4th Grade Lesson

Still Life Stuffies

I wrote this lesson to teach the 4th grade students at Discovery Elementary the techniques of Observational Drawing. I showed them how to break down complex objects into simple shapes, starting out the sketch with pencil using light pressure, then increasing pressure once the basic outline was correct. We learned the technique of visually measuring to capture the correct proportions and attempted to "draw what we see", leaving out anything hidden from view. It is necessary to forget what you think you know when drawing something familiar in order to create realistic Still Life Drawings.

I brought my own stuffed animals from home to position on each table of four students. They were told not to move the subjects once placed, or the angles would be changed for their classmates' work in progress. Most students resisted the urge to play with the stuffed animals until the end of the lesson, with the incentive set that they could earn that time at the end of class.

This lesson took 4 class periods of 50-minutes to complete. I introduced the concepts, demonstrated the techniques, and allowed the students to practice in their sketchbooks on the first day. For the second lesson, they received their project paper and began out outline drawings in pencil. On the third day, we watched the video on blending colored pencils, and they continued to develop their still life drawings. The fourth day was for students to finish details and add deeper value ranges with shadows and highlights. We reviewed the techniques learned and conducted a "kind critique" and self-assessment.