Lesson #1: Drawing buildings in the neighborhood
sketchbooks, ebony pencils
Ideally, the buildings surrounding the school should be used as a main resource. If a neighborhood walk with the students is not possible, the teacher should take photographs of the buildings on a particular block. These photos can then be used in the classroom to make sketches.
Direct students to select some areas of a building that they particularly like and to make a few, small sketches in their sketchbooks. The parts that are drawn should be labeled.
Back in the classroom, ask students to reflect on what they saw.
- In what ways did you have to look at this building differently in order to draw it?
- What did you notice about this building that you never saw before?
- Why is it helpful to directly observe the object you're drawing, rather than to work from memory?
Find a building in your neighborhood and make a sketch of it. Describe it in writing. Answer the following questions:
- Who do you think lives in it?
- What is the building used for?
- What makes you think so?
Encourage students to continue to observe their surroundings, looking at the buildings they pass everyday and start to look at them more closely. Think about the people who live in them and what the buildings are used for.