ELEMENTARY

Jane B. Montero

The start of a new school year generates excitement, engagement, and curiosity in every classroom. Iʼve found that one way to get to know my sixth-grade students is to introduce a unit on typography. Students bring Chromebooks to the art room daily, so having this technology readily available makes for a fun way to break the ice and get to know your students by name. This unit contains two different projects that typically take three or four one-hour class periods to complete.

A History of Typography
I begin by showing students a presentation on the history of typography and the use of sans serif and serif fonts. This opening discussion allows me to share stories of when I first started teaching when people were still using typewriters, so everyone knew the word type but not font. I tell students how typesetters used to “set type” and order fonts from type houses. I also show them examples of how color affects legibility, along with the use of bold and italic fonts.

Serif fonts are considered the easiest to read. They have a “tail” or end piece added to the letter, which originated in ancient Rome. Stone carvers apparently found it easier to chisel the ends into a curve instead of a straight edge. There are many resources online that show examples of both serif and sans serif font.

Project One: First or Last Name
In the first typography assignment, students incorporate their first or last name in a design. Using Google Drawings, they select one text box per letter, which allows them to move the letters around the page. Students are required to use both sans serif and serif fonts and aren’t allowed to use Arial font, the default font on Google Drawings.

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