Lesson Plan Submitted by: Jeannie Sandoval 
Unit: Technology - Scratch Art - Portrait 
Name of Project:  Digital Self Portraits
Grade Level: Middle school (adaptable to high school and upper elementary)
Alternate Lesson by Lotte Petricone below

Objective:  Students will

• Learn some of the basic of Photoshop software

• Adjust a photograph for high contrast

• Produce digitally inspired self-portrait using scratch art.

Materials:

Adobe Photoshop  
8 x 10 Scratch art paper and blade
Pencil
Tape   

Rationale for Teaching Lesson:

Students will become familiar with basic Photoshop and the medium of scratchboard, creating an expressive self-portrait based on a manipulated digital photo.

Lesson Objectives:

1. Read

2. Learn some of basic Photoshop.

3. Become familiar with the medium of scratchboard, creating a self-portrait based on a digital photo that has been manipulated in Photoshop.

4. Understand how value can be used in a self-portrait.

1. Artists use technology in many ways to create art - artists use photography to create art.
2. Mood/emotions can be expressed through contrast of values
3. Textures create value and add interest

New York State Learning Standards:

Standard 1: Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts and participate in various roles in the arts.

Standard 2: Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for participation in the arts in various roles.

Standard 3: Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual to other works and to respond to other aspects of human endeavor and thought.

Standard 4: Students will develop and understanding of the personal and cultural force that shape artistic communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society.

How the Standards are addressed in this lesson:

Standard 1: Manipulation of a digital photo, and scratchboard self-portrait.

Standard 2: Understand how a digital photo can be manipulated and used to inspire a scratchboard self-portrait.  Become familiar with the medium of scratchboard.

Standard 3: Look at and discuss the self-portraits of Lucas Samaras and Chuck Close, and the scratchboard art of Brian Pinkney.  Written Artist Statement.

Standard 4: By using digital technology, and looking back at similar self-portraits that used the technology available: photography and Polaroids, students will develop and understanding of how technology can influence artists.

Lesson Procedures:

Lesson Segments:

Scratchboard resources

Materials:

1. Read   (1 class)

1. Copy of The Boy With A Thousand Faces, by Brian Selznick

2. Look at and discuss self-portraits by Chuck Close and Lucas Samaras, and the art of Brian Pinkney – introduce project with example. (1 class)

2.  PP presentation of Close, Samaras & Pinkney.

3. Intro to value and demo scratchboard.  Make value chart on scratchboard while taking digital photos (1-2 classes)
(photos could be made during previous project)

3. Slide of value chart, xeroxes of value chart to transfer to scratchboard, scratchboard and knives

4. Computer Lab for manipulating photos (1-2 classes)

4. Lab with Adobe Photoshop, printer

5.  Transfer of images to scratchboard – begin to scratch away the different values.  Make rubric second scratching class.(4-5 classes)

5. Scratchboard, scratch knives

6.  Mount finished art – Artist Statement. (1 class)

6. Artist Statement outlines, mounting board, Elmer’s glue

Segment 1: Reading and discussion  of the

Teaching Style:

Guided Practice – Discuss good listening, and then read aloud book.  Talk about book using open-ended questions:

Questions about The Boy With A Thousand Faces, by Brian Selznick

1. At the beginning of the book, he is making self-portraits where he is disguised as a monster.  Why might a boy want to do that?

2. At the end he makes one last self-portrait.  What does he show and say?

3. What happened that made him change the way he made the last portrait?

Artists have always made self-portraits.  Why might an artist make a self-portrait?

Assessment Method: Verbal

Modifications:

Segment 2: Look at and discuss self-portraits by Chuck Close and Lucas Samaras, and the art of Brian Pinkney – introduce project with example. (1 class)

Teaching Style:

Guided Practice –

1. Using PP to discuss black and white self-portraits of Chuck Close and Lucas Samaras and what can be communicated in a self-portrait through facial expression and gesture.

2. Show example and discuss the project and the process to make them – the photos: whether they want to wear hats, glasses etc., include their torso, hand gesture.

3. Discuss the scratchboard: look at Brian Pinkney’s work and again at the example of a scratchboard portrait.

Assessment Method:  Verbal – Summarize: How can an artist communicate something about themselves through a self-portrait? (Visual clues like facial expression and gesture, the composition.)

Modifications:

Segment 3: Intro to value and demo scratchboard.  Make value chart on scratchboard while taking digital photos (1-2 classes)

Teaching Style:

Guided Practice –

1. Intro to Value: Tints and Shades.  Look at a manipulated photo, and discuss the range of values that can be seen. 

2. Discuss using Line to create Value, by changing the spacing, or crosshatching.

4. Demo transferring the value chart to scratchboard and using the knives – discuss angle and pressure of pen. 

3. In bins, student find strips of scratchboard, and using Xerox strips, transfer the value chart to the scratchboard.

4. Together create the value chart in the order shown on the plasma screen.

Ind. Practice – Once the students have done the first three values they can finish on their own.

After demo, pull students one by one to take digital pictures in front of a gray background on the bulletin board.  Transfer photos to E:// into Petricone Photoshop folder. Students will want an expressive photo- showing emotion

Assessment Method:  Verbal - Define Value.  What are the different ways to create value with line in scratchboard? How do you hold the pen in order to use it successfully?

Modifications:

Segment 4: Computer Lab for manipulating photos (1-2 classes)

Teaching Style:

Guided Practice – In the computer lab, introduce this segment of the project: manipulation of photo in Photoshop.

1. Open Adobe Photoshop.

2. Open the picture on E:// in the folder labeled Petricone Photoshop.  Your photo is labeled with your art period and last name. 

3. Once it opens up in Photoshop, click on Image size and change the size to 8 x 10 (or whatever size the scratchboard is).

4. Click on Image again, go to Mode and change it to Grayscale.  Click OK to discard the photo information.

5. Click on Image again, go to Adjustments, and scroll to Brightness and Contrast.  Change the brightness to at least 25 and the contrast to 25 and click OK.  This may need to be modified depending on the background.

6. Click on Image again, go to adjustments and scroll down to Posturize.  Change the level to 2 or 3 – so that you have 3-4 different values that are clear.

7. Print the image, then save it to your H:// so that you can access it again.

Ind. Practice – Students manipulate the image, print and save.

Assessment Method: Verbal

Modifications:

Segment 5: Transfer of images to scratchboard – begin to scratch away the different values. Make rubric second scratching class.( (4-5 classes)

Teaching Style:

Guided Practice – Review transfer and scratching technique through a Do Now.

1. Place the portrait directly on top of the scratch art and tape to the edges so it does not move around.

2. Use a pencil to trace directly on top of the photo – get everything and do not draw what is not there!

3. After it has been traced, lift off the photo, and keep available to reference.

4. Begin scratching, keeping the value chart that was made a reference.  Try to match the values to those in the photo.

Ind. Practice – Students begin scratching the self-portrait and continue for 4-5 classes.

Assessment Method:  Rubric and Artist Statement

Modifications:

Segment 6: Mount finished art – Artist Statement. (1 class)

Teaching Style:

Guided Practice – Review mounting art and Artist Statement – due in 2 days.

Ind. Practice – Finish, mount and begin Artist Statement.

Assessment Method: Rubric

Modifications:

Written Reflection:

Excellent

20

Good

17

Adequate

14

Unsatisfactory

12

Score

Photo

The gesture, facial expression and body language of the artist in the photo is deliberate and communicates something about the artist

The gesture, facial expression and body language of the artist in the photo seems to communicates something about the artist, but we wonder if it was deliberate

The gesture, facial expression and body language of the artist in the photo might communicate something about the artist, but we can’t quite figure out what!

The gesture, facial expression and body language of the artist in the photo does not seem to communicate something about the artist

Manipulation

The final print of the photo shows a clear understanding of Photoshop, having used image adjustments absolutely correctly, showing 4 clear values

The final print of the photo shows a clear understanding of Photoshop, having used image adjustments absolutely correctly, showing 3 clear values

The final print of the photo shows that the artist was a bit unsure about Photoshop - the image adjustments seem a bit off, or the value differences are not clear enough

The final print of the photo shows that the artist did not understand how to use Photoshop - the image adjustments do not make clear value differences and are incorrect

Scratchboard

The final scratchboard art uses the medium very proficiently – there are very smooth lines lightly scratched into the surface

The final scratchboard art uses the medium pretty well – there are somewhat smooth lines and – but perhaps one or two rough spots

The final scratchboard art does not use the medium very well – there are a few rough lines, with parts gouged out

The final scratchboard art does not use the medium well – there are many rough lines, with several parts gouged out

Value

There are 4 clearly different values in the different parts of the image

There are 3 clearly different values in the different parts of the image

There are 3 -4 different values in the different parts of the image, but there are a few parts where they look the same and shouldn’t!

The different values in the different parts of the image look pretty much the same everywhere

Textures

The values are created by using lines in a large variety of ways: space between the lines changes, crosshatching, direction… Forming several different Textures

The values are created by using lines in a variety of ways: space between the lines changes, crosshatching, direction… Forming some different Textures

The values are created by using lines but with little variety: space between the lines changes, crosshatching, direction… Forming only one or two different Textures

The values are created by using lines but with almost no variety: space between the lines changes, crosshatching, direction… Forming only one Texture

Grade: