- Grade Level:
- Seventh Grade-Twelfth Grade
- Art, History, Social Studies
- This lesson will take 30-45 minutes to complete.
- Group Size:
- Up to 24 (4-8 breakout groups)
- National/State Standards:
- National Standards:
Gr 5-12 Social Studies
World History Eras 4 & 7 Gr K-12
NL-ENG K-12.1, 4
Gr K-4 Fine Arts: Visual Arts 4
Gr 5-8 Fine Arts: Visual Arts 4
- social studies, history, Mexican War, art
OverviewIn "War Numbers" students learn how artists use positive and negative space to highlight parts of a drawing. Students will use this technique to create a timeline of significant events of the U.S.-Mexican War.
- What were the major events that lead to the Battle of Palo Alto?
- What were the major events in the U.S.-Mexican War?
- Study a timeline of major events in the U.S.-Mexican War
- Create artistic representations of the timeline dates
- Create a U.S.-Mexican War timeline for their classroom
BackgroundBefore starting, review and print out the six PDF files in the Materials section. This lesson can be modified for High School students.
MaterialsSix worksheets are included with this lesson plan.
- Lines (PDF 20.9 KB)
- War Numbers (PDF 215 KB)
- War Numbers Sample (PDF 2.70 MB)
- Palo Alto sample (PDF 214 KB)
- U.S.-Mexican War Timeline (PDF 268 KB)
- My U.S.-Mexican War Timeline (PDF 207 KB)
Students use this worksheet to practice drawing different artistic lines. Download
Students use this worksheet to learn how artists use positive and negative space. Download
Students use this worksheet as an example for their drawing. Download
Students use this worksheet as an example for their timeline drawings. Download
Students use this timeline to create their drawing. Download
Students use this worksheet for their timeline drawing. Download
- Tell students that today they will learn about the events that caused the Battle of Palo Alto, the first battle of the U.S.-Mexican War. Tell them they will also learn how artists use positive and negative space, lines, and patterns to highlight parts of a drawing.
- Give students the worksheet "Lines." Have students practice drawing each type of line.
- Give students the worksheet "1846." Tell students this is the year that the Battle of Palo Alto, the first battle in the U.S.-Mexican War, was fought.
- Show students the PDF "1846 Example." Tell them to only draw and color the area outside of the numbers. The space inside the numbers is called "positive space" and the space outside the numbers is called "negative space." Positive space is used by artists to make certain elements in a drawing stand out. Lines, patterns, and colors added to the negative space also help the positive space to stand out.
- Tell students to repeat some of the lines to create patterns. Color in the patterns.
AssessmentAssess student performance in one key area: Drawing OR Chronological Order
- Have students research the event they were assigned.
- Write an essay on how the U.S.-Mexican War would have been different if this event had not occurred.