, measure distance with tape measure and graph results, oral reading two books, and
vocabulary development writing vocabulary in sketchbooks and using it for writing.

Applying is the next strategy used in REACT. Students can research careers, artists, art
history, techniques, museums, and much more to support their exploring and learning. They can
use books, videos, labs, and activities to gain insight into a topic (CORD, 2012). Use of CWT
strategies as manipulatives, media/videos, technology, visuals, and note taking by students can
all be observed at this stage.
Cooperating is the part where students interact with each other to communicate,
cooperate, and work as a team to complete an assigned task. Learning these skills supports
future workplace expectations. Students who have strong cooperative skills are highly valued
in the workplace (CORD, 2012). The teacher can be seen monitoring student work, monitoring
and adjusting, grouping students, feedback to students, while students can be seen doing
hands-on activities, cooperative learning, and student demonstration to class as CWT
strategies.
Transferring is the final aspect of the strategy and is similar to relating (the first step).
Transferring what has been learned builds upon what a student already knows and connects them
for future scaffolding. Understanding is the focus of learning in which students deepen their
knowledge of concepts. By completing their projects and writing assignment for this lesson,
CWT can bee seen as a portfolio, student projects, independent practice, and summary/closure
(CORD, 2012).

The react strategy. (2012). In CORD. Retrieved from http://www.cord.org/the-react-learningstrategy/