detailed dioramas: pictures of hollis woods - hallmark...

Integrated Lesson Plan for Language Arts & Visual Arts

Detailed Dioramas:

Pictures of Hollis Woods

Grades 3 to 6

Sunday,December 2

on CBS

Detailed Dioramas: Pictures of Hollis Woods

Objectives Students demonstrate their understanding of the relationships between graphic art and written text by working cooperatively in small groups to create detailed dioramas that show how Patricia Reilly Giff integrated characters and setting to develop a theme in Pictures of Hollis Woods. Students demonstrate the ability to draw meaningful conclusions about the connections between literature and life through discus-sions with other readers. Students (5-6) use elements of the writing process to describe and interpret a meaningful event from their own lives.

Background InformationMany folk artists draw inspiration from personal memories, painting scenes from their own lives in great detail. Grandma Moses (actually Anna Mary Robertson Moses 1860-1961) was one such artist. Her detailed paintings, such as Sugaring Off and Apple Pickers, recall bucolic New England activities. She was “discovered” when well into her seventies by an art collector who saw several of her paintings hanging in a drugstore window in Hoosic Falls, New York, in 1939. The Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont, houses a large collection of her work. In contrast to the personal scenes painted by Grandma Moses, Faith Ringgold painted from the collective memory of her African American roots. "Tar Beach," a painted story quilt, is on exhibit in the Brooklyn Museum in New York. It is also the basis for a children’s picture book by the same name which was published in 1991. Another art form artists use to preserve memories is the diorama. This is a life-like scene in which sculptures are set against a decorated background inside a box or concave shell. Some people liken them to set designs for the theater. While most dioramas are miniature, some are life size such as the well-known animal dioramas at the Museum of Natural History in New York and the vibrant street scenes by American pop artist, Red Grooms.


ResourcesThe Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine PattersonEleven-year-old, “tough as nails” foster child, Gilly Hopkins, meets her match with foster mother Maime Trotter. In the process she gains an understanding of herself as well as of the very human characters who surround her.

Tar Beach by Faith RinggoldThe vibrant illustrations in this picture book are based on images in a story quilt by the artist. They depict detailed scenes from the life of a fictional Depression-era child enjoying family times on the roof (tar beach) of her New York City apartment.

The Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff A warm-hearted story about 12-year-old Hollis, who is a tal-ented artist in search of a family. Themes include creativity, diversity, acceptance of individual differences, aging, character development, the foster care system, and emotional maturity.The Year With Grandma Moses by W. Nikola-LisaElementary school students are fascinated by the details of everyday life in these full-color reproductions of paintings by the artist known as Grandma Moses. Also included is a photograph of the artist at work and excerpts from her memoirs detailing the routines, pleasures, and disappointments of her life.

Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History by Stephen Christopher QuinnWritten by a member of the American Museum of Natural History’s curatorial staff, this book introduces readers to more than 40 of the museum’s dioramas and offers a detailed look at how they were created. Intriguing for all ages.

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Building fun and creativity into standards-based learning

Multiple Intelligences

Bodily-kinesthetic Linguistic

Interpersonal Spatial

Intrapersonal

Linguistic

Spatial

Visual Arts Standard #6Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines

Grades 3-6 Language Arts Standard #2Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.Language Arts Standard #11Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Grades 5-6 Language Arts Standard #5Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

National Standards

My FamilyAlison L., age 11



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Vocabulary List

DioramaFormPerspective

• ArttermsArmature

Charcoal Composition

Plot• Literaryterms

Characterization Mood

• TextualvocabularyAdoption

Dollop Family

ProportionSculpt

Setting

LingeringPierRunner

ForgetfulnessFosterchild/familyJetty

TextureWhittle

Theme

SkitteringWaders



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Introduce the book Pictures of Hollis Woods. Read the story together or independently. Encourage students to visualize the richly detailed scenes. Ask students and their families to watch Pictures of Hollis Woods on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, Sunday December 2 at 9 p.m. EST on CBS television. The movie can also be purchased for screening in classrooms for later viewing or review. Display art work that focuses on details of everyday life, such as reproductions of paintings by Grandma Moses and Faith Ringgold, as well as sample dioramas. Discuss ways to preserve memories. How do we hold onto memories that are important to us? Discuss wishes and how they inspire us to seek fulfillment. What was Hollis’s wish? How did that wish affect her relationships with others? What was there about her experiences with the Reagans and Josie that changed her attitude? What did Beatrice mean in chapter four when she told Hollis, “You have to keep looking to see the truth”? What did Hollis later discover about the true relationship between Steven and his father when she looked back at some of the details in a picture she had drawn of them? Explain that students will be working together to create dioramas of various scenes from the book. Ask them to reread those portions of the book that they recall most vividly, noting the details provided by the author.

• Colored Pencils • Crayons • Markers • Model Magic® or Model Magic Fusion™ or Air-Dry Clay • School Glue

• Chenille stems • Construction paper • Modeling tools such as plastic dinner knives, craft sticks, and toothpicks• Natural, found materials such as feathers, twigs, raffia, stones, leaves • Recycled items • Recycled cardboard boxes • Rulers • White paper

Review the resources and use them as a springboard to find connections with student interests and experiences. Make a small-scale diorama to inspire children’s creativity. Collaborate with local writers, social workers, and artists in residence to add to the richness of the literacy and visual arts experience. Select boxes large enough to accommodate the work of several students. Boxes that contained 10 reams of paper are ideal. Collect small boxes, cardboard tubing, and clean, recycled plastic containers to use as armatures for the sculptures. Choose the modeling compound that is most suitable for the project. Model Magic is soft, easy to manipulate, and light weight. Model Magic Fusion is ideal for projects with lots of detail and texture. Air-Dry Clay lends itself well to solid forms and can be painted when dry. Try working with the compound you plan to use. Show students how to knead Model Magic. Mix it a little for a marbled effect. Knead longer to create new colors. Demonstrate how to use armatures to support a figure covered with a thin layer of modeling compound. Use bold colors and a variety of craft materials for the most dramatic effects. Painting is another possibility.

Suggested Preparation and Discussion

Grades 3-� Grades 5-6

Crayola® Supplies

Other Materials

Set-up/Tips

Family Fishing TraditionMixed Media

Artist: Julia SeftonPrivate Collection.




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Plan the project 1. Students form groups of 3 or 4 to discuss key scenes and select one to illustrate for their project.

2. Work together to sketch the scene with colored pencils, much like Hollis created her pictures. Note specific details. What figures (both humans and objects) will be sculpted? Who will make each one?

Process: Session 1�0-50 min.


3. Choose large boxes for the dioramas. Discuss proportion as it relates to the figures and objects each student will make.

3. Choose large boxes for the dioramas. Measure and calculate proportions and sizes of all figures and objects to be represented.

Create figures �. Students experiment briefly with the modeling compound and then create their sculptures as planned. Use

modeling tools to add details and texture. Embed small beads, twigs, and other textural objects for added interest. Encourage students to strive for realism and accuracy in their creations.

5. Store unfinished pieces and remaining modeling compound in plastic containers with lids. Fusion™ dries to the touch overnight and dries completely in 2 to 3 days.

Process: Session 2�0-50 min.(may be repeated)

Design diorama setting 6. Students collaborate to create backgrounds inside the box with paper, colored pencils, additional modeling com-

pound, and other craft materials. Glue them to the inside walls of the box.

Process: Session 3�0-50 min.

7. Cover the outside of the box to create a polished presentation.

7. Encourage students to think about the outside walls of the box, too, if appropriate. For example, students who create an interior house scene may wish to decorate the front panel of the box to look like the front porch.

Assemble diorama 8. Students work together to assemble their dioramas, paying attention to how various characters interact with

each other and their positions in the environment. Consider overall composition. How can students make the scene aesthetically pleasing by looking at the effects of line, form, balance, unity, and movement?

9. When groups are satisfied with the overall composition, glue figures securely in place. Air-dry the glue.

Process: Session �30-�0 min.

Process: Session 5

Grades 3-�30-�0 min.

Grades 5-650-60 min.

Write explanatory text 10. Groups determine titles for their dioramas.

11. Prepare display cards with the title of the work, the names of the artists, and a brief explanation of the importance of the scene to the overall theme of the book.

Write personal narratives 10. Each group determines a title for their work and

attaches a title card to the diorama that includes the names of the artists.

11. Ask each student to envision a key scene from his or her own life. Write a short personal narrative including as many visual details as possible. Why is the memory of this scene important? Does the student have any new insights looking back on it now? Encourage those who want to display their writing to do so.

12. Students share and explain their dioramas with the class. Arrange dioramas in chapter order. Discuss how well the dioramas portray the book’s settings and characters.


Family FrescoWatercolors and Tempera Mixing MediumsArtist: Betsy MoerderPrivate Collection.



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Did students work cooperatively to plan and create a diorama based on a scene from Pictures of Hollis Woods? Are the dioramas rich in details that accurately reflect descriptions in the book? Does each diorama reveal a sense of story and reflect relationships between characters? Are dioramas aesthetically pleasing? Ask students to reflect on this lesson and write a DREAM statement to summarize the most important things they learned and reflect on how they will use their knowledge. Suggest that they dream about exploring more ideas in the book and embellishing on the art techniques they learned.

Assessment


Do explanations clearly relate the scene to the theme of the book?

Does student writing reflect an understanding of the connections between life and literature?

• After reading the book, fold paper in half. On the left side, sketch a favorite scene from the book. THEN watch the movie. Sketch that scene as it appeared in film. Discuss with students: How are the two settings alike? How are they different? Which intrigued your imaginations more—the book or the movie?• On maps of New York state, children locate geographic landmarks referred to in the story such as Long Island, Palisades Parkway, Route 17, Exit 90 (What town is there?), the town of Hancock, and the Delaware River. • Draw wishing pictures or make collages of wishes like those that introduce the story. Write essays describing why the wishes were chosen. What can students do to make their wishes come true?• Make tree figures much like those Josie carved, by shaping Model Magic® Fusion™ around tree branches or other armatures. Create characters in the story (perhaps even one that shows how Hollis might have depicted Josie), self-portrait sculptures, or a representation of a family member. Encourage children to use the natural contours of the branches for inspiration.• After watching the program, encourage families to read the book together. Compare and contrast the experiences in the two media.• Suggest that families do related art projects at home, such as working together on scrapbooks, making a diorama of a memorable event in their lives, or sketching/sculpting a family portrait. See the following page for a handout. Adapt it to suit your classroom and homework assignments, sign it, and distribute it to families.• Explore Crayola.com for related activities such as Family Food Favorites, Here’s My Family, Intergenerational Interviews, Family Fireplace Fun, Family Fishing Tradition, and Family Fresco.

Other Ideas andExtensions

• Encourage students who enjoyed recalling a special memory from their own lives to create an illustration similar to those Hollis drew in her sketchbook.• Draw pictures that depict predictions about Hollis Woods’ future. Where will she be? What will she be doing? How did she get there?• Interview someone who works in the foster care system or who has been a foster family. How does Hollis’s story reflect real-life experience? How do families and social workers collaborate to resolve issues?

Family ReunionKeith I., age 12

Family Food FavoritesMixed mediaArtist: Susan DobiasPrivate Collection.

Detailed Dioramas: Pictures of Hollis Woods 7

© 2007 Crayola, LLC Easton, PA 18044-0431

Dear Families,

As part of our literacy and fine arts curriculum, our class is reading Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff. A movie based on this award-winning book will be shown on the Hallmark Hall of Fame on Sunday December 2 at 9 p.m. EST on CBS television. We encourage you to watch the movie with your children—and read the book along with them, too!

Small groups of children in our class are making dioramas of memorable scenes from the book. Ask your student which scene the group chose and talk about why it was picked. You might inquire about progress on the project in a day or two.

After you see the show, we suggest that you follow up with some family activities like these to enhance your children’s language and visual arts skills. Everyone will enjoy the opportunity to reflect on this delightful and thought-provoking book!

• Each family member could choose a picture described in the book. Sketch it the way Hollis might have drawn it. Compare and contrast your sketches.

• Make a 3-D diorama in a recycled box showing an unforgettable scene from the book/movie or from your own lives.

• Draw, paint, sculpt, or photograph a family portrait. What will each of you wear? What will be in the background? Who will sit? Who will stand? How will the group be arranged?

• Interview a family member or neighbor who is about the age of Josie. What is it like to be retired? To forget things sometimes? What hobbies keep the person active and interested in life?

• Take a few minutes for each family member to remember a person who has been a life-long influence. What was that person like? Why did she or he make such a difference?

• Start a family scrapbook, on paper or on line, to capture some of your favorite times together. Fill it with pictures, mementoes, and lively captions!

• What dreams does your family share? What dreams does each person have? How will you make your dreams come true?

We hope you enjoy sharing the book and movie with each other. We’ll let you know when our dioramas are finished so you can visit our classroom to see the projects!

Sincerely,

Still Life in the KitchenVito Antoine M., age 10

Detailed Dioramas: Pictures of Hollis Woods8

Find out how much fun—and how creative—standards-based learning can be! These six Crayola Dream-Makers guides are meant for classroom teachers and art specialists K-6.

To learn more about how the Crayola Dream-Makers library can help you build fun and creativity into learning, and to receive a free lesson plan, visit www.Crayola.com/DreamMakers

For more free arts-integrated lesson plan ideas, go to Crayola.com

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detailed dioramas: pictures of hollis woods - hallmark...

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