Objectives
Students will learn (1) the names of the parts of the face and body, (2) the names of the family members, and (3) clothing.
Materials needed
Slides or reproductions of:
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1. Amadeo Modigliani—
Portrait of a Young Woman
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2. George Bellows—
Lady Jean
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3. Jean Edouard Vuillard—
Interior
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4. Pablo Picasso—
First Steps
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5. Andy Warhol—
Self-Portrait
Procedure
This unit is approached more or less in the same way as the first, but the number of slides is reduced.
Portrait of a Young Woman
by Modigliani can be used to teach the parts of the face. Although the young woman’s face may seem strange to the students, it is a face with human features; eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows, forehead, cheeks, neck, hair. The ears are not visible but the teacher can point these on him/herself or have a drawing of one nearby. Bellows’s
Lady Jean
is a portrait of his nine year old daughter. This is a full portrait and we can use it to point out other parts of the body; arms, hands, chest, legs, feet. Some imagination may have to be used at this point but this should not prove a major problem.
Interior
by Vuillard shows us the backside of a woman who may be doing a variety of things, sorting clothes, sewing, or reading. The teacher can show the back of her head, her back, and hips. In Andy Warhol’s
Self-Portrait
we see the male face and the students will learn that the names are the same for both male and female facial features.
First Steps
by Picasso portrays a toddler with his/ her mother at the moment of his/her taking the first steps alone. The shapes used in portraying the child (straight, rather boxed-in forms) give the sensation of great difficulty for the child in achieving his/her goal. The mother is presented in a different style, far more flexible and obviously able to move about easier. The child is seen completely here and the teacher can review the parts of the face and body, and include fingers, toes, foot(feet) to the previous list.
The same group of slides are also used in naming members of the family. Modigliani’s
Portrait of a Young Woman
may represent an older sister, a young college student, the oldest daughter in her late teens or early twenties.
Lady Jean
is a young girl, she could be the youngest sister, an only child, or granddaughter about nine years old. The woman in
Interior
may be somewhat older, and can be a wife or mother. The
Self-Portrait
by Warhol can be the father, brother, uncle, cousin to any of the ladies mentioned before.
First Steps
, the mother and child (baby, son, daughter) relationship is established.
Students in the classroom draw their own family, as they wish, (remember any child has the potential to be an artist; it is the adult who destroys that potential). These drawings can later be used as the motivation for writing about their families when they have developed enough vocabulary.
The unit on clothing may be started with the painting of
Lady Jean
, but the use of magazines and sale shoppers found in the newspaper are very helpful. Students cut out and prepare a booklet with men’s, boys’, ladies’, and girls’ clothes and accessories. It is a project they enjoy doing and helps them to remember the names more effectively. A sentence under each example is important because the student receives reinforcement.