Paul Klee Castles

Ocassionaly I get a little stumped as to how can I teach a familiar objective using a new lesson or idea.  So, I turn to my best friend google to lend a hand (he never lets me down)!  Through google, I have found many other art teacher blogs, art lesson plans, cultural history, craft collectives, and the like.  One of my favorite blogs, Art Projects for Kids, has contributed many ideas to my classroom; including this one!

In this lesson, we looked at art examples from an abstract artist originating from Switzerland, Paul Klee.  Klee's artwork has been associated with such art historical styles as Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism.  He loves geometric shapes.  So, I took the opportunity in this lesson to help my students differentiate abstract art from realistic art and geometric shapes from organic ones.

 

 Paul Klee's painting, Castle and Sun

I did this lesson with my younger students (K, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades).  First we talked about the different parts of a castle (turrets, towers, flags, moats, drawbridges, etc.).  Then, I encouraged the students to use the ruler to help them create straight lines and geometric shapes.  I also constantly reminded students to use a lot of shapes to add detail to their artwork.  After drawing their castles onto construction paper, they colored in each shape a different color.  Lastly, they traced around each shape with either white or black oil pastel so the colors would really "pop."