Islamic Tile Drawings
Submitted by: Meghan Yarnell
Art teacher at Perrysburg Junior High
Title of Lesson: Islamic Tile Drawings
Grade level: 5th-7th grade
Goals / Objectives:
1.) Students will learn about Islam and the three types of designs used in Islamic tiles by completing a Moodle lesson.
2.) Students will learn about basic color theory vocabulary.
Materials Needed:
Tissue paper, white Drawing Paper
squares, Drawing Pencils
, Colored Markers
, Colored Pencils
, stencils. (Although more expensive, Saral Transfer Paper
is easier to use than tissue paper.) and PowerPoint presentation.
Lesson Description:
Day 1
- Review the rubric.
- View the PowerPoint presentation.
- Demonstrate how to trace the sketch on tissue paper and then transfer it onto the project paper so the same corner is always in the middle.
- Students will trace their sketches on both sides of the tissue paper. The teacher will mark the right corner with a highlighter. This is the corner that is always in the middle.
Click on the images for full size.
Day 2
- Demonstrate how to outline the words with the markers. Tell them that it needs to be the same all the way around.
Day 3
- Demonstrate how to erase the pencil that shows through the markers. Demonstrate how to color in with colored pencil. Remind them that it needs to be the same all the way around.
Day 4
- Students continue to color with colored pencil.
Assessment(s):
See rubric

Resources
Links: See IAD's other Islamic Tile lesson.
Also see Bunki Kramer's Islamic Tiles lesson.
Book: Islamic Tiles - This book first explains the various techniques of the craftsmen and then traces the development of tilework, beginning with pre-Islamic tradition, through the major periods and across a wide geographic area. Superb color photographs and informative text make this book a treasure for anyone interested in art and design.
Book: Islamic Art and Architecture: The System of Geometric Design - Issam El-Said pinpoints the rules of composition that form the basis of the geometric concepts of Islamic art. He then shows how intricate patterns are based on these basic principles.