This lesson plan aims to teach 4th grade students about illuminated letters from European manuscripts. Students will learn about the history and styles of illuminated letters and practice recreating designs on activity sheets before choosing a letter to decorate. They will outline, fill, and add designs to their letter following guidelines on craftsmanship. The goal is for students to develop an understanding of cultural heritage and enjoy creative expression.

4. Students will have available a packet with many activity pages on which to practice.

5. Students will not be allowed to simply copy from the exemplars. They will only have activity sheets and not specific samples. Samples like these will only be shown to the entire class using a projector.

6. Students will not be allowed to simply copy from the exemplars. They will only have activity sheets and not specific samples. Samples like these will only be shown to the entire class using a projector. We will talk about the work of illuminators and some cultural differences.

8. Students will not be allowed to simply copy from the exemplars. They will only have activity sheets and not specific samples. Samples like these will only be shown to the entire class using a projector.

16. This is the first activity sheet Students will practice outlining and inlining some shapes like triangles and ovals. Students will then use the letter templates to draw the basic letter shapes and practice outlining and inlining them. They will not draw directly on the packet sheets but on separate scrap paper.

17. Students will create or recreate some of the fill patterns or filigree. Again, students will work on scrap paper, not directly in the packets.

18. It really doesn’t matter which of the other three activity sheets a student does, but they must begin with the outline/inline sheet. Again, students will work on scrap paper, not directly in the packets.

19. This sheet is mainly to get used to filling more unusual shapes that may occur within their design. Again, students will work on scrap paper, not directly in the packets.

20. Students will choose a letter (Usually one of their own initials) They will measure out a 4” by 6” rectangle or a 6” by 6” square on heavy paper They will make a ¼” and ½” border The letter will be inside that ½” border. Students will add both an outline and an inline to the letter. They will try to have as smooth a line possible. Good craftsmanship is essential to achieve a polished look. Students will begin to fill spaces with design elements found on the activity sheets. They will keep good craftsmanship in mind as they work.

21. Students will add filigree to other areas. Students will carefully warp the shapes they are drawing to fit the space. Students will add a border in the ¼” area around the edge.

22. Students will finish the border all the way around. Students will add whatever design elements they feel go well with the overall look of the decorated letter. Students will warp shapes in order to fill up as much space as possible.

23. Once the design is completely drawn, students will retrace their lines very carefully using a fine line Sharpie pen or equivalent. Allow drying time so the ink does not smudge. Take a Pink Pearl or kneaded eraser to remove visible pencil marks. Now think carefully about the colors you will use. You might want to take a digital photo before you start coloring and experiment with colors on the computer. Another possibility is to Xerox the design so you can have multiple copies of your line design.

29. An extension to this activity would be for students to create a larger document that includes a word or saying after the initial illuminated letter. The text would be done in calligraphy so those lessons need to be factored into the project. I usually do all the basic calligraphy first so I am not piling on. The skills for calligraphy are fairly unique and should be done first since the versals are merely a variation of “drawing” letters or writing.