ART
IMAGE PUBLICATIONS
SAMPLE
LESSON
EARLY
YEARS:
PETS ARE PART OF OUR LIVES
Teacher’s
Guide by
: Christine
Thompson
Activity one:
PAUL GAUGUIN, Les
trois petits chiens (Still Life with Three Puppies)
ARTWORK:
GAUGUIN,
Paul, Still Life with
Three Puppies (
Catalog #1.11)
- work is in the collection of Museum of Modern Art, New
York
OBJECTIVES
Children
will:
-
Offer
interpretations of the situation presented in this painting
by creating stories about what happened and after the moment
depicted.
-
Increase
their sensitivity to the composition of the painting by
physically recreating the scene.
CONCEPTS
-
Mischief
-
Light and dark pattern
-
Relational concepts:
above, below, in front, behind, far, close, top,
bottom
MATERIALS
PREPARATION
Gather
the household objects needed to recreate the composition of the
painting. (Apples
and pears can be used for snacks later in the day.) Optional -
have children bring in their own objects for still life
THINGS
TO TALK ABOUT
Gather
children in small groups, perhaps of three or four, to talk
about the reproduction:
-
What’s
happening in this painting?
-
Where
do you think the puppies are? On the floor? On the table?
-
What
will happen when the person who left that pan of milk on the
table returns to find these puppies lapping it up?
Invite
children to set the table with materials resembling those shown
in the reproduction. As
you help children make decisions about the placement of each
item, call attention to relevant details and relationships in
the reproduction: which
objects are close to others, which are behind or in front of,
above or below other objects?
Encourage
children to act out the story of the three puppies, using
stuffed animals or plastic toys as stand-ins for the puppies.
THINGS
TO DO
Ask
children to recall times when their pets (or animals they know)
got into trouble. What
did they do? Who
got angry? Why?
Invite children to draw or dictate stories based on these
incidents.
MORE
THINGS TO DO
PRINT A CLOTH
FOR A SPECIAL OCCASION
Ask
children to look carefully at the tablecloth design in
Gauguin’s painting. Provide a paper tablecloth or large sheet
of bulletin board paper in white or a solid pastel color.
Gather fresh leaves with interesting shapes, or other
objects for stamp printing.
Provide containers of tempera paint in pastel colors,
paper towels, and paintbrushes.
Demonstrate how to lay the leaf, vein side up, on a paper
towel, and how to apply paint with a brush and then transfer the
painted leaf to the paper.
Provide additional paper towels to place over the leaf as
it is pressed to the paper.
MIX
GRAYS
Draw
children’s attention to light and dark areas in Gauguin’s
painting. Provide
black and white tempera paint at easels or painting centers.
Encourage children to discover what happens when they mix
colors on black or white paper.
PROVIDE CLAY AND
CONTAINERS
Stock a
table for exploration of clay foods and vessels.
Provide clay, plasticene or modeling materials, plastic
knives and forks, and durable plates and bowls.
Suggest that children make bowls, fruit, or other foods
if they are interested in doing so.
Salvage wrappings from fast food, and place your order
for french fries, hamburgers, or desserts. The printed tablecloth children created in an earlier
activity could be used as a setting for display of a feast made
of clay. Older
children might sketch this still life, adding people, animals,
flowers, and so on.
HAVE
PET DAY SHOW AND TELL
Students
could bring in their own pet for show and tell. Children tell
stories about their own pets. Record them - then write into a
class book. Children would illustrate their story. Students
could draw the animals from life. Rabbits make good models fro
life drawing.
RESOURCES
- Look
in any art history book for more images with pets.
- Art Image Early Years
Kit (more images with pets) -Art
Image Publications
- More
lessons available online
- Books to share
with children
- Day,
Alexandra (1989). Carl Goes Shopping.
New
York: Farrar,
Straus & Giroux.
- Day,
Alexandra (1985). You're A Good Dog, Carl.
San
Marcos, CA: Green
Tiger Press.
- Keats,
Ezra Jack (1964). Whistle for Willie.
New
York: Viking Penguin.
- Mayer,
Mercer (1987). A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog.
New
York: Dial.
- Wolff,
Ashley (1990). Come with Me.
New
York: Dutton.
QUESTIONS?
Call
Rachel Ross, Art Education Consultant, at 1 800 361-2598 or
write to rachel.ross@artimagepublications.com.
