Lesson 03 — Art Is a Voice

Learners draw a picture that shows a feeling, then share it and let others guess what it says. Art is a voice that needs no words, and people everywhere use it.

D07 P3: Intellectual & Cognitive Awareness D07.S1 45 minutes Draft

Objectives

D07.S1.K.01 Create art with different materials and describe what they made.

Essential question

How can my art say something without words?

voicefeelingpicturesymbolmessageshare

Materials

Standard materials

Paper and crayons or paint · per learner
A set of feeling pictures · 1 set Happy, sad, calm, excited, cozy faces or scenes drawn or printed

Low-tech / no-cost

A face and hands Show a feeling with your face, then draw it; no cards needed
Sand, soil, or a wall to draw on Make a feeling picture on the ground with a stick or finger

Enriched / lab & device

Mixed media — cloth, yarn, buttons, glue · per group Collage a feeling using many textures, not just drawing
A tablet with a drawing app · 1 per pair Try drawing the same feeling with a finger on screen and compare

Works in different contexts

large-group Hold up a feeling picture and ask the whole group to guess the feeling, then everyone draws their own version at once
multi-age Older learners can write or scribe the feeling word next to their picture while younger learners draw the face or scene
self-directed A learner picks a feeling, draws it, then shows a grown-up or friend and asks them to guess what it says
level-grouped Group by how abstract the learner works — some draw a face, some a whole scene — and celebrate all of it as "saying something"
outdoor-only Find or make a picture outside that shows a feeling — a stormy sky, a bright flower — and describe what it "says"

A child with medium brown skin draws a smiling sun on paper while a speech bubble shows a heart and the word "happy"; a second child with deep brown skin points at the sun and asks "What does it say?" Teaches that a picture can say a feeling without words; the labels carry the meaning, so it prints clearly in grayscale.

Lesson 3 — Art Is a Voice

Summary

Learners discover that a picture can “say” a feeling without a single word. They draw a feeling, share it, and guess what others’ pictures say. People in every part of the world use pictures, weaving, carving, and paint to share what is inside them.

Objectives

Create art with different materials and describe what they made. (D07.S1.K.01)

Connection

Have you ever seen a picture and known, right away, that it felt happy or stormy or calm? A drawing can speak before you say a word. All over the world, people make pictures, patterns, weavings, and carvings to share feelings and stories — art is a voice that does not need words.

Materials

Paper and crayons or paint
A set of feeling pictures (happy, sad, calm, excited, cozy)

Preparation

Draw or print a simple set of feeling pictures to show as examples.
Set out drawing supplies where everyone can reach them.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”) so it works in a classroom and for a self-directed learner. As facilitator, frame art as communication, not decoration: “your picture is saying something.” When guessing, never say a feeling is wrong — say “I see something a little different; tell me what it says to you.” Honor non-speaking learners fully; a pointing guess is a real guess.

Procedure

Gather (5 min). Look at the feeling pictures. What does each one seem to say — happy, sad, calm, excited, cozy? You can say it or point to it.
Choose a feeling (5 min). Pick one feeling you want your picture to say. Feel it in your face and body first: how would you show it?
Draw your voice (15 min). Draw a picture that says that feeling. It can be a face, a place, colors, or shapes — whatever says it for you.
Share and guess (15 min). Show your picture. Ask a friend, “What does my picture say?” Then tell them what it says to you. Every answer is a good answer.
Close (5 min). Remember: art is a voice. You said something today, and no one needed to hear a word.

Differentiation

Support: Offer a single feeling to draw and let the learner trace or color a simple face.
Non-visual path: Show a feeling with sound (a happy hum, a slow sad sigh) or with touch (soft cloth for calm, rough bark for stormy), then build a textured “picture” or sound-story instead of a drawn one.
Extension: Invite learners to draw a picture with two feelings in it and tell where each one lives.

Assessment

Formative (observation): Does the learner make a picture that they connect to a feeling, in words or by pointing?
Artifact (portfolio): The feeling picture, kept in the portfolio.

Home connection

Make a picture for someone at home that says how you feel about them, and ask them to guess what it says before you tell them.