For this unit students learned about the female American artist Georgia O'keeffe. After viewing works of O'keeffe's students each got their own object to draw to emulate her style of zooming in and cropping that made her the mother of the art movement Modernism. Students had to crop their object off a large piece of paper on at least three sides before getting oil pastels. With the oil pastels they made sure to dissect the coloring of their object and tried to replicate the color with various blending and layering techniques to get the vibrant colors that O'keeffe was so famous for.
Vocabulary Learned: Georgia O'keeffe, Magnification, zoomed in, cropping, color blending, color layering, Design Element Space, direct observation, art movement Modernism, Vibrancy, pigment, large scale. 
Materials Used: 11"x11" TruRay construction paper, various objects for direct observation, pencils, oil pastels.

For this unit I incorporated math and puzzle work when students had to create their own Tessellations. After they had covered a piece of paper with their Tessellation each student received their own paint palette to be able to mix 18 different values of one color. The next step involved creating a still life upon a gray piece of paper where they learned placement, proportions, how to shade and highlight their work. 
Vocabulary Learned: Tessellation, infinite, Design Element Value, value scale, tint & shade, monochrome, still life, light sources, shading, blending, natural versus unnatural light, proportions, placement.
Materials Used: Card stock paper, 2"x2" card stock paper for tessellation, scissors, tape, pencil, sharpie, tempera/acrylic mix paint, gray scale paper, ebony pencil, prismacolor white colored pencils, glue, Still Life setup (plastic fruits & vegetables, cloth). 

Students learned more about their Design Element Value along with a new Element: Space. Space for this unit referred to how they designed a landscape using simple lines to get their Foreground, Middle ground and Background. When they had accomplished this they replicated it onto their self portrait created before using a system of mapping lines and looking into a mirror to get as close to their likeness as possible. This in depth unit taught students how to properly use materials and tools properly, see colors differently, see their reflection and render their portraits to the best of their ability.  
Vocabulary Learned: Self Portraits, Space, Value, mapping lines, facial features, proportions, silhouette lines, outlines, background, middle ground, foreground, watercolor techniques, wash, layering, replication, placement, reflection.
Materials Used: Pencils, sharpie, mirrors, watercolor paint, watercolor brushes, prismacolor colored pencils.