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Lesson Plan Image

Faux Stained Glass

Stained glass is a captivating art form used to create stunning windows and decorative objects. Students will explore its history and use window crayons or window markers to replicate faux stained glass windows in the classroom.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

Steps

  • Step 1

    Archaeologists have found glass beads dating to as early as the third millennium (3000-2001) BCE, but it was in the second millennium BCE that their use really took off. In the first century CE, the Romans glazed glass into windows. One of the oldest known examples of multiple pieces of colored glass used in a window was unearthed at St. Paul's Monastery in Jarrow, England, which was founded in 686 CE. Have students explore the history of how the glass was created, how the colors are produced, the different methods for producing it (past and present), where the windows and objects would be displayed, etc.

  • Step 2

    Have students look at some notable examples of stained glass artwork, such as the rose windows at Notre-Dame de Paris in France ("Rose" refers to the shape of the window, not the imagery); the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Sebastian in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey; the "America Windows" by Marc Chagall at the Art Institute of Chicago; or any others.

  • Step 3

    Ask students to form small groups, and have each group design and create a stained glass image on a window pane in the classroom. They might choose a theme or story to depict or be inspired by an image they viewed of a famous window. They can first sketch the design on paper and then use window crayons ot markers on the actual glass. (These Crayola products will easily wash off the windows.)

  • Step 4

    Invite other classes to visit and enjoy the beauty of this vivid colorful art form.

Standards

ARTS: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

ARTS: Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.

SS: Culture: Create, learn, share, and adapt to culture.

Adaptations

Dale Chihuly (b. 1941) is an artist renowned in the field of blown glass. Have students investigate the art and technique of glass blowing and look at some of the many examples of Chihuly's amazing works.

A Tiffany lamp is characterized by its intricate stained glass shades. For over 100 years their designer was believed to have been Louis Comfort Tiffany, but in 2007 a college professor and expert in ceramics and Tiffany glass discovered that the true designer was Clara Driscoll, an underpaid worker in the factory. Have students learn about her life and look at images of the colorful Tiffany lamps.