This is a lesson I included in my unit on endangered animals, which is appropriate for third through fifth graders using relief printing. I suggest beginning by having your students or children play a game matching endangered animals with their habitats around the world. (See the above art lesson for more info on that). Alternatively, research can be done on some excellent websites such as https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/. Pick an animal and answer questions such as: Where does your animal live in the world? What is its habitat? What adaptations did it develop that helped it to live in that habitat? Why is it endangered? What are your ideas for what can be done to save it? I would then have students draw their endangered animal in its habitat, taking care to add details and texture such as wavy lines in the water, scales, curved lines to delineate leaves, etc. Students can practice making four different practice sketches on copy paper (folded into four squares) and then pick the one they like the best. Next, use a clean, rinsed off and dry Styrofoam meat tray with the edges trimmed off to use to make the relief print, along with a dull pencil. Pressing medium hard, redraw the animal in its habitat onto the Styrofoam plate using a dull pencil. Hint: drag the pencil as it etches into the Styrofoam to get smooth lines...it takes a little practice. I would suggest having two or three trays to practice on to alleviate frustration. An easier way to etch in the design is to lay the chosen design over the Styrofoam and retrace the lines pressing hard enough to transfer the lines but not so hard that the pencil punches through the styrofoam. Using colorful markers (not washable markers), color the styrofoam plate making sure to color it thoroughly. Now comes the magic! Take a piece of copy paper and spritz it with cold water thoroughly and shake off the excess water in a sink. Place it carefully onto the colored styrofoam and rub firmly and thoroughly without letting the paper slip around. Let the student lift it straight up and off. Viola! A colorful masterpiece! Rinse the plate and repeat with new colors. Set aside to dry. Note: If you are a parent, let your child do the entire process - that is part of the fun! Be aware it may take several times to perfect the technique. So that is relief printing in a nutshell. Enjoy!
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This is a great project for Kindy, first and second grade students to create endangered animal paintings. First, follow along with any Youtube step-by-step "how to draw a wild animal" lesson using basic shapes to form their animals. The next step is to add the animal's own habitat and details. What does your animal eat? Where does it live? What other animals live with it? Paint or color these after they are sketched out. Finally, I always had my art classes play an engaging game I created called "Habitat Match Up." You can do this at home too! Find different closeup color photos of animals and separate photos of their habitats and glue them to colored paper or hard cards. Separate into a pile of habitat photos and a pile of the different animal photos. Mix each set of cards up and allow your child or student to match each animal with its habitat (the home where it lives). I usually would have students work with a partner but a child can work alone, with a sibling or you. What an excellent way to engage students in problem solving and using observation skills while building teamwork abilities. You can take this a step further by prompting them to look at the animal's characteristics and how things like fur or gills might offer a clue as to what that creature's habitat might be. At the end of our Endangered Animals unit, I would also engage my students in discussions about habitat loss and why and how animals such as rhinos, gorillas or cheetahs might be going extinct and what we can do to help save these animals.
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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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