Art + Literature Lesson: Seeing Sunlight — Collaging Emotion in “All Summer in a Day”

Grade Level: Middle to High School

Length: 1–2 class periods (can extend to 3 for refinement and reflection)

Core Connection: Visual Arts + ELA Integration

Literary Text: “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury

Art Focus: Collage Portraiture – Layering emotion and contrast

Featured Artist: Wangechi Mutu (Kenyan-American contemporary artist known for surreal collaged faces and figures)

Objectives

Students will:

1. Analyze emotional contrasts and imagery in “All Summer in a Day.”

2. Explore how collage can express layered identity and emotion.

3. Create a mixed-media portrait representing Margot, her classmates, or the sun using collage.

4. Reflect on how texture, color, and fragmentation can communicate feeling.

Materials

• Magazines, newspapers, printed photos, and scraps of color/pattern

• Glue sticks or Mod Podge

• Scissors or X-Acto knives (teacher-guided)

• Drawing paper or watercolor paper (9x12 or 11x14)

• Optional: paint, watercolor, tissue paper, transparent vellum, or tracing paper

• Examples of Wangechi Mutu’s works such as “The End of eating Everything” or “Histology of the Different Classes of Uterine Tumors”

1. Warm-Up Discussion

• Revisit “All Summer in a Day.”
  Ask:

  • How does Bradbury use contrast (light/dark, joy/sadness, inclusion/isolation)?

  • What emotions do you feel at the story’s climax — when Margot is locked away?

• On the board, create a T-chart of “Rain World” vs. “Sun World.”
  (Students list textures, colors, feelings, and sensory words for each.)

2. Artist Connection

• Introduce Wangechi Mutu.
  Show several of her collages that merge faces with plants, animals, and abstract textures.
  Discuss:

  • How does she use fragmentation and texture to express identity and emotion?

  • Why might collage be a powerful way to show complex or hidden feelings?

3. Concept Sketch

Students brainstorm how to visualize a character or mood from “All Summer in a Day.”
Options:

• Margot’s Portrait: Half in shadow/rain, half in sunlight.

• Class Group Collage: Combine multiple faces into one to show collective guilt or conformity.

• The Sun Personified: A surreal figure made of light, warmth, and longing.

• The Locked Door Scene: A symbolic collage — use torn paper to show separation.

Encourage them to sketch loosely, thinking about contrast and composition rather than realism.

4. Collage Creation

• Students select a base (drawing paper) and begin collaging.

• Encourage layering: opaque and transparent materials, overlapping textures, combining magazine images with drawn or painted details.

• Prompt: “How can you show both hope and isolation in one image?”

As they work, circulate and ask:

• “Where does the sunlight appear in your collage?”

• “What textures feel like rain? Like warmth?”

• “How can you fragment or blend parts of the face to reflect emotion?”

5. Reflection

Students title their piece and write a short artist statement:

“My collage expresses the moment in ‘All Summer in a Day’ when _______. I used color/texture/contrast to show _______.”