Lesson Plan 1: The Examination of the Structure of Leaves and Humans
The background for this lesson was laid in the one that precedes it. The objective of that lesson was for students to see and then understand how the architect and artist Calatrava draws upon objects found in nature as inspiration for some of the structures that he designs. A description of some of those images shown in the Calatrava Power point is included earlier in this unit. For example, among the images is a watercolor sketch of a leaf with veins radiating out from the center. Accompanying it is a sketch of a fish with ribs flaring out from its spine, resembling the structure of the leaf. The shared concept becomes the structure for a table base. (19) The discussion is very important because students need to understand the bridge between Calatrava's ideas in sketches to his finished structures so that they can apply those understandings to their own designs. That will have been followed by the viewing of images of nature drawings by Leonardo da Vinci and the correlation of his discoveries to his invention ideas.
The objective of this one-day lesson is the student examination of leaves and human figures to see a correlation on their own (gently guided by me) between particular objects in nature (the leaves or humans) and possible architectural structures.
Calatrava's images with the leaf and fish sketches will lead into the examination of the structure and beauty of tree leaves. Each table or group of students will be given a packet of leaves to examine. Each will contain examples of the two basic types of trees which are conifers (those with needle-like leaves like those of pines, firs, junipers and spruces) and the flat leaves or blades of broadleaf trees like maples. Both types are found on our school grounds.
Also included in the packet will be simple leaves that are identified by the single individual leaf on a stem and compound leaves which are those that have three or more leaflets on a shared stem. Broadleaf trees are further classified by the types of edges that the leaves possess. Examples of simple leaves with smooth edges are dogwoods, willows and redbuds. Willow, holly, beech, cherry, plum, aspen and birch trees all have leaves with saw-toothed edges. Trees that bear acorn as a fruit and have leaves that are lobed include a wide variety of oak trees. Trees that have lobed leaves but bear non-acorn fruit include sassafras and sweetgum trees, maples, tulip trees and sycamores.
There are two types of trees with compound leaves. Those with leaves arranged like feathers include hickory, walnut, ash, and locust trees. Those with leaves arranged like fingers on a hand include the horse chestnut. Any examples that you might collect will reflect the area of the country in which you live since you will need to find readily available specimens. The leaves should probably be gathered relatively close to the time that they will be used and can be pressed under weights such as books. If they are collected too soon, they will become too dry, crumbling away quickly from the handling of many hands. If they will be used over and over, they can be preserved in close to their natural state by soaking them for a week or two in a mixture of water and glycerin.
The amount of time that you spend on leaf examination is up to you. After discussion about classification, each group of students can first classify their leaves as conifers or broadleaf specimens. Then they can divide the broadleaf examples into simple and compound categories. They can further be broken down into saw-toothed versus smooth-edged versus lobed.
An example of opposite-leaf plants and alternate-leafed plants will be shown to the entire class since branches will not fit in the leaf bags well. This involves how the leaves are arranged on the branch. If the leaves on the branch grow directly opposite from each other and match up, then they are considered to be opposite. In alternate-leaf plants, the leaves never are opposite of each other. Instead, there is a leaf on the left of the branch and then, on the right, there is a leaf a lower down so that a staggered affect is created.
A main focus of this lesson is actually on the variety and beauty of the structures of leaves rather than on their scientific classification. The students should develop their observational skills. Through thoughtful reflection and discussion, students will need to make the leap from looking at leaves to thinking of how these structures can become the supports and structures of bridges. Students will sketch at least one leaf with veins and experiment with forms that it might suggest.
After examining leaves, the students will be asked to recall some of Calatrava's figure studies and their inspiration to certain structures. Then they will create simple quick sketches of classmates at their tables in different poses that could possibly be used along with structures that each pose suggests. The students are in charge of this section of the lesson. Each group should have at least a couple of students willing to experiment with poses. At the end of the period, the signed drawings will be collected for credit and then some of them that are more on target will be hung in the classroom the following day for display.
Among the materials needed for this lesson are a packet that includes a variety of leaves for examination for each table or small group of students and just one example each of a branch of opposite-leaf plants and alternative-leaf plants. Each group of students will use each other as models for figure drawing. They will also need drawing paper, pencils, erasers and possibly drawing boards or the equivalent. If a school skeleton is available, that can also be examined and posed in the classroom. I made a bridge in preparation for the teaching of this unit and used the class skeleton's ribcage for inspiration for my cable-stayed bridge. I will share the steps of my thinking process for my bridge with my students.
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