Description: 
The unit commences with an exploration of the expressive qualities of the elements of line and color.  Students plan a portrait of their family engaged in a joyful activity.  They recognize the narrative quality of work by Horace Pippin, Faith Ringgold, and Carmen Lomas Garcia, and create a composition that includes a background and foreground.  As they render their final drawings in oil pastels, they continue to manipulate the media to achieve specific effects.  As a final step, the young artists add "telling" details to their drawings to personalize their portraits.  The unit concludes with a gallery display accompanied by signage.  

Grade 2 Benchmark:

Through an exploration of art materials and techniques, students exercise imagination, construct meanings, and depict their experiences; work in two-dimensional and three-dimensional art forms, use basic art tools, and gain knowledge of media and compositional elements

Performance Indicators:

Students should be able to create a drawing that demonstrates:
Experimentation with various drawing tools, such as oil pastels and pencils
Use of varied lines and colors to convey expression
Students will be able to: 
Express a range of emotions through color and line
Prepare a sketch of a family portrait with attention to shape and scale
Create a narrative work
Utilize a variety of oil pastel techniques
Describe the main components of the composition: setting, background, foreground, subjects
Add details to a drawing
Reflect on completed work
Display finished drawings
Students will understand that: 
Artists use line and color to express emotion.
Sketches help artists think about and execute a work of art.
A narrative work of art tells a story --- who, what, where, when
Art materials can be manipulated to achieve different effects.
A composition is comprised of many parts that work together to create a whole picture.
Details add specificity to the narrative picture.
Reflection is part of the artist's creative process.
Framing and creating wall text is an important part of displaying artwork.
Sharing artwork with others is rewarding.
Vocabulary:
line, color, shape, sketch, layering, blending, scratching, portrait, composition, scale, background, foreground, narrative, details,label
Preliminary sketches and works in progress
Informal student reflection/responses to experimentation
Student analysis of problem-solving strategies
Structured group conversations using accountable talk
Teacher observation of work-in-progress with feedback to students
Clear teacher expectations
Questioning students during independent work
Charting of class discussions