LESSON PLAN

Name: Kara Marie White

School:

Date: FA21

Cooperating Teacher:

College Supervisor: Andrea Skyberg

Title of Unit/Lesson: Experimenting with Watercolors

Grade: High School

AE392/393/480 LESSON, SEGMENT, or UNIT PLAN

Rationale: Learner & Context

Students this age are creative, energetic, and noisy. They are going through puberty and feel
pressure from peers to be ‘perfect.’ These students are in an introductory art class or painting
class at the beginning of a watercolor unit. The students will use simple math skills to create their
work, as well as see chemical reactions to the paint. This lesson gives the students an opportunity
to gain skills for a bigger, creative design piece. These skills allow to students to explore new
media, new ways to apply the media and new ways to express themselves without judgment.
Having the aesthetic of this project not be an important element, provides a space for students to
truly explore and discover what images really speak to them. Students are allowed to pick colors,
order and images created, using given supplies.

National Standards:
A.A.Cr.11.h: Plan Formulate original concepts by practice, experimentation, and revision.
A.A.R.20.h: Evaluate Determine or develop relevant criteria and evaluate the effectiveness of
design, media, and artworks to influence ideas, feelings, and reactions of specific audiences.

Enduring/BIG IDEA: Art skills can be grown through experimentation

Meaning Making: How will students make meaning through this lesson?
Students will learn how to apply a new media

In what ways will students have opportunities to make choices?

Students will have choice of color, order, and design.

Student Learning Goals for Learning Segment (group of lessons), Unit, or Lesson:
Explore new visual textures
Apply skills learned during demonstration, to own work

Instructional objective(s) [Cognitive, Affective, Social, Physical]: (LWBAT)

Create at least 8 taped off sections of paper.
Experiment using all: salt, rubber cement, oil pastel, plastic wrap, sponge, rubbing alcohol,
gradient, and tape
Respond to questions alongside assignment

Essential Questions:
How do we explore new concepts?

Materials Needed:
 Tape (1 roll per table)
 Watercolor paints (Palette per student)
 Water
 Watercolor brushes (3 per student)
 Oil pastels (set per table)
 Sea salt (1 container per table)
 Rubber cement (1 jar per table)
 Sponge (1 per table)
 Plastic Wrap (1 roll per table)
 Rubbing alcohol (1 container per table)
 Droppers (1 per table)
 18 x 24in pre-stretched watercolor paper (1 per student plus example)
 Latex free gloves (2 gloves per student, plus teachers)
 Water cups (1 per person)
 Watercolor mixing palette (1 per person)
 Paper Towels (2 sheets per person)
 Printed out Rubrics (1 per person, plus teacher copy)

 PowerPoint with list of required squares

 Video of process
Academic Language
Rubber Cement
Stretched paper
Resist

Total Time Needed for Lesson___50 minutes__________

Procedures
Introduction, 5 minutes
Step 1, 10 minutes
Demo, 10 minutes
Work time 20 minutes
Clean up 5 minutes

Introduction (MOTIVATION): We are going to start our watercolor unit by

experimenting with a few techniques commonly used in watercolor pieces. This should only take
one class period. If you do not complete it in class today, you can finish it on your own time.
Hopefully these will help you get some ideas of what you might want to do for a larger
watercolor piece.
Steps for instruction:
___Before we talk about the different techniques, we are going to set up our papers.
Everyone should have an 18 by 24-inch sheet of watercolor paper. This paper has been pre-
stretched. Before we start our big art pieces, we are going to go over stretching your own paper.
There should be tape at all of the tables, please take turns using it. We are laying down the tape
to both sperate our paper into sections and to create cleaner edges. Let’s start by lining all the
edges of the paper. -Model this in front of class- Once we have finished that we are going to split
our pages in half, horizontally, this doesn’t have to be perfect, if you want to pull out a ruler and
measure it, feel free, but it is not necessary. -Model- We are then going to put 3 more pieces of
tape vertically to create a total of 8 boxes. -Model- Again, this doesn’t have to completely
accurate unless you want it to be. Once you have your 8 boxes on your paper, meet me over by
the demonstration table.
___ -Modeling- I am going to start off by putting on my latex free gloves because we are
going to be using rubber cement, which contains latex. I am wearing my gloves because I am
allergic and want to wear an extra layer of protection. I am not requiring anyone to wear gloves,
but we have them available for everyone who may want a pair. I am going to start with my
rubber cement, which I suggest you all do, so it is dry by the time you have completed
everything else. There does not need to be an order to the boxes, if you would like to start in the
middle of the bottom row, go for it. As long as you know which box is which. I am going to
write what each one is on the tape next to the box. -Model- These don’t have to have a specific
design or be aesthetically pleasing, but if you want to put more work into it to make a fun
pattern, you are welcome to do so. I plan on going through these relatively quickly so they will
not be the most beautiful pieces ever. I am going to take the rubber cement and brush it on like I
would gesso or gel medium. This is a resist, which means when we remove it later, it will be
white where we laid it down and the color will stay around it. Then, I am going to leave to dry
for now and move onto the next box. You have no restrictions when it comes to different colors.
For my second box, I going to create a gradient. With watercolors, you are going to use a lot of
water, the more water the lighter the color, I am going to start really light and go darker in my
gradient by adding more and more paint to my brush. When doing your big pieces, keep in mind,
you can always go darker by applying more layers of the same paint, but it is much harder to go
lighter, not impossible though. If I let this paint dry, and apply more water, you might be able to
get the paint to move again. For the third box, I am going to lay down a basic wash of paint.
Then I am going to sprinkle some salt across the box, I might add more in one spot and less in
another, or maybe I put an equal layer across the whole box. In my next box, I will again put
down a layer of paint, and lay down a piece of plastic wrap on top of it. I am going to wrinkle
mine up and leave it on there for a bit while it dries. In this box, I am going to show you two
different things you can do, in yours you can pick one or do both. I am going to take my sponge,
there should be enough for each of you at your tables, I am going to dip my sponge into paint
and dab it onto half of my box, which creates an interesting texture. Another thing you can do is
lay down a layer of the paint, then take your sponge and dab it like you did before, and it will
absorb some of the paint. Next, I am going to lay down a few pieces of the tape we used before.
Then I am going to paint over it. The tape will also act as a resist. In this box, I will lay down a
layer of paint, tape my dropper, there is one at each of the tables, fill it with rubbing alcohol,
again at the table, and drop it into a few spots. Do you see how it spreads across the page? I am
going to go back to my rubber cement piece and add a basic layer of paint on that one too. On
box #7, I will use oil pastels, which will work as a resistant, I am using both white and colors to
draw in my box. I can use the paint right away and add another basic layer. Notice how the paint
goes around the pastels but leaves whatever color pastel I used there? For your last box, you are
going to do whatever you want to it, experiment some more, layer different techniques, do one
you liked again, it’s up to you. I am going to go back to my salt, tape and plastic wrap and
remove them so you can see what it has done to the paint. And the rubber cement, I am going to
rub at it, and it will remove.
___ That completes all my boxes. You guys can go sit down and start on your own. If you
need a reminder of what boxes you still have left to do. There is a list on the board. I will leave
mine here in case anyone needs to look at it. Let me know if you are missing any supplies or
need any help. Does anyone have any questions right off the bat?
___ Can I have everyone take a break for a moment and look up here? If you feel like you are
done, and everything is dry. You can remove the tape. I would suggest writing down on your
paper or take a picture, or write it somewhere else, which box is which. It is important that you
take a picture of what you have completed in class today and submit it on google classroom.
There are also a few questions to answer in the comments. Make sure your names are somewhere
on it before placing it on the drying wrack.

Closure: Which box was everyone’s favorite? Does anyone want to share? Has this given
anyone an idea of what techniques they might want to use in their big watercolor piece? Please
start to think about what you might want to do for your watercolor piece.

____Assessment of Learning
Questions included as part of assessment
 Which box was your favorite?
 What made it your favorite?
 Which techniques do you think you want to use on a bigger watercolor piece?
 Is there anything you think you would want to do differently?
 Is there anything else you want to try out using watercolors?
 Did you enjoy this project?
 Any additional feedback for me?

Exploring Watercolor Rubric

 To meet all requirements for assignment, please look at ‘Keep Growing’ column. This is what is
expected of the assignment, if you are looking to challenge yourself, look at the ‘Beyond’
column for suggestions

Point Scale Comments

Rubric Components
Beyond Keep Growing Almost Not Yet

The student
The student was The student The student did
created more
able to create 8 created less than not create boxes
than 8 boxes
Creating boxes boxes using tape 8 boxes using using tap on
using tape on
on 18”x24” tape on 18”x24” 18”x24”
18”x24”
watercolor paper watercolor paper. watercolor paper.
watercolor paper.
The student
created a design The student The student
Did not create
Using required materials within the boxes created a design created a design
design within
(Review video or PowerPoint using all of the 7 within boxes within boxes
boxes using
on google classroom for list of required using all of the 7 using some of
required
materials) materials and required the 7 required
materials
continued to materials. materials.
explore.
The student
The student was The student The student did
responded to all
able to respond responded to not respond to
questions on
to all questions some questions questions on
google
Responding on google on google google
classroom
classroom classroom classroom
attached to
attached to attached to attached to
assignment using
assignment. assignment. assignment.
paragraphs.
The student did
The student
The student not submit
submitted
submitted assignment or
Submission completed
completed submitted
assignment on
assignment. incomplete
time.
assignment.
Student Self-Assessment:

/20
Teacher Assessment:

/20

UDL: Create video for students to reference back to for students who forget or were absent.
Announce what I am doing and visually demonstrate. List of requirements on board for visual
reference.