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Learning About Guatemala Through Its Kites |
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Cultural studies integration: Central America
Materials:
Practice: Using the last image as a model, ask students to create a radially balanced design, with some variety within a motif. For assessment, ask each student to exchange her/his design with a classmate; write a short paragraph describing the classmate’s use of a radial design and of variety within a repeated motif.
Links:
To save images: 1. Right click on the image.
Photos of Guatemalan kites by Ali Fujino , Ben Ruhe, and Federico Carranza; photos of student kites by Kiyomi Okawa or Cathy Palmer Thanks to teachers and students at Lockwood Elementary, Bothell, WA; Whitman Middle School, Hamilton International Middle School, Van Asselt Elementary, John Stanford International School, and The Northwest School, Seattle, WA; and Renton Technical College, Renton, WA, who tested teaching materials and made Guatemalan kites in fall 2005 and spring 2006. First posted October 2005; revised September 2006 © 2006 The Drachen Foundation. Images may be downloaded by K-12 teachers for use in their classrooms. All other uses prohibited.
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Focus: These materials support review of a visual art principle—radial balance—in the medium of kites, with which students are less likely to be familiar than they are with drawings or paintings. If students are not already familiar with this visual art principle, consult a standard art education textbook for guidance. 
Discussion: Read the discussion prompts for background information or discussion cues. Introduce students to the principle of radial balance, a design that radiates from a central point, and look at various ways in which this principle is used in the design of different kites. 
