Arts lesson plan (6th to 8th grade)

Students will create images using black and white paper to illustrate the use of positive and negative space throughout this art lesson plan.

THEME: Positive and negative space

YEAR: 6th to 8th

GOALS:

• The student will be able to illustrate positive and negative space by creating a figure containing at least three objects.

MATERIAL REQUIRED:

• Black and white paper (white should be half the size of black)
• Pencil
• scissors

INTRODUCTION:

Explain the meaning of positive and negative space. clarify that positive space is all the part occupied by the object in an image, since the negative space is the unoccupied area around the object.

Simply put, positive space can best be understood as being the area of ​​an artwork that is the main focus. Negative space is the area around the main image.

Ask which object students see below:

• Ask if they see two faces or a vase?

Advise to understand that if you are viewing a vase, the white area is the positive space and the black areas become the negative space. Students who end up seeing two faces will see the black areas as the positive space and the white area as the negative space.

DEVELOPMENT:

1. Give each student a black and a white piece of paper.
2. Explain that they will create an image where one side shows positive space and the other side shows negative space.
3. Ask students to draw and cut out a large object on the white piece of paper.
4. On one half of the black paper, students must glue the object cut out of the white paper.
5. On the other half of the black paper, they should put the paper scraps from the white paper. So that it is the same figure with different colors.
6. More advanced students can opt for more complex designs or contrasting colors. You could also challenge students to create a self-portrait using negative space.

See too: Arts lesson plan – Transforming objects by hand