Introducing Elements of Art: The Line

To build upon last year's community of artists, we wanted to instill a love of creativity, expression, and innovation in our students early on in the year. To begin, we introduced a basic element of art: the line.  We noticed a strong interest in lines when our students were drawing, writing, or constructing at various centres throughout the classroom. Initially, and to get our students' "minds on" to this concept, we talked about lines we see in our world. By investigating our classroom, we discovered many lines around us; on the ceiling, on the floor, on the wall, on the shelves, and all around us! Every time a student found a line, he/she was asked to describe it. Surprisingly, our students came up with amazing vocabulary. Lines found were described as: thin, think, straight, wiggly, zigzag, broken, dotted, wavy, scribbled, crossing, horizontal, and vertical! One student in particular shouted out: "It's a hopping, happy line!" - I.D.

 

Intended as an exercise in visualization and a kinesthetic approach to line drawing, the students were then asked to close their eyes as we played classical music in the background. Once the music stopped, they were individually provided with a marker and large paper to which they were asked to draw their emotional responses to the music that they just heard. With the music back on, they recorded what they saw and felt in their minds.

At first there was a lot of giggling, but after the initial excitement it became very quiet in the classroom! All of the students became deeply engaged in the activity while listening to Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." We immediately found a temporary space to display everybody's work and we began an introductory exercise in art criticism. We asked our students to take a "sitting gallery walk" and observe the work of their peers. Next, we asked them what kinds of lines they saw and they discovered when two lines met, that they became a shape! Finally, everybody shared their work in front of the group and talked about what they liked most about their work.

This simple exercise demonstrates how important art experiences are for children. They play an important role in a child's physical, emotional, and cognitive development while also tying in perfectly to the curriculum. The students were able to express emotions, experienced autonomy and built self-confidence during this experience. In the past few weeks, our class has engaged in many more creative experiences. From printing with lines, marble-painting, working with weaving frames and elastics, popsicle sticks and more, our students have truly enjoyed creating different line designs!

Food for thought: Next time you venture into the outdoors, a supermarket, your home, or even your backyard, see what kind of lines you can find!

Thanks to my amazing DECE, Heidi Theis, for planning, implementing and documenting such a wonderful activity! Looking forward to seeing where "lines" take us!