Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, children are introduced to the basic elements of David Shannon’s artistic style.  They will complete a “No David” mask to show their understanding and to make a classroom display.  The “No David” mask can also be used as a writing prompt.

Lesson Plan:

Objective:

Identify and describe the artistic style of illustrator David Shannon.

Suggested Time:

45 min – 1 hour

Success Criteria:

Students will be able to recognize a David Shannon picture or book and describe basic elements of his style.  Students will also complete a “David Mask) using the style of illustrator David Shannon.

Introduction:

Review elements of the last illustrator you taught or lead a short discussion around the following key questions:

1. What do we mean when we say “the arts”?
2. Can you name some different kinds of art?
3. Why do artists create?
4. What can we learn from looking at a piece of art?

Main:

Today we’ll look at the work of author/illustrator, David Shannon.  We’ll do the following things together:

1. Look at some illustrations.
2. Read a book together.
3. Watch a short interview with David Shannon
4. Create a piece of art in the style of David Shannon.

1.     Show David Shannon book covers and selected illustrations.  I like to use Too Many Toys for the use of color, detail, and facial expressions.  Be sure to use Good Boy, Fergus! because Mr. Shannon talks about Fergus in the video interview.  Use A Bad Case of the Stripes for the elements of fantasy and imagination.  Finally, be sure to show one of the David books so that the children can see that some of Mr. Shannon’s artwork looks as if it were drawn by a child.

Key Question:  How can you characterize David Shannon’s style?

The children should come up with elements such as:

• Colorful
• Detailed
• Faces show great expression or emotion
• Imaginative
• Childlike (or perhaps done from a child’s perspective)

Try to avoid judgmental comments such as “weird.”

2.     Read No, David! together.  I usually let the class do a choral reading because there are so few words and the text is so simple.

Be sure to point out that David’s mother’s head is not showing on the title page.  Ask why an illustrator would leave off a character’s head!

(Answer:  She is not the main character, so this focuses attention on David.  Also, by leaving off the mother’s head, Mr. Shannon insists that the reader get involved by imagining the rest of the picture.  It’s a very clever way to engage and involve the readers!)

Also, be sure to have the children find the second character on the page showing David running down the street naked.  (Answer:  Fergus)

3.     Show the David Shannon interview with Scholastic.  It’s only 3-4 minutes long and gives the kids a great feel for who Mr. Shannon is and how he works.  Ask follow-up questions to check for understanding such as:

a.     How long does it take Mr. Shannon to make a book? (Answer:  About a year.)

b.     Does Mr. Shannon get his paintings correct on the first try? (Answer: Never.)

c.     What is Mr. Shannon’s advice to kids?  (Answer:  Write and draw about what you know.)

d.     Who does Mr. Shannon paint in each of his books? (Answer: Fergus!)]

4.     Allow children to make their own “David Masks” in the style of David Shannon.  Children should work in this order:

a.     Color

b.     Cut

c.     Assemble

Remind the kids to use elements like Mr. Shannon.  Maybe David will be covered in mud, have food in his mouth, have a pot on his head, be wearing a mask and cape.  Kids can modify the printout to include some of the artistic elements they have seen in the books.

As an extension, you can draw use a CD to draw a circle.  The kids can then draw their own faces in David Shannon style and glue these to the back of the David masks.  So, the mask would be two sided:  David in the style of David Shannon and the child’s own face rendered in the style of David Shannon on the other side.

Conclusion:

Wrap up by encouraging the kids to read all of Mr. Shannon’s books try to find Fergus in each of them, and enjoy the fabulous art!  Thank them for their attention and hard work.

Resources:

1. David Shannon Official Website:  http://nodavidshannon.com/
2. David Shannon Interview:  http://nodavidshannon.com/2015/09/meet-david-shannon/
3. David Masks:  http://tinyurl.com/h83pnrk
4. David Shannon books (see book list below)
5. Art supplies, including scissors, glue, popsicle sticks, colored pencils or crayons.

Notes:

Kids absolutely love this lesson!  They get excited about making David as messy as possible in the masks.  They can’t wait to find Fergus in all of the stories.  They usually have a lot of questions about Mr. Shannon and are motivated to learn more.

I find that after this lesson, David Shannon books fly off the library shelves.

Enjoy!

Recommended Books for This Lesson:

1. Too Many Toys
2. A Bad Case of the Stripes
3. Alice the Fairy
4. No, David!
5. David Goes to School
6. David Gets in Trouble
7. Oh, David!
8. Good Boy, Fergus!
9. Duck on a Bike
10. The Rain Came Down
11. Bugs in my Hair
12. Robot

Key Terms:

David Shannon, Illustrators, Illustration, Art

 

 

 

 

 

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, children are introduced to the basic elements of Eric Carle’s artistic style.  They will make a Carle-inspired “collage” using a blended color technique.

Lesson Plan:

Objective:

Identify and describe the artistic style of illustrator Eric Carle.

Suggested Time:

45 minutes – 1 hour

Success Criteria:

Students will be able to recognize an Eric Carle picture or book and describe basic elements of his style.  Students will also complete a “Very Hungry Caterpillar Collage” using the style of Eric Carle.

Introduction:

If you have studied other illustrators, briefly review what the children have learned.  Introduce illustrator Eric Carle by holding up a few books whose covers the children should recognize.

Main:

Today we’ll look at the work of illustrator, Eric Carle.  We’ll do the following things together:

1. Look at some illustrations.
2. Read a book together.
3. Watch a short interview with Eric Carle
4. Create a piece of art in the style of Eric Carle.

1.     Show the children some of Mr. Carle’s character illustrations and as them to look very carefully.  What color(s) do they see?  Use, for example, The Little Cloud.  Ask the children if they see the color white?  grey? silver? blue?  The butterfly at the back of The Very Hungry Caterpillar or the star in Draw Me A Star are also excellent examples.

The big idea should be that in Mr. Carle’s work you can see many colors.  He uses paint to blends colors on paper, allows them to dry, then cuts out shapes and puts them together in a collage to make his pictures.  Make sure that the children understand the concept of blended colors and collage.

2.     Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar together.  Pay close attention to the end papers.  The cutout circles are central to the storytelling.  A lot of teachers skip the cutout circles, or dots.  Do not skip them!!  Make sure that the children notice them!!

Discussion questions:

• Why do you think that so many people like this story?
• What makes this a classic picture book?
• How many colors do you think that Mr. Carle used?
• Why do you think the book has holes and different sized pages?

3.     Watch the interview clip(s) of Eric Carle.  Check understanding by asking a few simple questions:

• What does Eric Carle love?  (Color)
• How old is The Very Hungry Caterpillar (40+)
• What technique does Eric Carle use the most?  (Collage)
• What is the responsibility of the illustrator or designer?  (To make something beautiful for the people to enjoy.)

4.     Give students the Eric Carle coloring page.  Ask them to use Eric Carle’s technique of blending colors in the fruits, food, and caterpillar.  Once they have finished a few parts, have them cut out the parts and reassemble them on a different paper, perhaps a colored paper, so that the finished product resembles a collage.

Note:  Although Mr. Carle blends colors with paint, I have always kept this lesson simple by using crayons or colored pencils.  The children will surprise you with all the colors that they combine.

Conclusion:

Encourage the children to read Mr. Carle’s books, look carefully at his illustrations, and try making an illustration of their own in Mr. Carle’s style.

Resources:

1.     Official Eric Carle Website:  http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html

2.     Eric Carle interview:

·      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvRcCKP5v6Q  (Eric Carle interview, Waterstone, 40th Anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar).

·      http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/carle   (Eric Carle Reading Rockets Interview, clip #1 on visual pollution).

3.     Assortment of Eric Carle books

4.     Eric Carle Coloring Sheet for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, taken from Mr. Carle’s web site.  http://www.eric-carle.com/ColoringSheet.jpg

Art supplies including scissors and colored pencils or crayons.

Notes:

I have found the blending colors takes some time.  The children love to experiment and use different color combinations and shadings.  Some may like to draw their own characters and illustrate them in Eric Carle’s style.  There are an endless number of Eric Carle projects and lessons on Mr. Carle’s website and on sites like Pinterest.  But, I found this simple one to be very effective in combining the literature, art, and interview with an easy activity to give kids a general understanding of Mr. Carle’s works in one period.

Recommended Books for This Lesson:

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
2. The Grouchy Ladybug
3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
4. The Tiny Seed
5. I See a Song
6. The Very Busy Spider
7. Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
8. A House for a Hermit Crab
9. The Lamb and the Butterfly
10. Animals Animals
11. The Very Quiet Cricket
12. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, what Do You Hear?
13. Pancakes, Pancakes!
14. Walter the Baker
15. The Mixed-Up Chameleon
16. Draw Me a Star
17. The Very Lonely Firefly
18. Little Cloud
19. Mister Seahorse

Key Terms:

Eric Carle, Color, Colour, Illustrators, Illustration, Art

 

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, children are introduced to the basic elements of Mo Willems’ artistic style.  They will complete a simple drawing of a Mo Willems character in Mo Willems’ style.

Lesson Plan:

Objective:

Identify and describe the artistic style of illustrator Mo Willems.

Suggested Time:

45-60 minutes

Success Criteria:

Students will be able to recognize a Mo Willems picture or book and describe basic elements of his style.  Students will also complete a simple Mo Willems art project using the Elephant & Piggie characters.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

If you have studied other illustrators, briefly review what the children have learned.  Introduce illustrator Mo Willems by holding up a few books whose covers the children may recognize.

2. Main: 

Today we’ll look at the work of illustrator, Mo Willems.  We’ll do the following things together:

1. Look at some illustrations.
2. Read a book together.
3. Watch a short interview with Mo Willems.
4. Create a piece of art in the style of Mo Willems.
5. Show some Mo Willems books and characters. Be sure to include the Pigeon, Elephant & Piggie, and Knufflebunny.  Ask the children to describe Mr. Willems’ style in the Elephant & Piggie  They should come up with elements such as:

• Limited use of color
• No background
• “Minimalist” figures
• Very little detail

Note:  It is especially powerful to contrast Mr. Willem’s work with the work of David Shannon who is featured in the next lesson.  Mr. Shannon’s work is colorful and detailed, the opposite of Mr. Willem’s style in the Elephant and Piggie series.

2. Read Let’s Go For A Drive. A great variation is to divide the class into half, and let half read the part of Elephant and half read the part of Piggie.  The kids will read it with great expression and will do a magnificent job!

Check for Understanding:

• How are Elephant and Piggie alike?
• How are they different?
• What makes Mo Willems stories fun to read?
• Why do you think Mr. Willems does not provide a background in his Elephant & Piggie illustrations? How would the books be different with a background?

If there is time, read a second book from the Elephant & Piggie series.   Personal favorites are I Broke My Trunk, There is a Bird on My Head, or Watch Me Throw the Ball.

3. Show a short Mo Willems interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXwk670WnKw

Check for understanding with simple questions such as:

• Which books are Mo Willems’ favorites to make?
• How does he choose which art supplies to use?
• What was Mr. Willems’ first Pigeon book?

4. Give instructions for a short art project using the attached Student Handout.  In this simple exercise, kids only need paper and a pencil.  They can add color, grey or pink, if they want to at the end.  Be sure to have them sign their work.

• Mo Willems shows kids how to draw Piggie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SItVraF_XDo
• How to draw Elephant & Piggie, based on Mo Willems’ work: http://nellieedge.com/members/resources/elephant-piggie-drawing.pdf

3. Conclusion:

Encourage the children to read Mr. Willem’s books, look carefully at his illustrations, and try making an illustration of their own in Mr. Willem’s style.  Ask them to try to figure out how Knuffle Bunny books or Pigeon books are the same and different from Elephant & Piggie books.

Resources:

1. Official Mo Willems Website: http://www.mowillems.com/
2. Mo Willems interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXwk670WnKw
3. Assortment of Mo Willems books.
4. Art supplies including scissors and colored pencils or crayons.
5. Student Handout (attached)

Notes:

I’ve been using Elephant & Piggie for many years, for everything from making connections to the arts, elements of literature for middle school students, and even simple physical forces lessons for upper elementary students.  The books lend themselves to many, many uses.

Hyperion Books for Children has put together a fabulous Elephant & Piggie Party Kit.  However, this is easily adapted for lessons and activities as well as parties.  Having learned a bit from Mo Willems, it may actually be the same thing!  Be sure to check out the Hyperion resources here:

http://www.pigeonpresents.com/teachersguides/EandP_eventkit_2015.pdf

recommended books for this lesson:

A few Elephant & Piggie titles:

1. Let’s Go For a Drive
2. I Broke My Trunk
3. Watch Me Throw the Ball
4. My New Friend is So Fun
5. There is a Bird On Your Head
6. Should I Share My Ice Cream?
7. We Are In A Book!
8. Waiting is Not Easy
9. I Will Surprise My Friend
10. I’m a Frog!
11. Elephants Cannot Dance

Books starring the Pigeon:

1. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
2. The Pigeon Needs a Bath
3. Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late
4. The Pigeon Wants a Puppy
5. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog

Knuffle Bunny tales:

1. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale
2. Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
3. Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion

Key Terms:

Mo Willems, Illustrators, Illustration, Art, Sketch, Elephant & Piggie

Student Handout, Mo Willems