Title:  Great Work Inspired by a Great Artist

Grade Level:  6

Subjects:  English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Art

Learner Outcomes:

• The students will use a timeline to review the life of Vincent van Gogh.
• The students will use a map of Europe to plot the cities in which Vincent van Gogh lived.
• The students will sketch a copy of Van Gogh's "The Bedroom at Arles."
• The students will color one sketch of Van Gogh's "The Bedroom at Arles" to match Van Gogh's color choices.
• The students will color three other copies of the sketch of "The Bedroom at Arles" in contrasting color combinations of the students' choice.

Duration of Lesson:  Two class sessions

Materials:  A color copy of "The Bedroom at Arles", a black and white copy of "The Bedroom at Arles" for each student, 4 1/4" by 5 1/2" white paper for each student, pencils, colored pencils, large map of Europe, chalkboard or paper for a timeline, black marker, flagged pins to attach to the map, duplicating paper

Technology Tools/Courseware:  Multi-media computer, printer, Internet, data projector or other projection device, plain paper copier

Teacher Notes:

• Print "The Bedroom at Arles" from the Internet site and make multiple black and white copies prior to the first session.
• For background information regarding the timeline, visit Van Gogh's Brochure Chronology.
• Display a large map of Europe and the framework for a basic timeline.  Encourage the team from Lesson Two who researched and presented Van Gogh's life to be expert leaders during procedure number one.
• Prior to the second class session, use a copier to make four identical copies of each student's sketch on a single sheet of paper.
• For each of the two class sessions, connect a data projector to display "The Bedroom at Arles" for the students to view.
• A colored copy of "The Bedroom at Arles" may be purchased at a local art store, or online from art.com.  An alternative is to print it from the Internet using a color printer.

1. Lead the students in a discussion about Vincent van Gogh's life.  Elicit dates to include on the timeline and label the map as to his cities of residence.
2. Project "The Bedroom at Arles" and discuss the colors and details of this work of art.
3. Give each student a black and white copy of the painting and a 4 1/2" by 5 1/2" piece of white paper.
4. Have each student make a dark pencil sketch of the painting.  Encourage the students to try to make their sketch resemble Van Gogh's work as closely as possible.  Praise all efforts and collect the completed drawings.
5. For the second class session, give each student the sheet with the four copies of his/her sketches.
6. Project "The Bedroom at Arles" and have students point out Van Gogh's color choices for various items in the painting.  Leave the painting projected.
7. Instruct the students to use colored pencils to color the top left sketch on their sheet the same as Van Gogh's painting.  Encourage them to match it as closely as possible.
8. Instruct the students to complete the other three sketches in contrasting colors of their choice, making each sketch a different color combination.
9. Mat and display the student work with a color copy of Van Gogh's "The Bedroom at Arles."

• A student may be given a color copy of "The Bedroom at Arles" to place on his/her desk.
• A student may describe the picture and colors chosen by Van Gogh.  The student may then tell personal color choices for the items in the painting.
• The painting could be described to a visually impaired student by a peer.

Enrichment Activities:

• Students may research to find paintings completed by Van Gogh at each of his cities of residence and add these to the timeline.
• Students may select another Van Gogh painting to copy using a different medium, such as paint.

• Observation of student participation during class completion of the timeline and map.
• Observation of student effort during the sketching and coloring procedures.
• Observation of correct color matching of the top left student sketch with Van Gogh's work.

WV IGOs

• English Language Arts

6.2, 6.6, 6.11, 6.34
• Social Studies

6.45
• Art

6.1, 6.13, 6.14, 6.17, 6.20, 6.27

Job/Career Clusters:  N/A
 

References:

"The Bedroom at Arles"
Van Gogh's Brochure Chronology
art.com.

Authors:

Deborrah Dorcas
Judy Tuckwiller
Jennalee Wilson

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 4

Lesson 5