Value and Shading: From Light to Dark

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Value and Shading: From Light to Dark
Arts · Art · Grades 6-9 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 3-page worksheet (one per student). Draw a light source arrow on the board (see
before_class).
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone with a short partner check.
Copies to make
One 3-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils (a soft pencil such as 2B or 4B is helpful but not required), Worksheet, Erasers, Scrap
paper for testing pencil pressure (optional)
Goal for today: Students will create a smooth seven-step value scale and use it to shade a sphere and a cube with
light coming from one stated direction.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (3 pages).
☐ On the board, write: LIGHT. Draw an arrow pointing down and to the right from the upper left corner. Write:
Light comes from the upper left.
☐ Also write: Value = how light or dark something is. Pressure controls value: light pressure = light gray, hard
pressure = dark.
☐ Students only need pencils. No blades are needed.
Say this to start
Good morning! Today you will practice shading. Artists call how light or dark something is its value. By changing how
hard you press your pencil, you can make a flat circle look like a round ball. You will start with a scale from lightest to
darkest, then use it to shade a ball and a box. Work slowly and try to keep your shading smooth, not scribbly.

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Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet. Point out the
board: the light comes from the upper left.
Read the title and the passage.
5–12
Have students read the passage and answer questions 1–4
on their own.
Read about value, then answer the
multiple-choice and true/false questions.
12–22
Tell students to fill in the value scale table. Box 1 is the
lightest (almost white), box 7 the darkest. Row 1 uses
smooth shading and row 2 uses cross-hatching (crossing
sets of thin lines). Remind them to press lightly first and
gradually harder.
Fill in the seven boxes in each row from
lightest to darkest.
22–40
Tell students to shade the sphere (question 5) and the
cube (question 6). The key idea is that the side facing the
light is lightest and the side farthest from the light is
darkest. Walk the room and encourage smooth gradual
shading.
Shade the sphere and the cube using the
value scale and the board light arrow.
40–47
Tell students to answer questions 7 and 8. Then ask
partners to check whether each other’s drawings have the
lightest area facing the upper left.
Write short reflections and compare with a
partner.
47–50
Collect all worksheets and stack them for the teacher.
Hand in the worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students’ shading is dark and scribbly, tell them to start with the lightest pressure and build up in layers.
Smooth shading takes patience.
• If a student has only a hard pencil that will not get dark, tell them to press and layer more, and use
cross-hatching for the darkest areas.
• If a student erases a hole in the paper, suggest turning it into the lightest highlight on the sphere.
• If students finish early, check that the sphere has a light highlight, a dark side and a small cast shadow, then
use the early finisher list.
Early finishers
• Shade a cylinder (a can) on the back of the worksheet with light from the upper left.
• Create a 9-box value scale on the back and see if you can make all nine steps clearly different.
Support and challenge
• Support: Let students shade only the sphere (question 5) and the first row of the value scale, and complete
questions 1–4.
• Challenge: Ask students to add a cast shadow and a faint reflected light on the shadow side of the sphere and
explain each in a sentence.

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Arts · Art
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Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: