Fourth and fifth grade students used paper strips to weave Native American shields. Next they "wrote" a story using pictographs. The following week they decided on an animal totem to add to their shield. Finally, they added pony beads and feathers.
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Fourth and fifth grade students enjoyed a chance to step inside the characters in the paintings of Norman Rockwell, John Curry and others. This week, I invited students to become a character in one of his paintings. Other students then questioned them about what they were thinking, feeling, or what they were going to do next, as they explored the action in prints of some of Rockwell's famous paintings. Students then worked with their table team to imagine what happened before the action in their painting and to predict what might happen next. As I sat back and watched them come alive with expression and creative thinking, I was reminded again how important it is to step inside the skin of another person. This was a great way to explore details, make predictions, use imagination and develop empathy for others.
Grade 3, ELA, Descriptive Writing integrated with Art CCSS: ELA.W.3.6 ELA.W.3.4 Thank you to the following sources for inspiring me on this project: The Global Monster Project: http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters/index.htm and www.teachingchannel.org/videos/3rd-grade-descriptive-writing Monsters Under My Bed: Week One This lesson began with my reading I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll. Students folded their 12 x 18 white drawing paper in half “like a book”. The first week, I guided them step-by-step in drawing the “cover” with a surprised child dressed in pj’s and sitting under the covers in bed. I invited them to add a tail sticking out from underneath the bed or a menacing arm reaching around the bedpost. They outlined their drawings in sharpie then colored them completely. Monster Under My Bed: Week Two Students drew and colored their monsters on the inside, being sure to include lots of details like texture (scales, fur, warts, hair), appendages (tails, horns, ears, eyes, antennas, claws, shells, wings, etc) and many different colors. To introduce the pre-writing portion, I asked them to... imagine a monster that’s all mixed up with a body like a furry golden lion with huge, hairy toes and a plump, purple, warty nose. It has drooping, floppy pink ears and bulging, shiny, yellow eyes with soft, feathery pink and purple spotted wings and a slimy, black, scaly dragon-like tail. Could they picture it? I asked them to notice how the adjectives (descriptive words) made the monster much easier to imagine than if it was just a “fat, furry monster with wings and a long tail”. Week three, we read What Faust Saw by Matt Ottley. This helped students think about the elements of a good story as well as showed a wide variety of interesting monster/aliens. The children were already eager to begin, “I know! I’m going to have my monster come down on a spaceship!” We talked about how to set up a short story including: who, what, where, why and when (but not in that order). Story Elements: title and author setting = where and when character(s) = who plot = what happens and why description = an actual detailed description of the monster with interesting adjectives ending = a quick wrap up sentence or two Students came up with some very interesting stories! Students either went outside (weather permitting) or looked at photos of trees to observe trees and the Y shape of their branches. We learned about the tallest tree (General Sherman, a giant sequoia) and the oldest tree Methuselah, a bristlecone pine that is almost 5,000 years old! Next, they watercolor painted a tree trunk and branches, grass and sky. Students were invited to include a treehouse for fun! The following week the students stamp painted the leaves with small cut up sponges with yellow, orange and red tempera paint. After blow drying their art, we brainstormed descriptive words to use for poems using our senses including smell, sound, sight, feeling (emotional) and texture (touch) of autumn leaves. Words like scarlet, dancing, floating, spinning, smokey, crunchy, crimson and scarlet were typed and printed out. Students then created a poem about their finished trees. These poems delighted and surprised me! Here is an excellent example of a poem by one of my fourth grade boys:
Autumn Leaves Autumn leaves blow far above in the sky Golden yellow, berry red, and fiery orange Leaves are falling from the sky With laughter all around Skipping, running and dancing Crunching all the leaves They curl up and spread out in the forest The trees look like a beautiful sunset. Kindergarten students at Oxbow learned about caring for Mother Earth based on the story Brother Eagle Sister Sky. We talked about throwing our trash into the garbage can and taking good care of animals. Next students painted line designs using different kinds of lines and then a pattern around their paper plate using q-tips dipped in tempera paint. Week two, students folded strips of paper for the rays of the sun and stapled them in a pattern around their mask.
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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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