Project Title: Decorated Heart Envelope. Also, see our translation 愛心信封
Description: (major concepts covered by the lessons) Message written inside heart envelope set in certain writing style, along with graphic design elements to decorate the heart. Design themes for love, nature, landscapes, seasonal, or a favorite character, an expression of empathy.Applied concept of love for nature, appreciation of surroundings and artistic context in environments (e. g. sculpture in a park, text surrounded by decoration and pictures, art on buildings and signs).
Project Ideas: empathy, social health, mental health, interpersonal, intrapersonal
Author: Kristin, Blair, Alysia
Grade level or Target Age Range: pre-K to elementary grades
Historical Art Examples or References: Completed heart envelope with words and designs; images of Robert Indiana’s Love sculpture, of Chinese brush paintings with poems in inked calligraphy, and a sample of graphic art with text.
History Channel – a video on historical valentines cards
Vocabulary: Graphic, typeface, envelope, symmetry, asymmetry, environment, composition, surroundings, design
Materials: White paper, construction paper cut-out shapes (in containers), scissors, crayons, and glue
Anticipatory Set: Has anyone ever seen this sculpture? What do you notice about it? What’s around it? Do you ever see signs with words written like this?
Demo/Directions: (Roughly plan amount of time it takes to do each procedure)
- Set up crayons and other materials and review vocabulary from set. (5 minutes)
- Hand out paper hearts and demonstrate folding using a completed heart envelope (5 minutes)
- After folding, suggest words they can write (in Chinese and/or English) and designs and decoration on blackboard. (10 minutes)
- Demonstrate some writing styles and designs; get student feedback. (5 minutes)
- Students make decorated heart envelopes with one or a few words inside. (20 minutes)
- Students share their work. Review discussion topics. (5 minutes)
- Collect materials and clean up. (5 minutes)
- Respect for the environment and appreciation for nature and animals
- Appreciation for hometown or city through observing surroundings and signs, designs, and urban art