Teacher

This lesson accompanies the 5th grade American History unit which culminates in our week-long event "Colonial Days." The children are taught about folk art and the 18th century limner's practice of painting many generic backgrounds during the winter, then completing as portraits in the summer, finding subjects on the road. Examples of folk art are shown and many possible features are discussed. They are given a lesson on portraiture, practice with colored pencils, and reminded that folk artists were not trained in Paris! Each child is given a "blank" canvas and an array of flesh-toned colored pencils, along with the rest of the colors.

This portrait is by Tomas. The Colonial Days photograph is Mark.