THEME: LIGHT           
SUBJECT: EARLY CHILDHOOD
ARTIST: JAMES TURRELL / YAYOI KUSAMA
GRADE: recommended PreK-5th grade
 
OBJECTIVES
Students will explore how light is used in making art.
Students will learn how different colors respond to light.
Students will learn how light responds to different surfaces.
 
KEY QUESTIONS
1. Is the light bright or soft?  Why?
2. What different kinds of light are there?
3. Do our eyes play tricks on us?   Does the art play tricks on us?
 
BOOK REFERENCES
1. The Game of Light by Hervé Tullet
2. Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
3. Eli’s Night Light by Liz Rosenberg
4. Who’s There? by Carole Lexa Schaefer
5. Shadows and Reflections by Tana Hoban
6. Guess Whose Shadow? by Stephen R. Swinburne
 
VISUAL REFERENCES
1. Infinity Dots Mirrored Room, (1996) by Yayoi Kusama
2. Repetitive Vision, (1996) by Yayoi Kusama
3. Catso, Red, (1994) by James Turrell
4. Danaë, (1983) by James Turrell
 
ACTIVITY
Using an overhead projector and a white wall or other clean, flat vertical surface, provide students with child-friendly scissors and cellophane paper.  Allow students to cut shapes of any kind from the cellophane paper and place on the lighted surface of the overhead projector.  Dim lights.  Shapes and colors will be magnified on the wall.  Overlap different colors to create new colors.  Allow students freedom to explore how the light affects the colors. If you do not have an overhead projector you can experiment with flashlights by placing different color filters on the flashlight. 

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PENNSYLVANIA CORE STANDARDS
VISUAL ARTS
(9.1.3.A-9.1.5.A)
-know and use the elements and principles of each art form to create works in the arts and humanities
 
(9.1.3.C-9.1.5.C)
-recognize and use fundamental vocabulary within each of the arts forms
 
(9.1.3.E-9.1.5.E)
-demonstrate the ability to define objects, express emotions, illustrate an action or relate an experience through creation of works in the arts