4 sessions; 50 minutes per session

1. SWBAT use elements of movement, texture, color, space, and rhythm to create a pastel picture.
2. SWBAT identify the Starry Night painting and who painted it.
3. SWBAT use blending techniques in their drawing to create effective colors, highlights and shadows.

1. Black construction paper
2. Oil Pastels
3. Picture of Starry Night

Need these materials? Visit Blick!

1. Teach students about Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh, and when he painted it.
2. Have a discussion about elements of the painting and what they like.
3. Guide them through drawing the picture. I do this step by step and use an elmo and projector, but you can do it on the board or on paper close to them.
4. Start out using the pastels.(You can have them use a pencil too but we always just use the pastels.) Draw out the basic shapes of the pumpkins. Fill in with oranges and then detail in a hard black line. Use white to give little highlights. Do the grass around pumpkins next.
5. Now work on the sky!Put the moon in first.Do shades of yellow around moon. Next lay in the swirls with white, it's just little broken lines. Then lay in different shades of blue. Make sure they know to make their lines close together and fill in their spaces, they don't want to leave large amounts of black.

Students will be assessed on their ability to follow directions, fill their spaces, and use their learned blending techniques correctly.

I do this with 2nd to 5th graders in the fall. They really get excited about creating a piece that is inspired from a painting that most of them have seen before. These come out stunning every time. You just need to monitor closely and assist when needed. Have faith in the kids to just dive in with the pastels, they can do it with a little guidance!
*We also hung all of their pictures on the board side by side and took pictures of the kids in front of them, it looked really cool!

[K-4] Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories

[K-4] Students use art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner

[K-4] Students know the differences between materials, techniques, and processes

[K-4] Students use visual structures and functions of art to communicate ideas

[K-4] Students know the differences among visual characteristics and purposes of art in order to convey ideas

[K-4] Students describe how different expressive features and organizational principles cause different responses

[K-4] Students select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning

[K-4] Students explore and understand prospective content for works of art

[K-4] Students know that the visual arts have both a history and specific relationships to various cultures

[K-4] Students identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures, times, and places

[K-4] Students demonstrate how history, culture, and the visual arts can influence each other in making and studying works of art

[K-4] Students understand there are various purposes for creating works of visual art

[K-4] Students understand there are different responses to specific artworks

[K-4] Students describe how people's experiences influence the development of specific artworks

[K-4] Students understand and use similarities and differences between characteristics of the visual arts and other arts disciplines

[K-4] Students identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum

Vincent van Gogh

Impressionism

Balance, Color/Value, Contrast, Emphasis, Form, Line, Movement, Rhythm/Pattern, Space, Texture, Unity/Harmony, Variety

Drawing, Pastel