Biography:David Wiesner was born on February 5th, 1956. When David was growing up in Bridgewater, New Jersey in the 1960’s he was best known by his classmates for his drawing ability. David worked very hard at a young age to try to improve his drawing ability and used to love to watch instructional TV shows like “You Are an Artist!” with Jon Gnagy. With his constant practice he also studied art and fell in love with two styles of art: Renaissance paintings and surrealism. David enjoyed surrealism because surrealism is all about using your imagination and surrealism paintings tend to look like dreams, which most of his illustrations for his books emulate.
As a young child, David’s imagination grew from what he was surrounded by; David used to fall asleep each night, looking at the books, rockets, elephant heads, clocks, and magnifying glasses that decorated his bedroom’s wallpaper. David also had imaginary friends that he used to pretend he would follow into the World Book Encyclopedia, in these images David fell in love with detailed drawings. David’s love for exploring his imagination used to follow him to the Jersey shore every summer where his family vacationed. The ocean has also fascinated David and fish imagery is found in many of his books. With his imagination, fascination with the ocean and his love for detail he started to create wordless comics about new and exciting worlds.
David took his passions for wordless storytelling to the Rhode Island School of Design, where fell in love with art even more in school, because art was not just part of the day like in elementary and high school, but it was everyday, all day long! Since finishing school David has illustrated more than twenty award winning books for children including many wordless picture books. Of those award winning books David has won three Caldecott Medals for, Tuesday (1992), The Three Pigs (2002), and Flotsam (2006). David Wiesner is only the second person to have won the Caldecott medal three times. David is still continuing work and to be inspired by his dream like imagination in the Philadelphia area where he lives with his wife and two children.
Unit Overview:
This unit is for students in grades 2-3. The objectives for the unit are for students to learn about author/ illustrator David Wiesner’s background and techniques for writing and illustrating children’s books. In the first lesson students will be introduced to one of Wiesner’s work and will then take part in stations to learn more about David Wiesner and what inspires him as an artist. In the second lesson students will be introduced to Wiesner’s wordless picture books and will create their own words as a class to the story Tuesday. Lastly in the third lesson students will learn about Wiesner’s creative process when it comes to creating his watercolor illustrations, and the students will create their own illustration using watercolors like Wiesner to inspire them for a later writing assignment. This is a mini unit and can be expanded on to cover more than just these three lessons.
Prior Knowledge:
I do not expect the students to have any prior knowledge about David Wiesner or his work.
Books used written and illustrated by David Wiesner:
• Flotsam
• Sector 7
• Free Fall
• Tuesday
• June 29, 1999
Lesson 1: Who is David Wiesner?
Time: 1 hour
Grade: Second-Third
Objectives:
• Students will know basic background facts about David Wiesner
• Students will understand the importance about learning about an author/illustrator
• Students will take part in stations to complete “Do You Know David Wiesner” graphic organizer
Materials:
• June 29, 1999
• Station Index Cards
• Prints of David Wiesner’s Illustrations
• Pre-Made Graphic Organizer Worksheets
• Chart Paper
• Markers
Procedure:
1) Class will start off with a picture walk about discussion about June 29, 1999.
2) Then the teacher will read-a-loud June 29, 1999.
3) After the read-a-loud, students will take part in stations in mixed ability groups to complete their “Do You Know David Wiesner” graphic organizer. At each station there will also be prints of David Wiesner’s work for the students to look at and talk about with their groups.
4) The class will come back together for a whole group discussion about what information they found out and the teacher will also re-create the graphic organizer on chart paper for the students to copy down answers they may not have found. This is also a great time for the teacher to focus on how much David Wiesner’s imagination has influenced his work.
Assessment:
Students will fill in 3-2-1 exit cards at the end of class about what they learned from the stations and class discussion about David Wiesner.
Lesson 2: Do All Stories Have Words?
Time: 1 hour – 90 minutes
Grade: Second-Third
Objectives:
• Students will know not all stories have words
• Students will understand they can create their own stories when reading David Wiesner’s wordless picture books
• Students will create stories for the book Tuesday by David Wiesner
Materials:
• David Wiesner’s Wordless Picture Books
- Sector 7
- Flotsam
- Free Fall
- Tuesday (Several Copies)
• Lined Paper
Procedure:
1) Class will start off with the teacher reading-a-loud Flotsam with the students (The teacher will interpret the story in their view). After reading the story, the teacher can see if anyone knows the definition of Flotsam from hearing the story. * The definition of Flotsam is ocean debris *
2) Then as a class they will talk how yesterday they learned David Wiesner is a visual storyteller and several of his books do not have words. During the class discussion several topics will be covered:
- Is there only one correct version to wordless books?
- How important is it for David Wiesner to have strong pictures in his wordless books
- Do readers get to explore their imaginations like David Wiesner when reading wordless picture books?
3) After the class discussion the students will get some time to look at other wordless picture books by David Wiesner (Sector 7 & Free Fall)
4) Then students will be divided into pairs and assigned 3 pages of Tuesday to create the words for.
5) At the end of the class the students will read their newly created words to make David Wiesner’s story come alive!
Assessment:
- The students understanding and effort put into creating the words for their 3 pages in the story.
Lesson 3: How Are David Wiesner’s Illustrations Created?
Time: 30 Minutes Instruction / 1-2 Hours Creation (Depending on interest level)
Grade: Second-Third
Objectives:
• Students will know how David Wiesner creates his illustrations
• Students will understand David Wiesner’s use of imagination when painting
• Students will create their own watercolor imagination inspired work
Materials:
• Computer
• Projection Screen
• David Weisner’s Books
• White Drawing Paper
• Watercolors
• Brushes
• Smocks
• Water Cups
• Newspaper
• Drawing Pencils
Prior Knowledge: That the students know the basics about using watercolors and paint brushes.
Procedure:
1) Class will start off by reviewing the graphic organizer hanging on the wall from lesson one. They will focus on the technique box, which talks about how David creates his illustrations.
2) Then the teacher will share David Wiesner’s creative process with the students over the projection screen from his website: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/wiesner/process/process.shtml.
The teacher can also read this following paragraph to the students about how David creates his illustrations: “David does not create books quickly-they take from one to three years. He starts with tiny sketch books, thumbnails and then develops a dummy of the book. When these are completed, he starts his book with full size, pencil drawings and then moves on to the finished drawings. Sometimes he does need to undertake some research by going to look at animals such as pigs or frogs. He then makes models and takes pictures and with various light settings to study the shadows to see the various effects. After this stage David is ready to paint the pictures. In his case, he really has to make sure that the pictures are telling the story, since there are no words. He thinks of a wordless book as if it were a movie in his head with a rhythm in the pictures. He strives to create images that make the reader (viewer) want to delve into the picture. Sometimes he has to leave out a lot of great material in order to make the story move. His work is totally devoted to books and he doesn't create other types of art for sale or for his own personal expression.” (Marilyn Coutot)
3) Then the students will make a rough draft of an illustration that will inspire one of their future writing pieces.
4) Then the students can draw out their pictures on white drawing paper with drawing pencils and then add water color to their drawings just like David Wiesner.
* The teacher at this time can walk around the room to help students that are having difficulties and remind students about David Wiesner’s use of imagination in his work.
Assessment:
- Students effort and understanding of using their imagination in their watercolor picture
Unit Conclusion:
In this unit, it is my hope for the students to learn about what inspires David Wiesner when he is writing and illustrating his award-winning books. I hope this will help students widen their imaginations to help move them up with their ability to write and illustrate great stories.
Sources:
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/wiesner/bio/bio.shtml
http://www.kidspoint.org/column2.asp?column_id=1470&column_type=author
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=10671
http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/mai_wiesner_david.html
Grade: Second-Third
Objectives:
• Students will know how David Wiesner creates his illustrations
• Students will understand David Wiesner’s use of imagination when painting
• Students will create their own watercolor imagination inspired work
Materials:
• Computer
• Projection Screen
• David Weisner’s Books
• White Drawing Paper
• Watercolors
• Brushes
• Smocks
• Water Cups
• Newspaper
• Drawing Pencils
Prior Knowledge: That the students know the basics about using watercolors and paint brushes.
Procedure:
1) Class will start off by reviewing the graphic organizer hanging on the wall from lesson one. They will focus on the technique box, which talks about how David creates his illustrations.
2) Then the teacher will share David Wiesner’s creative process with the students over the projection screen from his website: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/wiesner/process/process.shtml.
The teacher can also read this following paragraph to the students about how David creates his illustrations: “David does not create books quickly-they take from one to three years. He starts with tiny sketch books, thumbnails and then develops a dummy of the book. When these are completed, he starts his book with full size, pencil drawings and then moves on to the finished drawings. Sometimes he does need to undertake some research by going to look at animals such as pigs or frogs. He then makes models and takes pictures and with various light settings to study the shadows to see the various effects. After this stage David is ready to paint the pictures. In his case, he really has to make sure that the pictures are telling the story, since there are no words. He thinks of a wordless book as if it were a movie in his head with a rhythm in the pictures. He strives to create images that make the reader (viewer) want to delve into the picture. Sometimes he has to leave out a lot of great material in order to make the story move. His work is totally devoted to books and he doesn't create other types of art for sale or for his own personal expression.” (Marilyn Coutot)
3) Then the students will make a rough draft of an illustration that will inspire one of their future writing pieces.
4) Then the students can draw out their pictures on white drawing paper with drawing pencils and then add water color to their drawings just like David Wiesner.
* The teacher at this time can walk around the room to help students that are having difficulties and remind students about David Wiesner’s use of imagination in his work.
Assessment:
- Students effort and understanding of using their imagination in their watercolor picture
Unit Conclusion:
In this unit, it is my hope for the students to learn about what inspires David Wiesner when he is writing and illustrating his award-winning books. I hope this will help students widen their imaginations to help move them up with their ability to write and illustrate great stories.
Sources:
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/wiesner/bio/bio.shtml
http://www.kidspoint.org/column2.asp?column_id=1470&column_type=author
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=10671
http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/mai_wiesner_david.html
I liked your focus on an author of wordless books. These lessons are particularly great for students who are English Language Learners and ones that are at risk. I can see how these lessons would engage students because they get to use their own imaginations and words to "write" the story. It would be fun to see the finished products of the 3 page assignment you had in one lesson. While I think that this would reach out to at risk students, it would also be a challenge for sudents who typically do well in class.
ReplyDeleteI loved your unit and the way it was presented. I think your unit using Wiesner's wordless books levels the playing field so that each student is successful. I would love to see the stories the students write after studying the illustrations in his wordless books.
ReplyDeleteIt is also great that you pointed out how long it takes between one and three years for Weisner to put together a picture book. This will help them understand that faster isn't necessarily better and that sometimes it takes time to do things right.
Great job with the unit.
Katherine, I really enjoyed this unit. When I was trying to decide if I wanted to do an author/illustrator study, I didn't know how or what to portray to children. But in reading yours, I really understood what this type of unit provides to children. Your unit really showed children what it means to be an author/illustrator. Children are able to see that David is just a regular guy who is interested in pictures and with some focus and time, he used his passion to create his career.
ReplyDeleteI think your unit covers many forms of literature, from story books to wordless picture books. And provides open opportunities for children to express their own ideas and interpretations through your activities. I think children really get a sense of what it means to be an author/illustrator and the work that goes into it through your unit. Great job!