Art 316 Lesson Plan Music, Emotion, and Art By Rebecca Lake, Hailey Brown, McKell Kotter, and Becky Ludlow

 1. Subject 

● Visual Music/ Making Music Visual 

2. Grade Level 

● 4th 3. 

Standards 

● Anchor standard 1 ○ K-2.VA.1.2 Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design 

● Anchor standard 2 ○ 3-5.VA.2.1 Create artwork using a variety of artistic processes and materials 

● Anchor Standard 3 ○ 6-8.VA.3.2 Reflect on and explain important information about personal artwork. 

● Anchor standard 4 ○ 3-5.VA.4.1 Analyze or evaluate components in visual imagery that convey messages, ideas, and mood 4. 

Objectives (Outcomes) 

● Students will participate in a class discussion about how music influences art and artists with synesthesia and their artwork. 

● Students will create 4 separate pieces for each song they listen to. They will listen to the playlist and will have materials at their tables to choose from while listening. 

● Students will participate in either a class or a group reflection on their art created in class. 

5. Time Requirements 

● 1-hour lesson ○ 10-15 minute lecture ○ 30 min art-making session ○ 10 reflection time ○ 5-minute cleanup 6. 

Required Materials 

● Watercolor, crayons, markers, colored pencils, 4 sheets of paper 

● (Please refer to section 10: Sources for artwork shared with the class) 7. Learning Activities/Tasks Step-by-Step Instructions/ Activity Anticipatory Set / Starter (5 min) Ask: “When we think of music, what comes to mind? How does it make you feel?” 

● Discuss as a class (students can answer with happy, sad, angry, favorite media, etc.) 

● Show a clip from Fantasia 2000 — specifically the segments “The Firebird Suite” (the nature/tree sequence) and “Pomp and Circumstance” (the volcano sequence). 

● Ask the question: Guide students to begin thinking about how music helps tell a story and how sound can match movement, emotion, and action in what they see on screen. “If this clip were only music and you couldn’t see it, what would it sound like?” Students would say cheerful green and then red jagged or terrifying. Abstract could be defined as: Art with no recognizable objects, just line, shapes, and color that represent emotion. 

Background / Mini-Lesson (5–7 min) On Google Slides https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1D7ijzKWlPodMMuU1FsL2-CVjl8gkqa0MsGSc8zYROlk/ edit?usp=sharing Introduce Paul Klee 

● Show slides or images. 

● Explain that he used lines, shapes, and colors to represent music. Introduce Malaysia McKraken, and define Synesthesia. Talk about Wassily Kandinsky as well. 

● Show examples. 

● Explain how abstract shapes and color can represent rhythm, emotion, and sound. Listening & Creating: (30 mins /10 mins a song) The songs are played are “Tires on Fire” by Coda,“Aquarium” – Camille Saint-Saëns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIgD5hoc_TE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NEdFFGjS7o

● The students listened to half the song 

● Grab their supplies halfway through the song to express emotion in the second half. 

● A small break is given to finish the details between songs. 

Teacher Guidance: 

● Fast music = sharp, jagged lines or bright colors 

● Slow music = soft, flowing shapes or muted colors Table Discussion / Formative Assessment Check (5 min) Students share work-in-progress at their tables as groups. 

Discussion Prompts: 

● “Which parts of the song did you represent in your art?” 

● “What colors or shapes did you choose, and why?” 

● “How does your medium (marker, pencil, collage) affect the mood?” Encourage positive peer feedback and ask outside if the slides. Go around and talk to groups. Listening & Creating: Part 2 (20–25 min total) Repeat the process for the second and third songs (10–12 minutes per song). 

● Students create a new artwork for each song. 

● Students may mix techniques or try different colors/shapes to represent the music. Class Discussion / Reflection (5min) After completing all songs, facilitate a whole-class discussion: 

● “How did your art change with each song?” 

● “Did your colors, shapes, or lines communicate rhythm or mood successfully?” All Students will go around and share. Students point out specific examples in their own or classmates’ work. Final reflection question: “What did you learn about linking music to visual art?” 8. Assessment: Formative and Summative Formative Assessment (During Lesson) 

● Observe table discussions for the correct use of vocabulary: color, line, shape, composition, rhythm. 

● Listen for students explaining the reasoning behind color/shape choices to ensure understanding of linking music to visuals. 

9. safety issues: none

10. Sources Synesthesia - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.Com, www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/synesthesia. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026. OpenAI. (2026). ChatGPT response to lesson plan development prompt [Large language model]. ChatGPT. https://chat.openai.com/