Lesson 2: Letting Go Bird- Bird Design + Glue
Duration of Days: 3
Lesson Objective
Students will apply Collage Techniques to transform their "weights" into a symbol of levity.
How can "broken" pieces provide "lift"? How does the arrangement of shapes (composition) create a sense of movement or stillness?
Collage: A piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric onto a backing. Anatomy: The structural makeup of a subject.
VA:Cr2.1.HS: Through experimentation and practice, demonstrate acquisition of skills and knowledge in a chosen art form.
Synthesis: The ability to combine disparate parts (scraps) to form a new, logical whole—similar to synthesizing evidence in an essay.
Description: Creating a bird/weightless subject using the scraps. Purpose: Practicing fine motor skills and symbolic reconstruction. DOK Level 3: Strategic thinking regarding placement and symbolic intent.
Kintsugi: The Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, celebrating the "scars" as part of the object's history and beauty.
"It has to look like a realistic bird." Correction: Focus on the feeling of flight; the bird can be abstract or even a different weightless object (leaf, seed, etc.).
Provide bird stencils or "anatomy maps" for students who struggle with drawing proportions.
Progress Check: Peer-to-peer "gallery walk" halfway through to see how others are layering their paper "feathers."
Heavy cardstock, glue sticks, matte medium, bird reference photos. Text: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou) excerpt