Last updated: March 8, 2019
Lesson Plan
Homage to Bleriot
- Grade Level:
- Lower Elementary: Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade
- Subject:
- Literacy and Language Arts,Math,Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- State Standards:
- NATIONAL/STATE STANDARDS:
Historical, Cultural, and Social Contexts.
Creative Expression and Communication.
Analyzing and Responding. - Thinking Skills:
- Remembering: Recalling or recognizing information ideas, and principles. Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts.
Essential Question
How do people communicate ideas through interpreting and creating visual symbols?
Objective
See notes in Background Information.
Background
Students will be able to interpret and create visual symbols to communicate ideas.
Visual Art Standard: Historical, Cultural, and Social Contexts
Benchmark: Identify art forms, visual ideas, and images and describe how they are influenced by time and culture.
Visual Art Standard: Creative Expression and Communication
Benchmark: Develop a range of subject matter and ideas to communicate meaning in two- and three-dimensional works of art.
Visual Art Standard: Analyzing and Responding
Benchmark: Identify and describe the visual features and characteristics in works of art.
Preparation
Materials for this plan include a reproduction of Robert Delaunay's Homage to Bleriot, pencils, sketch paper, color pencils, marker, or pastel
Materials
Procedure
The instructor will show the group a large reproduction of Homage to Bleriot, and ask to reflect on the work. The instructor will ask what shapes, colors, and designs are being used in the painting. Students will also be given an opportunity to tell the group what each of these items means in his or her interpretation.
The instructor will take a few moments to explain what the symbols in the painting meant to the artist. The entire work was a celebration of technological progress, as represented by the airplanes and Eiffel tower. Bleriot's flight across the English Channel was a significant event in Europe. The circles represent the movement of propellers, the sun, and the rose windows in cathedrals. The variety of colors are intended to represent the idea that unity is present even in opposites.
The instructor will brainstorm with students on recent important technological innovations. Examples might include the Internet, cell phones, solar panels, renewable fuel systems, smart cars, and other innovations.
Students will be asked to create a painting that celebrates one of these technological achievements. The instructor may ask students to start by sketching out ideas on practice paper, or may have students begin drawing directly on the final paper.
Assessment
The success of this project can be ascertained through the quality of the artwork. The instructor can also ask a series of questions regarding the objectives of the lesson to determine how well students have comprehended the material.Alternatively, the rubric below can be used to rate each child's performance during the working period.
Art Rubric
| Category | Possible Points | Points Earned |
| Craftsmanship | 20 | |
| Time on Task | 20 | |
| Following Assignment Guidelines | 20 | |
| Use of Materials | 20 | |
| Clean Up | 20 |
Park Connections
Graphic design – The group might explore the idea of graphic design, and consider how their ideas could be used on a variety of materials and products. Robert Delaunay's wife, Sonia Delaunay-Terk, used many of the color and shape patterns she and her husband developed on articles of clothing. Students could think about how to transpose the images they used in their paintings on shirts, pants, or shoes.History – The group could explore other technological innovations, and the ways that artists have celebrated them in a visual form.
Extensions
Peer groups can be used to assist students who struggle to develop ideas, or have difficulty expressing themselves in a visual format.Additional Resources
The Eiffel Tower, Robert Delaunay, by Milos Cvach and Sophie CurtilRobert Delaunay, by Michel Hoog
Sonia Delaunay: Artist of the Lost Generation, by Axel Madsen
Sonia Delaunay: Fashion and Fabrics, by Jacques Damase