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Rousseau's Jungle

Students will learn about jungle animals as they depict this environment in the style of Henri Rousseau.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Heavy Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) was a French post-impressionist artist whose best-known paintings depict jungle scenes. Have students look at images of his "The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope," "Combat of a Tiger and a Buffalo," and "Tiger in a Tropical Storm." Ask them to discuss the composition of the paintings. Are the animals the main focus? Are they somewhat camouflaged by features of the jungle?

  • Step 2

    Have students learn what defines a jungle. For example, it is usually overgrown with tangled vegetation sufficient enough to hinder people's movement requiring them to cut their way through. This makes it distinct from a rainforest, in which the closed canopy of trees blocks sunlight and hinders the undergrowth that makes traveling difficult. Like the rainforest, though, climate change and other factors are threatening the health of the jungle.

  • Step 3

    Ask students to choose a jungle animal to portray hiding in its jungle habitat. Have them design the animal on paper using markers or colored pencils, then cut it out and glue it to a heavy paper background. Then have them design and cut out shapes of items found in the habitat, such as leaves, tree branches, flowers, vines, etc., then place them on and around the animal to hide it somewhat.

  • Step 4

    Ask students to present their work to the class and discuss some of the facts they learned about the animal and its jungle habitat.

Standards

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

SCI: Design pictorial or graphic representations/models that are useful in communicating ideas.

Adaptations

Have students learn some additional insights about Henri Rousseau. For example, though he was known for his jungle scenes, he never set foot in a jungle - in fact, he never traveled outside of France! And he was a self-taught artist who was ridiculed by critics during his lifetime, but came to be regarded as a great artist after his death.

Ask students to choose two or three intriguing jungle animals to learn about. Some examples include the green anaconda, which can grow over 16 feet and weigh over 150 pounds; Baird's tapir, which is South America's largest land mammal, and poison dart frogs, small colorful frogs whose toxins can kill a human in under 10 minutes.