Stained Glass Solvents

GRADES K-2 MATH AND ART

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In this Stained Glass STEAM lesson for grades 4-5, students will be connecting science and art using a variety of solvents and oil pastels.  This is a wonderful way to begin studying chemistry and understanding how science is applied in a variety of ways, including in and through artwork.

View a piece of Frank Lloyd Wright’s stained glass works. Ask students to use the iNotice3 strategy to carefully observe the artwork. Have students look at the shapes in the artwork and identify everything they can by name (ie: square, rectangle, triangle, etc).

Lesson Process:

Step 1: Ask students to select one of the shapes they identified and to notice how many times that shape repeats within the stained glass.

Step 2: Then, ask students to notice the variations of each of the times that shape appears – length, width, height, color, no color, etc.

Step 3:  Finally, ask students to notice how that shape is layered within the stained glass. Is the shape on top of another shape? Are there no layers? Why would the artist choose to do that? How did they artist use light shining through the window in his art choice?

Step 4:  Provide students with a piece of contact paper and several pieces of tissue paper in various colors, sizes and shapes. Ask students to include at least 1 circle, square and triangle in their work. Using their observations from Frank Lloyd Wright’s work, students can create their own stained glass model by gluing their tissue paper sheets to the contact paper. Be sure that they design their work on a piece of scrap paper first!

Step 5:  Have students share their stained glass window by describing the shapes they chose and how each of the shapes they chose are different or layered with each other.

Time Required:
30-45 minutes

Materials List:

  • pencils, pens
  • glue sticks
  • tissue paper
  • contact paper
  • scrap paper
  • Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass window examples
  • projector, computer

Assessment:

Artist’s Statement.

Ask students to write a brief artist’s statement about their stained glass window. They can include why they selected their shapes and how the used them in their design, as well as how light could be used to showcase the shapes. For kindergarteners, these statements can be transcribed if necessary. Students can then peer review each piece as art critics.