My 5th grade students are required to know about VALUE before they leave us and go to middle school. One great way to teach it is through pencil drawing, learning to create shadow and light, and make a two dimensional drawing pop out into a three dimentional illusion. Almost every students is amazed at what they can do when it is finished and they step back and take a look.
* Students first observed many examples of pencil drawings and discussed the value scale that was used. We discussed high and low value and all the "in betweens."
* A blank value scale was passed out and the student practiced different pressures on the pencils to achieve the different values between black and white.
* We then put the values to work practicing how to use them on "3D forms" drawn on a 2D piece of paper (see above). Here they really had to learn how to "see around" the object, determine a light source, and create the illusion of mass and volume by applying a full range of values.
* Then came the crushed paper bags (crushed soda cans work as well). Students had to carefully draw the lines they saw and then apply the value to the drawing.
This is not an easy concept, but these 5th grade students did exceptionally well. Having to visualize FORM really uses the RIGHT side of the brain!
Teaching these 5th grade students about how to use VALUE in their drawings is so much fun. They are amazed at what they are able to do to create the illusion of three dimension. Learning to take drawings to a higher level of realism helps to teach students to observe in greater detail. When making them think about how light and shadow move around a 3-D form, you are helping them to better understand the mathematics of Geometry.
