The lion and the lamb: learning about tolerance and compassion
Arts & Activities, Dec, 2009 by Judith C. Johnson
As the holidays approached this year, I was looking for something new and different from poinsettias, Christmas trees and snowy landscapes for my third-graders. (This lesson is adaptable to most any grade level.) This is a special class who is up for new ideas and art adventures. They had not yet used the changeable markers, which are great fun for pattern and design work.
I wanted to do a specific lesson using the seven elements of design for a holiday project. Our students began with the elements of design, color theory and drawing skills in the first grade. This class had used design for a heart project, so I knew I wanted a drawing lesson that incorporated design.
Visiting Crayola’s The Art of Childhood Gallery online a while back, I saw some images of animals close up that obviously had begun with the basic circle. I decided that starting with circles–one for a big lion and one for the smaller lamb–would be great for a lesson on world peace using the “Lion and the Lamb” concept from the Old Testament.
(It was interesting to note that I, like many, had the quote all wrong! The actual quote is” “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.”–Isaiah 11:6)
When my third-graders carne in for their weekly lesson, they found quotes on the board and a large image of Edward Hicks’ The Peaceable Kingdom, c. 1834, in the front of the room. A lively discussion ensued about the significance of a lion actually lying next to a lamb. Most everyone agreed that the lamb was likely to be dinner in the lion’s world.
We discussed tolerance and what it would mean if every one in the world showed tolerance and compassion. Some of the students brought up basic art-room conduct like never saying anything bad about someone else’s work, and helping classmates clean up without being asked to do so.
My students were provided with images of lions, lambs and foliage, and with jar tops in two sizes to lightly trace the biggest and most important shapes of the lion and lamb
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