time required: two sessions @ 40 minutes · paper turned vertically. to ensure that their otter...
TRANSCRIPT
TIME REQUIRED: Two sessions @ 40 minutes
Sea OtterLINE, TEXTURE & VALUE
WatercolorResist
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !2
This adorable little floating sea otter is
guaranteed to be a hit with your first graders. In
addition to featuring one of the cutest sea
mammals, this lesson also allows students a
chance to experiment with several fun ways to
create texture. Students will learn about line
direction, drawing both horizontal and vertical
lines for texture and they will create different
values of colors as they paint their background.
ABOUT THE BOOK Reading Together by Emma Dodd is a great way
to introduce the lesson to your students. The text
in the book is simple, which allows the beautiful
illustrations to shine. Most notably, there are many
different textures represented in the book, from
the fuzzy otter fur to the reflective surface of the
water, which offers many opportunities for
students to reflect on the textures found in nature.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
12” x 18” white sulphite paper
Pencil and eraser
Otter head template
Oil pastels (black, brown, white)
Watercolors
Large paintbrush
Tempera paint (blue, green,
white)
Bubble wrap, cut into pieces
Scissors and glue
Sea Otter Watercolor Resist
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !3
After reading the book to
students, choose a page
containing several different
textures to focus on. Discuss
with the students the meaning
of the word TEXTURE: the
way something feels or looks
like it feels.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS TO HELP MAKE CONNECTIONS: Ask students to choose one object/image from the selected page and
DESCRIBE the texture. Some sample questions could include:
• What is the texture of the otter?
• How do you know it feels that way?
• Have you ever touched one before?
• Did the artist do something to help you figure out the texture?
You can model the process beforehand so students understand that they not only need to give a
texture example, but also justify their answer with a reason why.
Example: I think the seaweed would feel slimy because I swam in the ocean and had seaweed touch
my foot before and it felt slimy and gooey.
You can either have a class discussion in which you choose one object and students brainstorm
texture words collectively, or students could choose their own object and work in pairs, taking turns
to describe their chosen texture with a partner.
Book discussion
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !4
Students will begin the project with their 12” x 18”
paper turned vertically. To ensure that their otter will fill
the page, I’ve included a template for the otter’s head
on page 10. Trace the head template near the top of
the paper.
Starting the drawing off with an appropriately sized
head will allow the rest of their drawing to be in
proportion.
Inside the head, draw a curved line that goes from left
to right. Make sure to leave some space both above
and below the curved line for facial features.
For the nose, draw an upside-down triangle. Draw a
“W” under the nose for the mouth. For the eyes,
draw two circles that touch the top of the curved line.
Draw a “C” and a backward “C” on both sides of
the mouth for the otter’s chubby cheeks. Draw three
or four whiskers on each side. On the top of the
head, draw ears.
For the body, draw a long “U” shape that starts at
one corner of the head, approaches the bottom of
the page, then comes back up to the other corner
of the head. I told students at this point that if
their drawing looked like a potato with a
head, they were on the right track.
Add arms, a tummy and a tail.
Drawing the Otter
Drawing Guide on page 9
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !5
Watercolor ResistDRAWING WITH OIL PASTEL: Otters have the densest fur of any water mammal. To give the
illusion of dense fur, students will add LINES with oil pastels to
give their otter an IMPLIED TEXTURE, or a texture that can be
seen and not necessarily felt.
Using a white oil pastel, add VERTICAL lines inside the belly
area. You can’t see them very well now, but you will later!
Use the brown oil pastel to add texture lines to the head, body,
paws, ears and tail. You can talk to students about changing the
direction of their lines to add variety in their otter.
ADDING THE WATERCOLOR Begin with a layer of yellow watercolor on the belly. Expect
students to be amazed when they see their white oil pastel
texture lines show up as they paint on top of them.
Use brown watercolor to paint everything else on the otter
except for the space including the nose and the mouth. If a
student accidentally paints this area, assure them that it’s okay,
but aim to have students leave this area
white.
The last step is to add a brown wash on
top of the yellow belly. This will give a
rich golden color to the belly and make
it different than the rest of the body.
Set aside paintings to dry.
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !6
Creating valuePainting the background is a fun experiment with color, involving
the DOUBLE-LOADING method, in which you dip into several
colors without washing your paintbrush and mix the colors
directly on your paper.
This background is all about exploration with color, so let
students be creative. However, you can demonstrate over-
mixing, where everything becomes the same color as a non-
example.
Discuss with students how to make TINTS, or lighter versions of
a color, by adding white. Demonstrate how to make different
tints of blue, green, and a combination of the two by adding
different amounts of white on the paintbrush.
Prepare a palette with blue, green and white tempera paint.
Encourage them to paint their entire paper, all the way to the
edges. Use large paintbrushes so it doesn’t take too long to
paint the entire 12” x 18” piece of paper.
TIP: When using the double-loading method, I like to tell
students to dip their paintbrush into the paint like they would
dip a chicken nugget into ketchup, straight up and down. I use
scooping ice cream as the non-example, swiping their
paintbrush across the color.
Set aside to dry completely before adding texture.
+ =
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !7
Once the background is completely dry, use white
oil pastel to add the water drop texture on top.
Start with a small circle, then draw larger circles
around it, some with broken lines. Draw 4-5 water
drops spaced out around their background.
BUBBLE TEXTURE: Start with a palm-sized piece of
bubble wrap. While holding the bubble wrap in
your palm with the bumpy side facing up, use
white tempera paint to paint the bubbles.
TIP: To avoid getting your hands too messy, leave
an un-painted edge around the outside of the
bubble wrap, so you have a clean place to grab
when you flip it over.
Adding Water Texture
Once the bubbles are painted, flip over the bubble wrap
onto the paper and rub lightly.
Peel the bubble wrap up to reveal the bubble texture, then
place the bubble wrap back in your palm and repeat the
process several times, spacing the bubbles out.
Cut out the otter and glue to the background.
If the otter will fit on the paper tilted (with its head toward
the top corner of the paper instead of directly facing the
top), it will help to add to the composition and gives the
look of the otter floating by on the paper.
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !8
1st Grade Sea Otter Gallery
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !9
Sea Otter
Begin by drawing a large,
upside-down “U” with a
curved line on the bottom
OR trace the head template.
Draw a curved line across the
head. Above the line, draw
two eyes. Under the line,
draw a “U” shaped nose and
a “W” for the mouth.
Add short, curved lines and
whiskers on each side of the
mouth. Add small ears.
For the body of the sea otter,
draw a big “U” shape that
connects to the head and
almost touches the bottom
of the paper.
Draw “U” shaped arms and
legs that are resting on the
tummy of the sea otter.
Finish the sea otter by
drawing a “U” on the tummy,
remembering to skip over
the arms when you are
drawing. Add a tail.
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D R A W I N G G U I D E
2 3
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ANIMAL ART B U N D L E
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !10
HOW TO USE: Print template on cardstock and cut out.
T E M P L A T ESea Otter
SEA
OTT
ER
HEA
D
ANIMAL ART B U N D L E
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !11
CREATING Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work — Collaboratively explore and use
imaginative play with materials—Use observations to prepare for artwork
Organize and develop artistic ideas and work — Explore materials to create artwork—
demonstrate safe & proper procedures
Refine and complete artistic work—Use art vocabulary to describe choices in art-making
Presenting/producing Analyze, interpret and select artistic work for presentation— Explain why some objects,
artifacts and artwork are valued over others
Develop and refine artistic work for presentation — Ask and answer questions of where,
when, why and how artwork should be prepared for presentation/preservation.
Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work — Identify the roles and
responsibilities of people who work in museums and art settings
Responding Perceive and analyze artistic work- Select and describe art that illustrates daily life
experiences to one’s self and others—Compare images that represent the same object. Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work — Interpret art by categorizing subject matter
and identifying the characteristics of form
Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work— Classify artwork based on different reasons for
preferences
Connecting Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art- Identify times,
places and reasons by which students make art outside school Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding —Understand that people from different places and times have made art for
a variety of reasons
NATIONAL CORE ARTS STANDARDS-FIRST GRADE
X
X
X
X
X
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !12
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
As you read Together with students, following the book discussion portion of the lesson plan will
allow students a chance to refer to specific illustrations and dive deeply into describing the objects/
images depicted and their textures.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or
through other media.
As you guide students through the book discussion included in the lesson plan, you can initially
have students identify key details in the illustrations as a beginning brainstorming step, then have
them zero in on one or two elements to discuss their textures. Asking them the included questions
can help them to analyze the key details further.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about,
state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure.
Students address this standard when completing the artist statement worksheet (located in Teacher
Aids). They are writing their opinion about the artwork they made based on how it was created and
how they were inspired.
Common core standards for SEA OTTER
I CAN STATEMENTS FOR SEA OTTER
• Today I will learn about LINE so that I CAN create an IMPLIED TEXTURE of fur on my otter with oil
pastel lines.
• Today I will learn about COLOR and VALUE so that I CAN experiment with color mixing and
create TINTS of colors in my background.
• Today I will learn about LINE and STAMPING so that I CAN create the TEXTURE of water on my
background.
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !13
ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST
Student Name:
Did the student draw repeated lines to create the oil pastel texture on their otter?
Did the student create several different tints of blue and green in their background?
Did the student create both the water drop and the bubble texture on their background?
Main Ideas from:
SEA OTTER