High School Introduction to Visual Art
In this 15-week self-paced course, students will go through a brief overview of western art history and make a project for the following media: drawing, painting, graphic design, ceramics, and mixed media.
Jenny Miller
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(621)
What's included
15 pre-recorded lessons
15 weeks
of teacher support1 year access
to the contentProjects
2-4 hours per week. Each unit is to be completed individually and will take approximately 5-8 hours with each sketch assignment taking 30-45 minutes and each final project taking 2 and a half to 3 hours. Some projects may take less or more time depending upon the student and/ or unit. Units except for the ceramics unit include "sketch" assignments and a final project using the taught media except for the art history unit. Directions, project requirements, and a suggested completion timeline for both sketch assignments and final projects will be provided for each unit in addition to instructional videos, rubrics, step-by-step guides, and photos of sketch and finished examples.Assessment
A rubric for each final project will be provided. Photos of final projects (100 points each) will be posted on the class page for the student critique comments (25 points per unit). Critique grades are completion based and given after posting one's final project along with a comment about one's favorite portion of the project, the most challenging portion, and one thing that artist likes about one of the provided examples. Sketch grades (25 points per sketch assignment) are given prior to the final project and are completion based.Letter Grade
The final projects and the overall course grade will be both a letter grade and percentage. The scale is posted below. A+ 97-100% A 93-96% A- 90-92% B+ 87-89% B 83-86% B- 80-82% C+ 77-79% C 73-76% C- 70-72% D+ 67-69% D 63-66% D- 60-62% F 0-59%Class Experience
US Grade 9 - 12
This 15-week self-paced course does not require any previous art knowledge/ classes as it is an introductory course with six major units covering art history, drawing, painting, graphic design, ceramics/ sculpture, and mixed media. Most units (except for the ceramics unit) will include sketch assignments to help the students first master the media and to brainstorm ideas. The sketches will be graded based upon completion. Once sketches are completed, students will complete a final project graded on a rubric for every unit (except for the art history unit). For every unit, the instructor will provide examples of each sketch assignment and final project, a step-by-step instructional video showing students how to complete both the sketches and final, and a rubric for how the final will be graded. Students can earn back any lost points on a project if they make the suggested changes listed on their graded rubric. In addition, since students do complete art at various paces, there are not due dates or deducted late points. This course is designed to meet state standards in the U.S. and can be counted as a fine arts credit. This course is designed as an overview for both beginner high school artists needing a fine arts credit and for high school students trying to decide which medium to focus on during their high school art career.
Learning Goals
Students will have a general knowledge of western art history, be able to properly use graphite drawing pencils, mix shades of a paint, create graphic designs with software, model clay, and combine multiple media to create a 2D design.
Syllabus
6 Units
15 Lessons
over 15 WeeksUnit 1: Art History
Lesson 1:
ancient, Medieval, and contemporary art
Students will get a brief overview of art history and complete sketches for each major section. Unit 2: Drawing
Lesson 2:
basic drawing media and value scales
Students will learn the basics of drawing tools and how to create values as they make a value scale with a pencil. Lesson 3:
line drawing and simple shaded still life
Students will learn how to proportion and shade basic objects as they make a line drawing and a sketch of a shaded cube, sphere, and cylinder. Lesson 4:
still life self-portrait
Students will make a final, shaded illustration of three to five personal objects. Other Details
Parental Guidance
Students will be using Pixlr.com for painting and graphic design units. Pixlr is a free photo-shop type website that does not require a download or account, but it does contain ads.
The art history unit will cover prehistoric art, ancient art, art of the middle ages, and contemporary art and contain images of art during those periods. However, no nudity will be displayed. The art history unit will cover the original purpose of art during those time periods including the cultural and religious purposes.
Supply List
Sketch or mixed media book (8.5x11” or 9x12") Colored chalk or crayons or colored pencils Construction Glue Scissors Wooden graphite drawing pencils or a #2 wooden pencil White plastic eraser Kneaded eraser (optional) 12” ruler Blending stump (optional) Acrylic or tempera paint with paint brushes and paper plate or paint palette White air-dry clay (1-5 pounds) with a spoon, fork, and knife to use as clay tools Cardboard (optional) A photo of the supplies will also be posted on the class page
1 file available upon enrollment
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
We will use pixlr.com for two of the assignments. It is a free, online graphic design software that requires no account or download but only allows three downloads a day on the free version. Students will also be encouraged but not required to use Google slides and/ or PowerPoint for their graphic design project.
Joined June, 2020
4.9
621reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Indiana Teaching Certificate in Music/Theater/Arts
Bachelor's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Northwestern College of St. Paul, MN
I have a bachelor of arts in visual arts education from Northwestern College of St. Paul, MN, am certified to teach art for grades prek-12 in the state of Indiana, and have been working as a professional educator since 2008. The projects in this course were designed to meet state standards for a high school introductory art course and can be counted as a single course credit in the U.S.Reviews
Self-Paced Course
$14
weekly or $200 for all content15 pre-recorded lessons
15 weeks of teacher support
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1 year of access to the content
Completed by 32 learners
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Ages: 14-18
