Lesson Plan Title : Drawing with Emotion

Age Range: Grade 3 through grade 5

Overview and Purpose: This lesson provides students an opportunity to explore how certain colors and styles of writing reflect emotion. Students use words to name an emotion and colors to describe it. Some of the effects can be quite dramatic.

Objective: The student will be able to

1. use color in his drawing to show emotion.

2. name the emotions various colors usually represent.

Resources:

White paper

Ruler

Various colored markers, colored pencils, and/or crayons

Activities:

Begin the class by having students name all the emotions they can think of and the colors associated with them. Explain that emotions can be depicted in a picture by using color, but also by how the word is written. Discuss how angry might appear in all capital or large letters or there might be big spaces between the letters to illustrate the feeling.

Explain to the students that they are going to choose four of the words that are listed and show their meaning using only the word and color. They will need to divide their paper into four sections, but let them decide how big or small those sections should be. The paper should be completely covered in color, no white space is allowed unless it is used to convey the emotion.

When the students have finished, encourage them to share their drawings with the class.

Wrap Up:

Some students may take awhile to get started on this assignment or need several sheets of paper because they have 'messed up'. Allow them to begin again as many times as necessary while they figure out how the emotions will look. The pictures can be put together in a quilt and hung up on the wall to help students with naming or identifying feelings.