Using Tone in Art
Lesson Plan Submitted by: A. Southwell
Elementary Teacher at Kenthurst P.S. in Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Grades: Children aged 7-12
Procedure:
This is a series of three lessons to familiarize children with tone in art.
Lesson one:
Have children paint a narrow strip of tone starting with white and adding small amounts of black gradually until the strip is now black. Put strips of different coloured cellophane paper over the top. This shows the tones of different colours.
Lesson two:
Give children a postcard size piece of light card and old magazines. Get children to choose a favorite colour. Now find and cut out as many examples of that colour from the magazine as they can. Assemble cut out pieces into a pleasing design (geometric is best) on the postcards.
Lesson three:
Children paint a scene of a room in their house from memory onto the art paper using tone, on the light card they paint a door leading into their room. When everything has dried sticky tape the door onto their painting to create a 3D effect. These lessons were done with a multi-age class of 8 - 10 year olds. They now have a very clear idea of tone and how to use it to enhance their art work. The lessons were based on materials provided by the New South Wales Board of Studies (Stage 2)
Materials:
Strips of paper
White and black Tempera Paint
Coloured cellophane
Post cards (or Tag board
cut to about 3"x5" / 8x13 cm)
Magazines
and Motivation:
Art Prints demonstrating the use of values
Resources
Books
The Artist's Guide to Using Tone Effectively
Elements of Color and Value
