Unit Plan 4 (Grade 5 Art): Elements of Art in Practice

Focus: Apply line, shape, color, value, and texture intentionally to create organized, visually engaging compositions, and analyze how these elements affect mood, structure, and emphasis. Students experiment with the elements of art in both viewing and making activities, then design a small composition that uses these elements on purpose to guide the viewer’s eye and create a specific mood.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: Art (Visual Arts • Creating • Responding)

Total Unit Duration: 1–3 weeks, 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Students move from “using elements by accident” to using line, shape, color, value, and texture on purpose. They begin by analyzing artworks, noticing how artists use elements of art and principles of design (contrast, emphasis, balance) to create certain moods and focal points. Then they apply those observations to their own work by planning and creating a composition—such as an abstract “Elements Mood Piece” or small scene—that uses specific lines, shapes, colors, values, and textures to communicate a chosen mood and guide the viewer’s attention.

Essential Questions

• How do artists use line, shape, color, value, and texture to create mood and focus in their work?
• What does it mean to apply the elements of art and principles of design purposefully, instead of just decorating?
• How can I plan a composition so that a viewer’s eye goes to the most important part first?
• How can analyzing other artists’ work help me make stronger choices in my own artwork?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe how line, shape, color, value, and texture are used in selected artworks to create mood, structure, and emphasis.
2. Use art vocabulary (e.g., contrast, emphasis, balance) to explain how elements of art influence what the viewer notices first.
3. Plan a composition (abstract or representational) that uses the elements of art and basic design principles on purpose to create a clear mood or focal point.
4. Create a small finished artwork that shows intentional choices with line, shape, color, value, and texture to guide viewer attention.
5. Reflect on and explain their own design choices in writing or discussion, connecting choices back to mood and emphasis.
6. (Optional Sessions) Refine and extend their composition with layering, added texture, and more detailed analysis and peer feedback.

Standards Alignment — 5th Grade (NCAS-Aligned)

• VA:Cr2.5a — Apply elements of art and principles of design purposefully to create organized and visually engaging compositions.
  • Example: Students use contrast and emphasis to guide viewer attention.
• VA:Re7.5a — Analyze how elements of art and principles of design create mood, structure, and emphasis.
  • Example: Students explain how color choices create emotional tone.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can point out where an artwork uses line, shape, color, value, and texture, and say how those choices affect the mood and focus.
• I can use words like contrast, emphasis, and balance when I talk about how an artwork is put together.
• I can plan a composition that uses elements of art on purpose to create a mood or draw attention to one main area.
• I can create an artwork where viewers can tell what I want them to notice first and what mood I am trying to show.
• I can explain the choices I made with line, shape, color, value, and texture in my own work.