Self-portraits and frida kahlo

Theme: Art, Identity, and Social Studies
Grade Level:  1st – 8th
Time Frame:  6 – 7 lessons

Unit Overview
Students will be introduced to artist Frida Kahlo and her self-portraits.  Students will learn the process of creating a self-portrait step by step. 

Lesson Objectives
  • Students will be able to explain what a self-portrait is.
  • Students will be able to discuss and analyze a self-portrait and decide what the artists are trying to tell us about themselves.
  • Students will be able to discuss how Frida Kahlo used of self-portraiture and symbols to express her thoughts, emotions, and values.
  • Students will be able to discuss how Frida Kahlo used self-portraiture and symbols to express her Mexican heritage and personal identity within her culture.
  • Students will be able to create their own self-portraits using props that say something about themselves.

Supplies
White construction paper
Pencils, erasers
Multicultural crayons, colored pencils
hand mirrors
Frida by Jonah Winter; pictures of Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits

Essential Questions
  • What is a self-portrait?
  • Why do you think artists create self-portraits? 
  • How could you use symbols to express your thoughts, feelings, and/or personal values?

Vocabulary
Frida Kahlo
Proportion
Self-portrait
Facial features
Pupil
Intensity
Reflection

Modifications
Advanced:  Have students add value to their image.
Modification:  Have students draw objects in the air.  Have students first draw an object with their finger.  Have students follow in pencil the teacher’s finger as the object is drawn.
Have sentences and vocabulary words on the board.

Lesson 1
  • Introduce Artist Frida Kahlo and discuss why she created her self-portraits.  Explain what a self-portrait is and why artists create them.  Show pictures of her self-portraits.  Read the book Frida by Jonah Winter to younger children.
  • Discuss the proportions of the face.  The eyes are located in the middle of the face.  The mouth is half way between the eyes and the bottom of the chin.  The ears are beside the eyes, etc.
  • Have students draw a small skinny oval in the air.  Have students draw a large fat oval in the air.
  • Explain how to use low intensity when drawing their oval in pencil (so they can barely see it).
  • Have students draw a large oval on their paper in pencil.
  • Have students trace their finger along their shoulders and neck.  
  • Have students draw this on their paper.
  • Have students draw a very light dotted line halfway on the paper on each side of the oval.

Lesson 2
  • Review a few questions about self-portraits and who Frida Kahlo was.  Remind students to use less intensity and draw lightly.
  • Have students place small dots on the dotted line for their pupils.
  • Have students look at their reflection in a mirror, focusing on their pupils.  Tell students that the pupil changes in size depending on the amount of light.  The larger the amount of light, the pupil gets smaller.  The smaller the amount of light, the pupil gets larger. Turn off the lights and let the pupils adjust for a minute.  Then turn the lights back on.  Have the students observe their pupils in the mirror.
  • Show the students how to make a circle around the pupil.  
  • Have students open their eye wide and look at it in the mirror.  Show the students how the eyelid covers the eye like a hill and the bottom is like a valley under the eye.  Have them draw this.
  • Have students look at their eyelashes in the mirror.  Are there lashes on the top and bottom?  What direction do they go?
  • Show how to draw bad eyelashes and good eyelashes.  Have students draw top eyelashes longer than bottom eyelashes.
  • Have students feel their eyebrows and explain how eyebrows have texture.  Show how to draw short vertical and diagonal lines for eyebrows.
  • Explain that the nose is made up of shadows.  Show the placement of the nose.  Have the students draw a letter “J” and a forward and backward letter “C” for the nose.

Lesson 3
  • Review a few questions about self-portraits and who Frida Kahlo was.  Remind students to use less intensity and draw lightly.
  • Show students how to draw the lips.  Show how the corners line up with the middle of the eyes.  Show how the top lip looks like the letter “M” with a line underneath it.  Show students how to draw the bottom lip like a letter “U”.  Have the students draw theirs.
  • Have the students look at their ears in the mirror and determine if they have attached or detached ears.
  • Show how to draw the ears and have the students draw theirs.
  • Have the students draw their hair.

Lesson 4
  • Review Frida Kahlo and show pictures of Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits.  Explain how she colored her face.  Using multicultural colored pencils (younger students will use crayons) show students how to match the color of their skin by coloring on the top of their hand.  Explain to students how to color nicely and neatly. 
  • Show students how to overlap colors to create shadows (blues, greens, purples, pinks, and browns).
  • Have students color their self-portraits.

Lesson 5
  • Review Frida Kahlo and self-portrait vocabulary.
  • Show students examples of Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits and talk about the different backgrounds she used.
  • Show students how to add a background lightly with a pencil.
  • Have students draw and color their background.

Lesson 6
  • Review Frida Kahlo and self-portrait vocabulary.
  • Have students finish their pictures

References
Berry, C. (2011). Self Portrait Unit Lesson Plan. Retrieved from http://prezi.com/or-lfprxhad/self-portrait-unit-lesson-plan/
Thomas, J. (1990). Masterpiece of the Month. Huntington Beach: Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
Winter, J. (2002). Frida. New York: Scholastic, Inc.