Faces tell feelings - Part 5 - Typefaces

Students will study various typefaces in terms of their line quality and shape. Then they will use various editing functions in a word processor to create a text document whose typefaces "show" a particular emotion.

A lesson plan for grades 3–5 Visual Arts Education

By Susan Wenzel Getter and Jan Kimosh

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Related pages

• Observing connections: Art, poetry and the environment (Lesson 1): Students will explore the poem of Pat Lowery Collins, “I Am An Artist” and create their own poem from what they see and experience. They will then illustrate their poems with a visual design. This is the first lesson in a series of three in which students are creating art based on their observations: Observing Connections —Art, Poetry, and the Environment (Lesson 1); Observing Connections—Changing Landscapes (Lesson 2); Observing Connections—North Carolina Pottery and Face Jugs (Lesson 3)
• Faces tell feelings - Part 6 - Emotions collage: Students will create a collage using magazine photos and words printed in computer lab to express a particular emotion.
• Faces tell feelings - Part 3 - Drawing facial expressions: Students will learn how to draw facial expressions and paint a portrait which portrays a particular expression or emotion.

Related topics

• Learn more about arts, emotions, fonts, typefaces, typography, and word processing.

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This lesson plan was designed as part of a collaborative unit between art and technology teachers. The other lessons in the unit are:

• Faces tell feelings - Part 1 - Understanding URLs
• Faces tell feelings - Part 2 - Observations
• Faces tell feelings - Part 3 – Drawing facial expressions
• Faces tell feelings - Part 4 - Computer Animation
• Faces tell feelings - Part 6 - Emotions collage

Learning outcomes

Students will:

• recognize that different fonts (typefaces) have different qualities based on their shape and line quality.
• create a word-processing document.
• highlight, copy, and paste words within a word-processing document.
• change the properties of text within a word-processing document — font style, size, and color.
• use upper and lowercase letters in a word-processing document.
• save and print a word-processing document.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1 hour

Materials/resources

File cards with different emotion words written on them (happy, sad, angry, etc.), one for each student in the class.

Technology resources

• Computer for each student
• Word-processing software
• Computer for teacher
• Color printer
• Computer projector and screen or monitor large enough for whole-class viewing (for use with teacher’s computer)

Pre-activities

Lessons 1-4 in this unit on emotion in art will have been completed before students participate in this lesson.

Activities

1. Use the PowerPoint presentation to review how people’s faces in works of art show their emotions. Continue to use the PowerPoint presentation to discuss how typefaces (or fonts) can also show emotion by their shape and line quality.
2. Instruct students to open a blank word-processing document.
3. Review editing words in a word processor with the students by leading them through the following activities:
   
   • Type a single word in lowercase letters.
   • Practice using the mouse or the arrow keys to move the cursor around the word. Capitalize the first letter of the word using shift + the letter.
   • Highlight the word. Change the typeface (font name) and see how the letters change shape (and line quality). With the word highlighted, change the font size.
   • With the word highlighted, make a copy of the word. Then paste it several times to make multiple copies of the same word. Note how this saves you from having to type it over and over!
4. Tell the students that they are going to get a file card with an emotion word on it (happy, sad, etc.) When they get the card, they are to fill one page with that word in different typefaces, sizes, and colors that express the emotion of the word. (See an example.)
5. Students will work independently on their document and print their page upon completion. Collect these pages for review. They are to be given to the art teacher (they will use these in their next art lesson).

Assessment

Initial assessment will occur as students work, by circulating and looking at font choices based on the emotion. Suggestions can be given to students if needed. For example: using a very “happy”-looking font when they’re supposed to be focusing on anger.

Additionally, student documents will be turned in and can be reviewed for understanding of shape and line quality, as well as for the ability to properly change font properties.

Related websites

There are many freeware font sites. Teachers can visit these sites before this lesson and have the fonts pre-installed on the computer before the students arrive. A few examples:

• Astigmatic One Eye
• Font Garden

Comments

This lesson is the fifth in a series of six lessons created by Jan Kimosh and Susan W. Getter, the elementary art and computer teachers at Our Lady of Lourdes School during a summer LEARN NC/NCSSM/Ackland Art Museum workshop.