For this unit students learned about the historical tradition of Kente culture originating from Ghana during the 12th century. Students learned traditional shape/symbol meanings as well as color meanings within the cloth. Students began with choosing colors based upon meaning for themselves, wove those colors into a pattern and created a cloth design only using shapes and symbols learned. Students learned how to tie double knots, stitch with two different patterns on a vertical and horizontal ground they created. This unit involved extensive hand/eye coordination as well as yarn manipulation skills.
Vocabulary Learned: Kente Cloth, culture, traditional wear, shape/color/symbol meanings true to Kente tradition, Patters, stitch patterns, double knot, geometric shapes, bold colors, balance, symmetry, asymmetry, weaving, vertical, horizontal. 
Materials Used: Strips of TruRay construction paper, glue, black markers, rulers, construction crayons, plastic needles, yarn, scissors. 

Students learned about their Design Elements Form, Texture and Value for this multi media unit. Students viewed the work of famed artist Jeff Koons as inspiration for their forms and to better understand the meaning of Form versus Shape. 
Vocabulary Learned: Design Elements, Form, 3 Dimensional vs. 2 Dimensional, Illusion, Texture, shading techniques, solid color, value, sizing, direct observation, sketch, sculpture, Jeff Koons. 
Materials Used: TruRay colored paper, elmers black markers, pencil, crayon, tempura paint, black crayons, scissors, glue. 

For this unit students learned about One Point Perspective through Optical Illusion known in the 1960s as OP Art. Seeing examples of MC Escher, one of the world's most famous Graphic Designers helped connect students to what Optical Illusions are designed to do. Through the use of mathematics and a ruler students created the illusion of a hallway with the use of a vanishing point. Students got to use professional grade colored pencil  Prismacolors to color in their hallway sections. Added last was shading and highlighting where students learned about how to create a light source. Finally with correct perspective students integrated their photos into their illusions. 
Vocabulary Learned: One Point Perspective, OP Art, optical illusion, MC Escher, horizontal & vertical lines, vanishing point, graphic design, shading, highlighting, light source, perspective. 
Materials Used: Rulers, 9"x9" piece of white paper, black colored marker, Prismacolor Pencils, black colored pencils, erasers, printed photograph, scissors, glue stick.

For this unit students learned about Pop Art along with a few artists of the movements time Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Students received different pictures of food item containers where they had to replicate them, centered and of large scale on a thick piece of paper. Students focused on the shape of the jar and the labeling due to Pop Art's interest in popular culture. After outlining their drawings students used artists tape to create sections for the three complementary pairs of the color wheel. Students learned how to blend and shade with the opposite pairs, in the end the tape was peeled off to reveal the crisp white lines beneath. 
Vocabulary Learned: Pop Art, complementary colors, opposite pairs, blending, vibrant colors, flat colors, warm colors, cool colors, solid color, replication, centering.
Materials Used: Artists tape, oil pastels, black marker, print out food item images.

For this unit students learned about Contour art with a twist; creating an image using one line without looking. This "blind art" created a free flow sketch that didn't rely on sight but on concentration of observing an image of bugs/crustaceans/insects. Students at this age are very particular and have a difficult time letting go of that control...having no control forced a new skill of observation. After their sketch students painted in their creatures using a layering technique. The final step was to recreate their creature using wire. Students learned how to manipulate wire by twisting, pinching and bending to try to match their line drawing. 
Vocabulary Learned: Contour art, movement, volume, subject matter, "blind art", wash, layering technique, loop-twist, thread-wrap, wavy bend, manipulation, wire sculpture. 
Materials Used: Watercolor paper, pencil, creature images, black colored pencil, watercolor paint, scissors, color coated electrical wire. 

Students learned about the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead) for this unit. Using symmetry and design students first created a frame for their skull experimenting with construction crayons and their blending abilities. For their skull students used large brushes for a watercolor ground and tiny brushes for their detailed design. Neon paints were applied last before cutting out their skulls, folding in tabs and creating their 3 dimensional piece. 
​Vocabulary Learned: Frame, border, balance, design, asymmetry, symmetry, Cultural history, Calaveras, fade effect, 3-dimensional tabs, multimedia, facial proportion, line design, imagery. 
Materials Used: Construction crayons, permanent marker, tru-ray paper, watercolor paper, ink pens, watercolor paint, tempera/acrylic paint, large and small paint brushes, neon paint, scissors, clear tape. 

For this unit students learned about the ancient tradition of Indonesian Batiks. Students created artwork that transferred to cloth using gel glue. When the glue dried students then used only their primary colored watered down acrylics to paint upon the cloth revealing the dried glue as a resist to the color. Upon completion students then created patterned frames for their Batiks.
Vocabulary Learned: Batik, cropping, overlapping, Pattern, Primary colors, Secondary colors, resist, color bleeding, frame/border, repetition, outline, solid color, line design, mounting.
Materials Used: Permanent markers, cloth, gel glue, acrylic paint, watercolor paint brushes, TruRay construction paper, rulers, black markers, construction crayons. 

For this unit students learned about the culture of Morocco with a focus on architecture and pattern. Throughout students explored various media and material techniques.
Vocabulary Learned: Architecture, archways, columns, pillars, elements, Design Element: Texture, neon paint, stamp, pattern, repetition, fading.
Materials Used: Card stock, acrylic paint, patterned wallpaper, neon paint, scissors, gel glue, construction crayon, permanent marker. 

For this unit students learned how to create a self portrait using mapping lines to plot their facial features. Upon completion they used a ruler to measure out lines for their Radial Design that went on top of their portrait. Using a new painting technique students painted in their design making sure to keep everything balanced and symmetrical. 
Vocabulary Learned: Self Portrait, Proportions, facial features, mapping, Radial Design, Design Principle: Balance, wash: watercolor technique, symmetrical, Mandala. 
Materials Used: Heavy weight paper, pencil, ruler, hand held mirror, colored sharpies, watercolor paint.

This Unit involved several parts. The first step was drawing bowls of fruit & vegetables from direct observation. Students learned how to get proportions correct by looking more at their objects then at their paper. Once completed students used watercolor to mix paint colors to get as accurately as possible the various colors of their Still Life. The bowl, pedestal or plate that each table had remained free of paint, students instead using the Design Principle Pattern filled in the space. Construction crayons were used for coloring in their patterns. On a separate piece of paper students created Tessellations to fill up the page (one shape fitting inside itself) then proceeded to use Value concepts to paint in each tessellation with their one color and tint and shade: black and white. Students had the use of their own paint palettes and were instructed not to use the same value next to one another.
Vocabulary Learned: Still Life, proportions, sizing, direct observations, Design Elements & Principles, Value, Tint & Shade, blending, Tessellation, Monochromatic color, value scales, Pattern, Multi Media, color matching, highlighting.
Materials Used: 12"x18" Paper, acrylic paint, watercolor paint, paint brushes, pencil, scissors, glue, construction crayons, fake fruits and vegetables, pedestals, plates, bowls, serving trays, colored sharpies, paint palettes.