This project is targeted for third through fifth grade students. When I taught this lesson we began by examining a variety of Aboriginal Dot Paintings from Australia, both contemporary and prehistoric, and noted a running theme across centuries: native animals. Animals were important to Aborigine survival and were a large part of their day to day lives. Step one is to pick one wild animal to depict in this dot painting. Next, carefully draw the animal in pencil. Using tempera paint, fill the inside of the animal with dots either with the eraser end of a pencil or with a q-tip (though q-tips tend to be messy). Finish off the designs with concentric circles, which is a common theme in many Aborigine artworks.
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This lesson requires black construction paper, a pencil with an eraser and oil pastels. First, have your child find their desired light house by googling "Michigan lighthouse". Next, have your child use a ruler to draw the simple lighthouse outline, then draw the outline of grass and water. Next, using oil pastels, they can color them using smooth, even strokes filling in the grass, water and lighthouse. I recommend leaving the sky black for a beautiful lighthouse at night. I advise against adding scribbly-type stars as stars too often detract from the simple beauty of this art project. Children can also research how lighthouses are important in protecting ships on our Great Lakes.
This is a simple kindergarten lesson teaching students different types of lines (wavy, zig zag, straight, dashed). Use a 12 x 14 inch white construction paper. Have your child draw lines across the full page in black crayon. Then, using watercolor paint, have them paint each section between the lines with a different color. Once dry, you can cut the corners off to create the shape of a hot air balloon. Using two short pieces of yarn, tape or staple on a "basket" made of any color desired cut into a basket shape. Alternatively, this same project can become a huge easter egg. Painting is always a ton of fun!
Each year for Earth day I would teach some kind of special unit. This lesson is great for older children and is one I did with third, fourth and fifth graders and was part of our Endangered Animal's Unit. Materials needed are just large sheets of paper, pencil and either crayons or colored pencils and possibly black sharpie markers to outline with if desired. At my school, we had Virtual Reality glasses which was a great way to kick off the unit! Students were so excited they could barely contain themselves. They went on a really fun VR trip to the Rainforest, moving down a huge kapok tree seeing sloths, an anaconda, birds, and butterflies and then traveled down the Amazon River to a cave. The VR video showed examples of the destruction to the Amazon Rainforest (just one of many biomes we studied). You can do this at home too! First, search out a good video of the Amazon Rainforest on Youtube to watch. Next, discuss why it is important to protect this shrinking ecosystem and its endangered animals. I would ask your child how each creature's habitat is important and unique and how animals adapt to that environment. I would push them to think of ways to save these incredible creatures from extinction. Finally, have your child/student draw a huge mural of their chosen biome such as the African Savanna or the Rainforest including the respective endangered animals that live there. It should include animals from the food web found there with colorful birds, insects, snakes, sloths, chameleons, leopards, and frogs, for example. I suggest doing this with siblings or you, using their best drawing skills. Below are a few examples of my students' finished artwork. A worksheet is also attached below. Enjoy! |
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March 2024
AuthorMy name is Mrs. Krupa and I'm an elementary art teacher at Oxbow Elementary. I'm a professional harpist turned art teacher of 20 years. I'll share art lessons and ideas on these pages, what works and doesn't. Enjoy! Categories
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