5th Grade Contour Line – Lesson Plan

Materials:

Set up:

Each student will receive a piece of white construction paper (to be used for drawing practice), a mirror, a pencil, and a sharpie
Tape down the practice paper on the tables
Students can share oil pastels placed in small bowls set at the tables
Save the watercolor paper and mirrors – give to the students after they have practiced drawing

Discussion:

Ask students examples of Line in art they know: prompt cartoons, stick drawings, etc. Explain how Line is the most basic element of drawing, basically a moving dot. “A line is a dot, that went for a walk” from Paul Klee.
Today we’ll discuss Contour Lines and how they can make art work look more interesting and realistic. (Follow slides below – all slides are in the power point)

Contour Lines can make an object look 3-D as on the following slide of the Contour Map. Straight lines look flat but curved lines give more dimension.

Introduce Blind Contour Line Drawing.

Blind Contour Drawings are created with one line; never picking the pencil up off the page.
They are created by looking only at the subject and not the paper while drawing.
The artist, Alexander Calder, created Contour Line drawings of faces and circus animals using pen and paper and also wire. Notice how the wire starts at the chin and continuously winds around the shape of the face including the ears to the bottom of the chin.

Guided Practice: Have the students hold up their hand, take their pencil in the other and have them look only at their hand while they draw what it looks like, without looking at the paper or lifting their pencil off the page. Remind them to draw in their knuckles, rings, etc. (presenter should demonstrate)
When the students are finished, they can take a piece of watercolor paper, two pieces of masking tape, and a mirror from the front table.
Self Portrait – Project:
Students should hold their mirrors or set them flat on the table and look only at their image while they draw their face without lifting the pencil off the paper. (presenter should demonstrate)
Suggest that they start from one side of the face, or the top or bottom, and continue around the entire face including the eyes, nose, and mouth.
Remember to add glasses, earrings, and anything else unique to their own face.
Retrace the pencil line with a black Sharpie.
After creating the line drawing, use the oil pastels to color in the face in an unusual way. Suggest bright colors to create a cartoon or Andy Warhol-like effect.
Finished pieces can be mounted on a piece of black construction paper with glue sticks, or staples.

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