I have been enjoying teaching the element of line to young learners this week and thought I would share the ideas with you. :)
A) First, I talk to every group about the element of "Line." There are different directions (horizontal, vertical and diagonal) that lines can move. There are different kinds of lines (straight, curved, broken) and different ways that lines end (open, closed and crossed - think of the ends not touching, touching, or the lines crossing over each other or itself at any time).
There are plenty of styles of lines - your imagination will take you to wide, skinny, jagged, wavy and on and on and on!
B) After talking about 'LINE' then I show a short video from youtube:
K-2 Kindergarten Lines There is no sound, just a very short video that demonstrates different kinds of lines.
3-4 Lines There is no sound but I talk through this video, drawing attention to the types of lines being used in each demonstration.
5-6 Jazz it up with Paul Klee There is sound with this video, so you can decide whether you want to turn it down or let it play. It is very loosely based on some of the artworks by the famous artist Paul Klee (pronounced "clay").
C) After the video, I had each group complete a practice/project that complimented the video watched. We used pencils first, then markers or paint on top.
Kindergarten - copied me as I demonstrated each type of line we learned about in the video, then chose coloured markers to trace each line. We used regular printer paper and pencils. Done.
1 - watched me demonstrate curved, closed lines that created closed spaces on their paper. They chose coloured markers to colour in those spaces. We used regard printer paper, pencils and markers. Done.
2 - using a thicker type of paper, created a series of horizontal (or vertical) lines that went all the way across the paper. They were straight, curved, wavy, zigzag, or whatever they could imagine a horizontal line could move like. and as many different kinds or horizontal lines as they wanted to include. Next, these students painted a different colour between all the lines to fill up the space between the lines. When it was dry, they carefully painted over the lines with black paint (they could have used a sharpie if the lines were very detailed. Due to the drying time, this project may take longer, which is why I like to use the powder or 'puck' paint as it dries very fast. If you use a black marker instead of paint, then it dries almost right away. We used yardstick paper, pencils, powder/puck paint, thinner paintbrushes, black markers. Done.
3-4 - Filled an entire page with lines, like those demonstrated in the video. Could choose to go over the lines with marker. We used regular printer paper and pencils. Done.
5-6 - Created a finished piece like that in the video. Use a thicker type of paper so that the paper is firm while painting and holds the weight of the paint well. Draw the lines first. If you have lots of time, then paint the lines black next and let them dry before adding the coloured paint. I didn't have lots of time so I had my students draw the lines with markers, then go straight onto the step of painting with colours. Using the puck paint meant that the paint dried quite quickly and so then my students went back and used a liquid black paint to trace over the lines at the end. They could have used a sharpie but it looks much nicer (in my opinion) with the black paint. Dry flat. I do usually use a sharpie for students to sign their work. We used yardstick paper, washable markers, powder/puck paint, wide paintbrushes to add colour, liquid tempera black paint with narrow paintbrushes. Done.
Choose, whichever lesson you think your kids will most be engaged with, recognizing that line is the basis of most art, in some way, so I like to spend a few weeks learning about 'LINE' with my students. Feel free to try them all if you like! **Sorry for the lack of pictures - I'll have to try to remember to take pictures as I do these projects with local kids so that you can see what I mean when I'm describing different actions. :)
