Cubism

Cubism is one of my favorite art movements to teach; students are intrigued by Picasso’s non-representational interpretation of the world. It’s a great opportunity to educate students that art sometimes does not have to look pretty and realistic. Cubism is considered abstract art and there’s a lot of artistic freedom for students; it could be quite liberating especially for those who are struggling with drawing skills. Teaching Cubism to the third grade students, the objectives are as follows:

1. Learn about the Cubism movement.

2. Understand and identify characteristics of Cubism.

3. Demonstrate understanding of Cubism by creating an original Cubist style artwork.

The class started off by learning about different types of lines, such as horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines, as well as geometric shapes. These two fundamental art elements make up the basis of Cubism. Students learned to use lines to slice up their leaves into angular, geometric shapes. Each shape was then filled with a unique pattern with crayons. The skills and understanding gained led them to complete their summative task, creating an original Cubist leaves artwork.