A Mighty Fine Line

Using slide 8, tell students the seven elements of art—line, shape, form, space, value, color, and texture—are the essential building blocks of any artwork. Line is the most fundamental of these elements; without it, the others could not exist. This is why we begin by understanding line.

Before watching the video, provide each student with paper to create individual Elements of Line Anchor Charts. They should include vocabulary and simple drawings for each term. Use this video on slide 9, or another of your choice, to introduce the element of line.

As students watch the video, have them:

• Write the vocabulary terms.

• Draw simple examples of each concept.

You may need to pause the video periodically or watch it twice to ensure students have time to process the vocabulary and visuals.

After the video, have students work in pairs to share what they recorded on their Elements of Line Anchor Charts.

Next, have a class discussion about, What is a Line? Start the discussion by showing the statement on slide 10, “A line can be thought of as a moving dot.” Ask students:

• How do you visualize this?

• What happens if the dots overlap? (It creates a solid line.)

• What happens if the dots don’t overlap? (It creates a dotted line.)

Have students read through the following questions on slide 11 and then watch the video again.

• How are lines described? (Light or heavy, straight or curved, thick or thin, etc.)

• How can lines be used to outline something? (Contour lines)

• How can lines create patterns? (Doodles, scribbles, textures)

• How can lines describe an object or idea? (Cartoons, line art)

• How do hatching lines create form using value? (Straight or curved lines for shading)

• Do lines have a beginning and an end? (Explain your thinking )

• Can lines express emotion? (How do different types of lines convey different moods?)

Using the Jigsaw strategy, give each group or team of students a slip of paper with one of the questions. Have students discuss their question and be prepared to share out with the class.

After the discussion, have students revisit the cog wheel slide 12 they sketched earlier. Using the art vocabulary they just learned, ask students to describe the lines they see in their cog drawings. Do any of these lines create structure and movement?

Then, relate the cog to design work by illustrating how a cog in a machine helps maintain a steady flow, just as the use of lines serves a similar function in overall design work. Discuss what happens when a cog is removed or when a line is changed: it disrupts the system. Similarly, if a line is altered in a design, it can affect balance, emphasis, or flow.

Using slide 13, direct students to revisit the Padlet where they had uploaded photos of lines found in the real world. Starting with their own image, students should identify the types of lines they see and write these in the comments section under each photo. Have them also comment on their classmates' photos, identifying additional line qualities present in those images.