Lesson Plan  
 
  Printmaking for Grades 6-8
Related Subjects: Visual & Performing Arts, English-Language Arts
Grades: 6-8
Medium: Painting
Author: SDMA Education Department
Class time required: One 60-minute session
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Summary
Printmaking occurs when a copy of an image is made by impressing paper against an inked printing surface. That surface is frequently a relief surface, as in wood-cuts, or an incised surface, such as engraving and etching, though some print processes use a flat surface and rely instead on water and oil resist to make the image, as in lithography.

In this lesson, the students will create a relief print. The chosen image for this print will be a setting from a novel that played an important role in the plot of the story. The students will conclude this lesson by writing a literature response explaining the importance of the selected setting.

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Materials
• Styrofoam
• Pressure tool (very dull pencils or sticks)
• Brayer or old rolling pins
• Paper
• Paint or water-based printing ink
• Wooden boards
• Spray bottle with water (optional)

Images

Online Materials
Download an editable Lesson Plan
File Type: RTF (Choose Save-As when dialogue box appears)   Size: 108kb

 
  Images
Thumbnail   Thumbnail   Thumbnail
   
Information about this artwork   Information about this artwork   Information about this artwork
         

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Teacher Preparation
• Print the images listed above onto overhead transparencies.
• Cover boards with foil.
• Protect tables from paint.

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Procedures
1. Begin a discussion about the importance of setting in a story: How can the setting influence the resolution in a story? Provide examples. How can the setting foreshadow an upcoming event in a story? Provide examples. How can the setting portray the mood or tone in a story? Provide examples.

2. Show the students the transparency images. As the students the following questions: What is the setting in this print? What is the mood of this print? How is this mood conveyed? Additional discussion questions can be found on the Image Information page.

3. Ask each student to choose an image for his/her print. This image should be a setting that played an important role in the plot of a novel.

4. Hand out all of the printmaking materials. Ask the students to very lightly sketch their images onto the Styrofoam plate.

5. Using the pressure tool, crush or cut away the Styrofoam where the white paper will show. Remind the students to keep texture in mind as they work with the plate. Large black areas tend to look mottled when you print them.

6. When the students have completed their drawings, instruct them to put a teaspoon or so of paint on the foil wrapped board.

7. Roll the brayer or the roller back and forth over the paint until there is an even coating on the roller.

8. Now have the students quickly roll the paint onto the Styrofoam plate. It will take two or three passes of the brayer to get an even coating. The students will need to work fast to get it all done before the painting dries. In very dry weather it helps to have a spray bottle to mist the plates with water to keep them damp. Have the students roll the brayer up and down, back and forth, over the plate.

9. When each student has enough paint on his/her plate, have him/her quickly place a piece of paper on top of the Styrofoam plate and roll a clean brayer over the paper. Instruct the students to pick up the paper carefully to expose the print.

10. Ask each student to reflect upon the chosen setting by writing a literature response interpreting the importance of the setting on the resolution of a conflict, in foreshadowing future actions, and/or in portraying the mood/tone of the scene.

Extensions
There are no extensions for the lesson plan.

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Teaching Tips
• You may want to practice the printmaking process to familiarize yourself with it.

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Standards
CA Content Standards
Sixth Grade Visual Arts:
1.1 Identify and describe all the elements of art found in selected works of art (e.g., color, shape/form, line, texture, space, value).

1.4 Describe how balance is effectively used in a work of art (e.g., symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial).

2.3 Create a drawing, using varying tints, shades, and intensities.

Seventh Grade Visual Arts:
1.1 Describe the environment and selected works of art, using the elements of art and the principles of design.

2.2 Use different forms of perspective to show the illusion of depth on a two-dimensional surface.

Eighth Grade Visual Arts:
1.1 Use artistic terms when describing the intent and content of works of art.

2.1 Demonstrate an increased knowledge of technical skills in using more complex two-dimensional art media and processes (e.g., printing press, silk screening, computer graphics software).

Sixth Grade English-Language Arts:
3.3 Analyze the influence of setting on the problem and its resolution.

2.4 Write responses to literature.

Seventh Grade English-Language Arts:
2.2 Write responses to literature.

Eighth Grade English-Language Arts:
3.4 Analyze the relevance of the setting (e.g., place, time, customs) to the mood, tone, and meaning of the text.

2.2 Write responses to literature.

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Bibliography/Webography

Teachers
History/Technique:
Diehn, Gwen. Simple Printmaking: a Beginner's Guide to Making Relief Prints with Linoleum Blocks, Wood Blocks, Rubber Stamps, Found Objects & More. New York: Lark Books, 2000.

Griffiths, Antony. Prints and Printmaking: an Introduction to the History and Techniques. Berkeley, CA: Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1996.

Lambert, Susan. Prints: Art and Techniques. London: V&A Publications; New York: Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, 2001.

Woodcuts:
Cawthorne, Nigel. The Art of Japanese Prints. London: Hamlyn, 1997.

Forrer, Matthi. Hokusai: Mountains and Water, Flowers and Birds. Munich; New York: Prestel, 2004.

Matsubara, Naoko. Kyoto Woodcuts. Tokyo: Kodansha International; New York: distributed in the United States through Harper & Row, 1978.

White, Julia M., et al. Hokusai and Hiroshige: Great Japanese Prints from the James A Michener Collection, Honolulu Academy of Arts. San Francisco, CA: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in association with the Honolulu Academy of Arts and University of Washington Press, Seattle and London, 2000.


Center for Contemporary Printmaking
This Web site has a glossary of printmaking terms.

On Printmaking
This Web site provides information about the history of printmaking, techniques, and basic terminology.

Woodblock Prints of Ando Hiroshige
This Web site includes images and descriptions of some of Hiroshige’s most important series of prints (i.e., The fifty-three stations of the Tokaido Road and thirty-six views of Mount Fuji) as well as reference material about Hiroshige and his artwork.

Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
Search results yield several images by Katsushika Hokusai and brief descriptions of the artwork.

Students
Technique:
Bolognese, Don. Printmaking. New York: F. Watts, 1987.

Robins, Deri. Making Prints. New York: Kingfisher Books, 1993.


What is a Print?, Museum of Modern Art
This amazing Web site has interactive demonstrations of how to make woodcuts, etchings, screenprints, and lithographs. It also has a gallery of images for each type of print.

An Introduction to Printmaking, Anchorage Museum Children’s Gallery
This Web site provides a definition and history for several printmaking techniques, as well as offers kid-friendly instructions for creating each type of print.

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Artwork used in lesson plan
  Ten Bamboo Studio Print
Shen Cunda

 
 

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Bibliography/Webography Standards Teaching Tips Procedures Preparation Materials Summary