Early Childhood

The Essential Questions
Why and how would an artist create an imaginary place?

Objective
Students will create their own dream house using at least three shapes, lines, colors, and a setting.

Materials
9 x 12" (23 x 20 cm) white mixed-media paper, pencils, black markers, tempera paint sticks, liquid orange tempera paint, The Big Orange Splot (Scholastic Paperbacks, 1993) by Daniel Manus Pinkwater

Procedures
1. Introduce the Essential Question and allow time for students to respond. Ask students to imagine what their favorite place looks like.
2. Read aloud the story The Big Orange Splot and point out the details in the homes and yards. Then ask students what they think the storyʼs message is.
3. Show students a slideshow of different types of houses such as treehouses, castles, and cabins and show different types of settings such as beaches, forests, and cities. Explain to students that they will create their own dream house inspired by the story.
4. Demonstrate how to draw a house with pencil using various lines and shapes. Then outline the drawing with a black marker and fill in the shapes with tempera paint sticks. Show students that at the end of class, they can add an orange splot of liquid paint to their work.
5. Have students return to their seats and repeat the steps demonstrated. Assist students individually as needed and remind them to use at least three shapes, lines, colors, and a setting.

Assessment
Did students use at least three shapes, lines, and colors to create their dream house? Did students include a setting?

Emily Thaler is an art teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools in Bethesda, Maryland.