Paint Like Pollock Lesson Plan

Lesson Beginning:

Title/Unit: Paint Like Pollock

Grade Level: First Grade
Timing: about 2 1-hour sessions

South Dakota Visual Arts Content Standards and Rationale:

1.VA.Cn.10.1 Create art that tells a story or expresses a mood about a life
experience.
Rational Statement- Students will choose any shapes or colors that make
them feel a certain way and use them for their project.
1.VA.Re.8.1Compare images that represent the same subject.
Rational Statement- At the end of the lesson there will be a gallery where
students will share their artwork with the class and look at how the other
students made theirs.

Learning outcomes/Lesson Objectives:

● The student will incorporate abstract style in their painting
● The student will show line and shape in their work through their painting
● The student is able to explain how their painting reflects their emotion
● The student will paint like Jackson Pollock through dripping and
smearing paint on canvas

Prior knowledge: none

Vocabulary Terms: Abstract, Line, Shape, Action Painting, Jackson Pollock

Materials list: 3-4 colors of tempera paint, black tempera paint, small paint
brushes, a roll of butcher paper, 9” x12” colored construction paper,
clothespins, yarn, old t-shirts
Lesson Body:

Anticipatory Set: Before the project, we will read Action Jackson by Jan
Greenberg as a class. Afterward, we will talk about who he was and what we
will be doing for our project.

Instruction: (lecture, discussion, etc.):

● At the beginning of the first class, we will sit down together and read
Action Jackson by Jan Greenberg. After we are done reading we will
talk about who Pollock was and how he created his paintings.
● Have students put on old t-shirts to protect their clothes from getting
paint on them
● Layout the butcher paper on the tables to protect them from the paint.
Mix up 3 to 4 colors of tempera paint in cups for each table to use (I will
be using red, yellow, green, and blue). Each cup should have a small
paintbrush.
● Each student should have 4 pieces of 8’inch strings of yarn that has a
clothespin attached to it, this is for each of the colors. Have each
student pick out a piece of colored 9”x12” construction paper.
● Explain to the students that they are wearing the t-shirts to protect their
outfits from the paint, they may only work with one color at a time, and
before they choose a color visualize in their mind any colors that make
them feel a certain way.
● Students will hold the yarn by the clothespins and dunk them into the
paint color they want (red, yellow, green, and blue). The yarn won’t go
into the color the first time so use the paintbrush to push it in.
● Students then drag or dribble the yarn across their paper anyway how
they feel. They can do this as many times with as many colors they
want till they feel that their painting is done.
● Clean up the area and leave paintings to dry.
End of session one
● Again have students put on the old t-shirts and layout the butcher paper
on the tables. Set out cups of black tempera paint with enough small
paintbrushes for each student at the tables.
 ● Have students use black paint with paintbrushes to paint on any
shapes, lines, patterns, or objects onto their painting. Have them keep
in mind to choose them based on how they make them feel a certain
way.
● Clean up the area and hang up the paintings like a gallery.
● Students will go around and share their work and how they felt when
they made it.
End of session two

Demonstration:
● How to dunk the yarn into the paint
● Different ways to drag and dribble the yarn across the paper
● Different types of lines, shapes, patterns, and objects they can paint
onto their work

Guided Practice:
Session 1
● Reading Action Jackson and discussion (15 minute)
● Set up (10 minutes)
● Demonstration (5 minutes)
● String painting (30 minutes)
Session 2
● Set up (10 minutes)
● Demonstration (5 minutes)
● Painting on lines, shapes, patterns, and objects (20 minutes)
● Gallery walk (20 minutes)

Questioning:
● Do you remember what style of painting Jackson used?
● What types of lines and shapes are there for us to use in our projects?
● What emotion are you feeling during this project?

Checking for Understanding (formative assessment)

The student is able to describe how they felt about their painting. Students are
able to show line and shape in their painting
Lesson Closure:
The projects will be hung up and the students will have a gallery walk. Ask the
students how they felt and what they liked about creating the painting and
have them see how they each did the project differently based on how they
felt.

Differentiation: Modifications and Enrichment activities

Modification- The student will only do the string painting they will not need to
use the black paint to add lines and shapes to their project.
Advanced learner- The student will add three different objects and three
different types of lines to their painting.
 Paint Like Pollock Rubric
Lesson 1- Needs 2- Satisfactory 3- Excellent 4- Exceptional
Objectives Improvement Work Work

The student will

incorporate
abstract style in
their painting

The student will

show line and
shape in their
work through
their painting

The student is
able to explain
how their
painting reflects
their emotion

The student will

paint like
Jackson Pollock
through dripping
and smearing
paint on canvas

Paint Like Pollock Grading Rubric

AVERAGE _________________________
1= Needs improvement
2= Satisfactory
3= Excellent work
4= Exceptional work