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Lesson Plan Image

Rodriguez Heroes

Students combine art, angles and geometric shapes with portraiture in this project inspired by American artist Samuel Rodriguez.

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.

  • Compass
  • Pencil(s)
  • Photo(s)
  • Protractor
  • Ruler
  • White Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Share with students the work of artist Samuel Rodriguez. Discuss his body of work as a class to analyze his art. Focus on his use of bright colors, the mix of realism and abstraction, his use of lines, shape, etc. Do the like/dislike the art? How does it compare to other portraits they have seen before? Why do they feel he works in the manner?

  • Step 2

    Distribute 12” x 18” (30.48 cm x 45.72 cm) white construction paper to students. Using photographs of their heroes as visual reference, have students sketch out a portrait of their heroes in Rodriguez’s style. Each drawing should have some realistic and abstracted sections, multiple uses of line and shape. Remind students to stay loose and large with their lines to have space to fill in with pastels. Encourage students to extend some lines beyond the portrait.

  • Step 3

    When pencil sketches are complete, hand out Crayola® Oil Pastels. Have students fill the portrait with bright color and pattern in Rodriguez’s style. Caution students to work from top to bottom and use dark colors last to prevent smudging of the background.

  • Step 4

    Have students write an artist statement about their work (who and why they chose that person).

Standards

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

MATH: Draw and identify lines and angles.

VA: Compare the characteristics of works in two or more art forms that share similar subject matter, historical periods, or cultural context.

VA: Integrate visually and spatial concepts with content to communicate intended meaning.

VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of their experiences and ideas.

Adaptations

Have students recreate their portraits in other artists’ styles (Warhol’s Pop-Art, Modigliani’s elongated faces, Picasso’s Cubism, Vermeer’s Baroque, etc.) Compare and contrast the styles.

Do a writing activity where they must write a letter to their heroes thanking them for their heroic acts.

Alternatively, have students do portraits of family members for a family history unit, community members for a community study, influential African Americans for Black History Month, known authors, sports figures, artists, doctors, and other professionals for career week, etc.

Use images of Samuel Rodriguez’s works to measure and identify angles in his works (find an example of an acute angle, obtuse angle, measure the degrees of the angle created).