Clay: Animal Bobbleheads

 Project

    Students will choose to create either an existing animal or create their own animal. Students will create two sketches of what their bobblehead will look like, keeping in mind a hollow head and a pointy neck. Students will then create their bobbleheads out of clay using the pinchpot method. Students are required to attach at least one piece of clay to their animal using the score and slip method. Once the clay is dry (or they choose to paint while wet), students will paint their bobbleheads at least three colors. Students will then write a short informative paragraph about their animal, using at least three facts. Students will also create their own labels for their bobblehead, which includes their name, the name of their piece, the year, and the medium.

Extension

    Students will write a short story about their animal. The story must be at least two paragraphs long and feature an interaction with the animal of a classmate.

Printmaking: Pop Art Prints

 Project

    Students will learn about printmaking and the Pop Art movement. Students will create their own printmaking stencil of an animal of their choice. Students will first sketch out their animal on a scratch piece of paper. They will then cut their animal out and trace the outline on their foam plate using a Sharpie. They will then draw in their details and cut their animal out. Once cut out, the students will use a pencil to create indents for their details. Students will be taught how to print using ink and brayers and are required to create at least two test prints. They will then print this animal in four different colors of ink, coloring in the background once the ink dries.

Extension

    Students will present the animal they chose to the class and be able to tell their classmates where the animal is from, what kind of animal it is, and why they chose their animal. 

Paper Craft: Origami Tulips

 Project

    Students were introduced to origami and shown modern artists that use origami in their work. Students were then taught how to fold a paper flower. Students were required to create three flowers. After students made the flowers, they drew and labeled a diagram of a flower.

Extension

    Students must find one type of flower and find at least three facts to share with the class. Each student must choose a different flower. 

Painting: Underwater Watercolor

 Project

    Students will use watercolor and crayons to create an underwater scene. Students were taught various watercolor techniques and were shown how to do a watercolor resist using wax crayons. Students then drew their own underwater scene with crayons and painted with watercolor over the top, making sure to use at least three different techniques.

Extension

    Students will learn about marine life and ecosystems. Students will describe their underwater scene and describe how the animals they have chosen interact with each other.

Drawing: If Picasso Built a Snowman

 Project

    Students will be introduced to the artist Picasso and will be shown his art. Students were then taught how to draw a snowman in the style of Picasso. Students will use a water resist method with wax crayons and watercolor paints to create their background. Students must use at least three different colors on their snowman.

Extension

    Students will learn about the weather cycle and how snow is made. Students will then write a short paragraph about their snowman's journey through the weather cycle.

Hidden Safari

 Project

    Students will learn about savannah animals and be able to name at least three. They will then use warm and cool colors to create a camouflaged animal, drawing the animal in cool colors and then creating patterns on top of their drawing in warm colors. They will also learn a new way to draw: upside down. Students are given different animals to draw. After choosing one, the student will copy the drawing by turning their paper upside down. Turning the paper upside down makes the student see the animal from a different perspective, allowing them to draw details that they might have missed drawing the usual way. Using a red film, students will then create glasses to "find" their animals. The red film acts as a filter for the warm colors, revealing the cool-colored animal underneath. Students will then get a notecard and write down three clues about the animal they drew.

Extension

    Students will learn about all the different types of natural camouflage that animals can have. Students will then be tasked to create their own camouflage for the classroom.

Vincent van Gogh Collage

 Project

    Students will learn about Vincent van Gogh and create collages based on his works of art. Students will use tissue paper and either mod podge or acrylic medium to create the background and then using markers will draw lines similar to the style of van Gogh. Students will then use black construction paper to create an environment. Once they are done with their black construction paper, students will use a white crayon or colored pencil to add details.

Extension

    Students will take the landscape they made and write a short story about the day-to-day activities there. Stories must be at least one paragraph long and include at least three different activities.

Dot Day

 Project

    Students will read The Dot by Peter Reynolds. After they are finished, they will create a piece of artwork using only dots.

    The Dot by Peter Reynolds is about a little girl named Vashti who believes that she cannot draw. With the encouragement of her teacher, Vashti draws a small dot on her paper and signs her name. When she comes to class the next day, she sees that her teacher has framed her drawing. Motivated to do better than her small dot, Vashti starts creating more dot pieces, drawing attention from the community. At an exhibition of her work, she encounters a boy who claims that he cannot draw a line. She instructs him to try his best, and when he draws his best line, she tells him to sign his name. 

    This book is a great introduction to art for students who feel like they cannot draw. Reynolds shows students that just one small act of creation can create a ripple effect into creating larger and more elaborate works. 

    The techniques we tried for this project were different types of water-resists. I used crayons and oil pastels and went over with watercolor for my heart. The wax and oil in the crayons and pastels resisted the water and let the design show through.

Extension

    Students will write about a time that they felt inspired by someone. They must have the name of the person, and why they felt inspired by them in at least four sentences.