Mrs. Johnson: Art
Grade 3: Seascape
Foreground,
Middleground and Background
Objectives:
Students will be able to
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produce a watercolor
painting depicting a foreground, middleground and background.
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verbally identify foreground, middleground and background in a
piece of artwork.
Vocabulary: Foreground, Middleground, Background, Horizon
Line, Seascape
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Background is the
area of the picture that is behind most of the objects in the picture.
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Foreground is the
area of a picture that appears to be the closest to the viewer.
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Horizon line is
the imaginary line that divides the sky and the ground.
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Middleground is
the area of the picture that is farther away from the foreground and closer to
the background. (Between the background and foreground)
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Seascape is a picture of a view of an expanse of sea.
Materials:
Vincent
van Gogh
Painting, Oil on Canvas
Arles: June - early in month, 1888
Van Gogh Museum
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Europe
F: 415, JH: 1452
Introduction:
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Show students van Gogh seascape. Ask students what they see in the painting.
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Introduce vocabulary to students using van
Gogh painting with foreground, middleground and background clearly labeled.
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Teacher will demonstrate drawing the horizon
line.
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Next teacher will draw the foreground (rocks
in the front of the paper)
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Teacher will then draw sailboat in the
middleground (middle of the paper).
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Teacher will then draw mountains and a
lighthouse in the background (back of the paper).
Procedure:
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Students will use a ruler to draw the horizon
line.
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Students will draw the foreground (teacher
will show examples.) i.e. rocks, sand
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Students will draw an object in the
middleground. i.e. sailboat, island with trees
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Students will draw the background. i.e.
mountains, hills, clouds, sky
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Students will paint their picture using
watercolor paints.
Closure:
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Teacher will revisit learned vocabulary.
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Teacher will display student artwork around the room.
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Teacher will have students identify the foreground,
middleground, background, and horizon line in their own artwork.
Assessment: Teacher Observation,
Rubric