Visual Arts Lesson Plan

Title: Heritage Quilt

By: Cristin Berdula
Grade: 3
Timing: 2 sessions of 40 minutes
1 session of 80 minutes
Overview/Big Idea:
This is an introductory art lesson on how to use elements of design to create meaning in an artwork. Each
student will begin by compiling materials that can be used to represent their heritage and identity. After a series
of mini-lessons guided by the instructor, the students will create a heritage quilt square. As a whole, this art
piece will depict the multicultural experience of the classroom.

Specific Curriculum Expectations:
Art
D1.2 demonstrate an understanding of composition, using principles of design to create narrative art works or
art works on a theme (variety)

D1.4 use a variety of materials, tools, and techniques to respond to design challenges

D2.2 explains how elements and principles of design are used to communicate meaning or understanding in
their own and others art work

D3.2 demonstrate an awareness of a variety of works of art and artistic traditions from diverse communities,
times, and places

Social Studies
demonstrate an understanding that communities may be made up of people from many cultures

Materials & Tools:
- Books on Quilts for students to reference
- Images of Quilts that represent particular cultures (books, internet resources)
-1 sheet construction paper per student (student can pick their colour from 4 options)
- Markers, pencil crayons
- Scraps of paper, personal memorabilia, postcards, magazines, newspapers, lace, felt, stickers, ect.
- Glue, scissors
- Large paper for finished piece (about 5 by 5)


Delivering the Lesson
Timin
g

15
min


5
min

15
min
Grouping
Warm-up/Mental Set
Lesson 1
- Post three examples of culturally specific quilts
- Question: If this quilt were a map, what journey might it be describing?
- Students will pick one quilt example
- Students will predict what the artwork is describing by drawing a visual map
Lesson 2
-Ask students to write down their favourite colour and their reasoning
-At the carpet, share a few students responses
Lesson 3
-Gallery walk: Group art assignment from lesson 2 posted on the chalkboard
-Review lesson on colour by discussing these works

W







S I






20
min




20
min









50
min






































Body of the Lesson (Step-by-Step)
Lesson 1
-Share a few student maps
- Discuss how art can tell a story about a persons life and culture
-Explain what each posted quilt says about its culture and people (African American,
Aboriginal, and Japanese examples)
- Introduce assignment: Create one quilt square that depicts your identity and heritage.
We will paste all of them together to create a quilt about the classrooms multicultural
identity
Lesson 2
- Discuss how colour can be used in art symbolically to produce meaning
-Use quilt example from Intuitive Color and Design p.45
-What comes to mind when you look at this image?
-Do you think that if the predominant colour in this quilt was blue you would still think of
the forest? What might you think of instead?
-Use the example to discuss how colour creates unity and how it also creates variety
- What other colours were used in this quilt? How does that impact the work?
-Divide students into small groups (3 or 4)
-Each group will receive one piece of coloured construction paper (yellow, blue, red, or
green) with an emotion written on the back of the paper and a set of markers
-Students will collaborate on a small artwork that uses colour to: depict emotion, create
variety, and unify the artwork as a whole
Lesson 3
-Work period
-After a short conference with the instructor regarding the students preliminary work,
student will choose the colour of their construction paper for their quilt square
-Students will create their quilt square using a variety of collected materials and their
preliminary work as a reference point



5
min


15
min


15
min

















Closure:
Lesson 1
- What are some possible symbols you can use in your own quilt square? (Generate
some ideas using a bubble chart with the word Heritage in the center)
-Homework: begin collecting materials for your quilt square
Lesson2
-- Students will create a preliminary drawing or list that addresses how colour will be used
in their quilt square to convey meaning and to respond to design challenges
Lesson 3
-Each student will have the opportunity to explain their artwork, then I will assist them in
pasting their art too the finished piece
-Summarize the big ideas of the assignment using the finished quilt as an example
-The Heritage Quilt will be displayed outside the classroom to show the individual
multicultural experience (variety) and the multicultural community (unity) of the class