Art Classes: Level II

Level II-Art Lesson 9: The Ukrainian Rooster

Learn to draw a rooster while you learn to tell a Slavic folktale about a rooster

The lesson is suitable for students in grade 3 through adult.

Art Lesson Description:

When roosters crow to announce the sunrise, they seem to be shouting, “Hey, everybody, it’s a great new day! Time to wake up!” So it should be little wonder that Ukrainian people consider the rooster a symbol of happiness and good fortune. The Ukrainian rooster we found for this lesson is the picture of happiness. The bouquet of flowers that surround the rooster invites us to use background images to create balance, so this lesson is also an introduction to creating a balanced composition.

An additional advantage of using the Ukrainian rooster for our subject is that we have also found a YouTube video of a delightful folktale about a rooster, “The Rooster with the Golden Comb.” The video is in Russian (not Ukrainian), but the story is such fun we decided to include it anyway. The story is easy to understand, and offers a great opportunity for students to practice storytelling and story writing.

The lesson guides students as they draw the rooster and create a balanced composition around the rooster. Students are invited to study Ukrainian folk art patterns and to invent textures and patterns as they color the rooster.

This lesson includes both POWERPOINT and VIDEO versions of the lesson plus 2 downloadable printouts: a warmup and a drawing of the rooster.

List of Supplies for Each Student:

1 copy of the warm-up (this comes with the lesson)
11" x 14" drawing paper (#ad)
Fine tipped permanent black marker (#ad)
Washable colored markers (#ad)
(Optional: glitter glaze (#ad) to add a sparkling final touch)

Suggestions for Cross-Curricular Connections:

Social Studies:

Learn about Ukraine's history during the last 100 years.
Interesting facts about Ukraine. (Did you know that an old Ukrainian constitution may have provided the model for the US Constitution?)
Study maps of Ukraine to see what you can learn about the country.

Ukrainian Culture: Learn about Ukrainian's traditions and customs. Here's a sampling: Don't whistle indoors, and do bring an ODD number of flowers for a friend.

Music: Listen to some Ukrainian children's songs.

Language Arts:

Read the book, The Cat and the Rooster (#ad) a Ukrainian folktale.
Read another Russian folktale about a rooster, "Fox, Hare and Rooster."
Learn Ukrainian folk tales help us learn about Ukrainian culture.
Did you know that roosters in other parts of the world speak a different language than roosters in America? Learn how to say "cock-a-doodle-do" in other languages!
Learn stories about how roosters have been important in Europe--one even saved a man's life!

Science: