• Language Arts
• Art
• Music
• Dance
• Math

• Love is blind.
• Compare fantasy and reality.

Enduring Understanding:

• People create art to adorn themselves and their surroundings.
• One gains insight into a culture by studying its art forms.

Essential Questions:

How can I create a portrait? How can I show the influence of Leonardo da Vinci in my portrait?

Performance Indicators:

Background information: As a continuing look at the Renaissance art though Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream students will discuss the character of Nick Bottom. At this performance, Nick Bottom is filling in for Charlie in a book by Tomie dePaola. Nick produces a cloak using the artisan method. An Artisan is a person who produces a product from start to finish.

Instructional Outcomes: Maryland State Department of Education’s Essential Learner Outcomes for Visual Art

Aesthetic/Perceptual: Students will observe the rectangle shaped structure of Leonardo’s paintings and observe the proportions within the Mona Lisa’s.

Historical/Cultural: Students will observe how dress, hair styles, and settings in portrait paintings give “clues” as to who the person was and when he/she lived.

Productive/Creative: Students will create portraits of characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Critical/Evaluative: Students evaluate their work in terms of placement and point out the “clues” that make their portrait inspired by Leonardo.

Vocabulary:

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, portrait, Renaissance, background, foreground,
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, characters

Materials and Visual Resources

• Tempera paint
• Cardboard
• Slides of Leonardo’s portraits
• Leonardo & His Times, Dorling Kindersley, Eyewitness Books
• Renaissance People, Sarah Howarth
• Renaissance Places, Sarah Howarth
• Shakespeare for Kids His Life and Times, Colleen Aagesen and Margie Blumberg
• Tales From Shakespeare, Seven Plays presented by Marcia Williams

Procedure:

• Students will bow in the style of the Renaissance dance.
• Continue reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Kids by Lois Burdett.
• Play Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
• Paint ovals with the correct placement for a portrait.
• Observe and draw with color pencil the features using the correct placement.
• Add details and clues to reveal the characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Add a meaningful background.

Evaluation:

• Did students create a portrait of a character from the play?
• Did they explain the importance of their clues?
• Can students retell part of the story?