Classroom Lesson Plan

Objectives
Students will learn about fossils.
Students will make a collage of fossils using wire and tissue paper.
Students will be able to cut, tear, and use paste to create the collage.
Students will learn to create depth and use the entire space.
Content Standard #1 Understanding and applying media,
techniques and processes
K-4 Students know the differences between materials,
techniques and processes.

Content Standard #6 Making connections between visual
arts and other disciplines
K-4 Students identify connections between the visual arts
and other disciplines in the curriculum.
Vocabulary
Fossil- A remnant or trace of an organism of a past geologic age, such as a skeleton or leaf imprint, embedded and preserved in the earth's crust.

Texture- creates the feeling of an object. The distinctive physical composition or structure of something, especially with respect to the size, shape, and arrangement of its parts
Collage- is from the French meaning "paste up". The combination of pieces of cloth, magazines and other found objects to create artwork
Negative Space- the space between objects or the parts of an object, for example the area between a cup and its handle. Also the space between an object and the edges of the canvas, i.e. the space around an object.
Positive Space: space that is occupied by an element or a form

Pedagogy

1. Selecta simple fossil to create and make a
preliminary drawing on paper. Trace the drawing with
a black marker.
2. Use the drawing as a template and bend the
armature wire to match the lines and shapes of the
fossil. Cut the wire into smaller pieces if needed.
3. Press the wire against a hard surface so it lies as flat
as possible, then glue it to the canvas panel. Allow to
dry.
4. Brush glue that has been slightly diluted over the
entire canvas panel and armature wire.
5. Cut a piece of tissue slightly larger than the canvas
and apply it to the glued area over the wire. Press
the tissue in and around the wire. Allow it to wrinkle
naturally. Let the piece dry and repeat the process twice more with a thin layer of glue between each layer of tissue.
Allow the piece to dry completely.
6. Using the NuPastel Color Sticks,
add color to the surface of the
dry fossil panel. Use a dry brush
to blend the color. Be sure to
color the edges of the canvas.
7. With the Cold Deep Gray pastel
stick, color the raised areas of the
wire only.
8. Spray the finished piece with
fixative.

DickBlick.com 1-800-447-8192
Materials
Blick® Drawing Pad, 30 sheets, 8" x 10"
Need 1/2 sheet per student
Crayola® Classic Washable Marker, Black
one marker per student
Blick® Canvas Panels, 4" x4" one per student
Armature Wire, 16-gauge, 32-ft
share one coil across class
Mini Wire Cutter, 5" share
four across class
Blick® Pure White Tissue, 24-sheet package.
Need one sheet per student
Blick® Economy White Bristle Bright, size
14 . Need one brush per
student
Blick® Washable White Glue, 16-oz
distribute across class
Prismacolor® NuPastel Color Sticks, one
each per student
Blick® Matte Fixative, 12-oz
fixative.
Assessment
Students use of the entire space.
Adaptations/Integrations/Accommodations
Items with actual shape and texture can be used for students who need tactile stimulation or do not have the motor skills necessary to bend the wire into precise shapes. Pressed leaves, sticks, pine needles,
shells or other natural materials can be
used between the layers of tissue.
Teacher Resources
Examples of actual fossils like trilobites, fossil impressions like leaves and tracks, and pictures of dinosaur, fish, bird and other types of fossils.
***This lesson is appropriate for a fourth grade class. According to the text fourth graders cognitive development lets them “have a better command of muscles needed to create details, are interested in life processes of plants and animals and can create specific features, are able to concentrate for longer periods of time.” In regard to art development, students will “show more naturalistic and realistic proportions, create space and depth by employing vertical placement, diminishing size, and overlapping shapes, and select and arrange objects to satisfy their compositional design needs.”

Works Cited
Clements, Roger D. Emphasis Art. 2010. Ninth edition. Allyn and Bacon. New York.