Grade 6 · Art
Quarter 1 · Week 9 · TEKS
This Grade 6 art lesson focuses on helping students understand and apply the principles of design—emphasis, repetition/pattern, movement/rhythm, contrast/variety, balance, proportion, and unity—in their own artworks. Students will learn to use appropriate art vocabulary to describe these principles and discuss the expressive properties of artworks, including meaning, narrative, and symbolism. The lesson includes direct teaching, guided practice, and reflection to develop visual literacy and creative skills.
Students should have basic familiarity with the elements of art such as line, shape, color, texture, and space, and understand that artworks can express ideas and feelings.
The principles of design are guidelines that artists use to organize the elements of art in their work. They help create visual interest and communicate ideas effectively. The main principles include: - Emphasis: Creating a focal point that draws the viewer's attention. - Repetition/Pattern: Using repeated elements to create rhythm or consistency. - Movement/Rhythm: Directing the viewer’s eye through the artwork in a flowing way. - Contrast/Variety: Using differences in color, shape, or texture to create interest. - Balance: Distributing visual weight evenly (symmetrical or asymmetrical). - Proportion: The size relationship between parts of the artwork. - Unity: The sense that all parts of the artwork belong together and create a whole.
When creating art, students can plan how to use these principles to strengthen their compositions. For example, they might choose one area to emphasize by using bright color or size, repeat shapes to create a pattern, or balance elements so the artwork feels stable. Understanding how these principles work together helps students make intentional artistic choices rather than random ones.
Artworks can express ideas, stories, or messages beyond their visual appearance. Students should learn to discuss how artworks use symbols, narratives, or meanings. For example, a red heart might symbolize love, or a repeated broken line might express tension. Using art vocabulary accurately allows students to explain what they see and feel about artworks.
Teachers should demonstrate planning and creating an artwork that uses several principles of design. While creating, the teacher explains choices aloud, such as why they chose to emphasize a certain area or how they balanced colors. This modeling helps students understand the decision-making process and vocabulary usage.
After creating their artworks, students share their pieces and explain which principles of design they used and why. They also discuss the expressive meaning or message in their work. This reflection deepens understanding and encourages critical thinking about art.
Look at this example artwork where the artist uses a bright red circle in the center surrounded by muted colors. Identify which principle of design is being used to draw attention.
The bright red circle stands out against the muted background, creating emphasis by making it the focal point of the artwork.
The principle of emphasis is used to draw attention to the red circle.
An artwork shows a repeated pattern of blue triangles across the page. What principle of design does this illustrate?
Repeating the blue triangles creates a pattern and rhythm that guides the viewer’s eye across the artwork.
This illustrates repetition or pattern.
Show students a variety of artworks or images that clearly demonstrate different principles of design. Point out and name each principle as you discuss the examples.
Observe the artworks and identify which principles of design are visible. Share observations with the class.
Engaging with real artworks helps students recognize design principles in practice and prepares them to apply these ideas in their own work.
Guide students to plan and start creating their own artwork using at least three principles of design. Circulate to support and ask questions about their choices.
Sketch and begin creating an artwork that includes emphasis, repetition/pattern, and balance, or other principles they choose.
Hands-on creation allows students to experiment with and apply design principles, reinforcing their understanding.
Discuss with students the principles of design and expressive properties, using their artworks as examples. Introduce and reinforce art vocabulary terms.
Explain which principles of design they used and describe the meaning or message of their artwork using art vocabulary.
This phase helps students articulate their understanding and use correct terminology to describe artistic choices and meanings.
Encourage students to revise or add to their artwork to strengthen the use of design principles or clarify meaning. Facilitate peer feedback sessions.
Make changes to their artwork based on reflection and feedback to improve design and expression.
Revising artwork deepens understanding of design principles and expressive qualities and develops critical thinking and collaboration skills.
Have students present their final artworks and explain their use of design principles and expressive properties. Assess understanding through discussion and a short written or oral reflection.
Present artwork to the class, describing the principles of design used and the expressive meaning. Complete a reflection on what they learned.
This phase assesses students’ mastery of design principles and their ability to discuss expressive properties using art vocabulary.
Sketch and begin creating an artwork that includes emphasis, repetition/pattern, and balance, or other principles they choose.
Name three principles of design you learned about in this lesson.
Emphasis, repetition/pattern, and balance.
Describe how an artist might use contrast to make an artwork more interesting.
An artist might use contrast by placing light colors next to dark colors or using different shapes to create visual interest.
Create a simple drawing that shows movement or rhythm using repeated shapes or lines. Explain your choice.
A drawing with repeated wavy lines that guide the eye across the page shows movement or rhythm because the repetition creates a flow.
Look at an artwork and identify two principles of design used. Explain how they work together to create a balanced composition.
The artwork uses balance by placing large shapes on one side and smaller shapes on the other, and repetition by repeating colors. Together, these create a stable and unified composition.
Explain how the principles of design can help communicate a message or story in an artwork. Use examples from your own or observed artworks.
Principles like emphasis can highlight important parts of the story, repetition can create rhythm that reflects mood, and unity can make the artwork feel complete. For example, emphasizing a sad face in a portrait helps communicate the emotion.
Provide vocabulary cards with definitions and images for reference. Offer step-by-step planning guides for creating artwork. Allow use of templates or stencils for repeated shapes.
Use visual aids and gestures when introducing vocabulary. Pair ELL students with peers for discussion and explanation. Provide sentence starters for describing artwork.
Challenge students to incorporate all seven principles of design in their artwork. Encourage students to research and present on an artist known for strong use of design principles. Have students write a short critique using art vocabulary to analyze a peer’s artwork.
Encourage students to find examples of the principles of design in their home environment or community, such as in architecture, clothing patterns, or nature, and share photos or drawings in class.
In this lesson, students learned to identify and apply the principles of design—emphasis, repetition/pattern, movement/rhythm, contrast/variety, balance, proportion, and unity—in their own artworks. They practiced using art vocabulary to describe these principles and discussed how artworks express meaning and messages through design choices. By creating, reflecting, and sharing their artworks, students developed stronger visual literacy and creative expression skills aligned with TEKS standards.
Use the exact standards alignment and retrieved-source provenance stored with this enrichment.