The City Block

These are first grade examples from creating art about the city block. The students really enjoyed this project. It took about 2 class sessions to complete. The first session the students focused on drawing and adding color to the city block after looking at examples of cities and discussing different aspects of what is seen if you were walking down the street. The second day is where the students discussed how to cut neatly and what a city skyline might look like. 

What a fish with super powers?

Earlier in the year students in 2nd and 3rd grade created art about fish and underwater creatures. I wanted the students to imagine how creative they could make their fish like princesses, ninjas and pirates. What kind of features would you need to make that happen? I also wanted the students to focus on the fish first so they drew them on separate papers from the background and glued them on. I love the backgrounds for this assignment because the students who had my class last year were already asking me if it was a good idea to add foreground, middle ground and background to their picture. I walked them through a process of how it could be accomplished but also showed them examples of what it really looks like underwater. 

Video Game Cartoon Art

Earlier in the year fourth and fifth grade created robot video games inspired by B-Mo from Adventure Time. The students had been doing a series of lessons about robots and I thought the video game idea would make the students more excited about continuing the robot unit. They were to choose an animal and create their own video game bot but the picture had to include a shadow. I did a demonstration about how shadows are affected by the shape of the robot and also how the value scale could be utilized to make the shadow look more realistic. The students seemed to have a good time with this.

The Colorful Quilt Collaborative Art

The 6th and 7th grade students each created their own quilt piece and then some of the students helped assemble the quilt. This project took a good bit of time. I created a guide for them to follow which is was to split the quarter circle into three sections and have one about a quote or word you like. The other sections were about designs and  repeating shapes. This project was inspired by an article in the Scholastic Arts Magazine about quilts and a Blog post I found on Pinterest http://willywonkyquilts.blogspot.com/2012/10/cinco-de-mayo.html I also wanted to do a collaborative artwork with the students where their personalities could show through the final artwork. I feel like collaborative artwork like this lets the students feel happier about participating. The students and I arranged the quarter circles and glued them down. The black paper helps to emphasize the designs. 

Pandas Crayon Resist

Here are a couple examples from 1st and  kindergarten creating pictures about pandas. We talked about how where the Giant Panda is normally black and white by looking at photographs and detailed clip art examples. I told the students to get creative with their pandas so they could add things like skirts and hats to their picture. The students had a lot of fun using the green glittery paint to help bring out the forest vibes for the picture.

Jump Rope Art

Here are some third grade results from the jumpe rope art project. What would you draw if you were told to create a picture of someone, anyone, jumping roping? The students loved this idea. I really wanted them to add something different into their drawing which is why the yarn was used for the jump rope. The students seemed to take a varied approach for adhering the yarn to the paper. Some wanted the yarn to still be able to move around so it would look like the picture was taking more action and others wanted to completely secure the rope onto the picture so it would feel more like a moment in time. The students were coming up with all sorts of ideas for who should be jumping rope.  I placed a diagram on the board as a template if anyone was having trouble with showing a person jumping. We talked about the bent leg part of jumping rope. I even pretended I was jumping rope so they could physically get the idea of what it looked like. 

Frappucino Designs

How would you design a new frappucino cup with a new logo, company name, and flavor? 6th and 7th grade did just that. Here are some of the results. This lesson was inspired by Kristina Webb's "Color Me Creative" book with different art problems where the user can fill their ideas. I really wanted this project to be more open ended with the results so I allowed to students to come up with their own type of creative background once they were finished designing their frappucino. I like how some students adhered cut paper and added hands to their designs. 

Henri Rousseau Tiger Crayon Resist

The students are creating artwork inspired by Henri Rousseau's artwork. First the students walked through how to make the jungle scene. They could vary the product as long as they had leaves around the perimeter of the picture.The students were given a handout with examples of tigers and also an example of Henri Rousseau's art. We discussed how to characterize a tiger and also how it would become more creative. This lesson required two classes for some because the drawings were becoming more detailed. Here is a second grade example. 

Balloon rocket kinetic sculpture race

The 6th graders designed and did their first kinetic sculpture race. Three teams made it to the final part. The students learned that weight and the size of the balloon affects how their sculpture runs. 

Block Papercraft

Students in 6th grade worked on creating their own personal block Papercraft. I wanted the students to create something sculptural and this was a great way to build on form. Here are a few examples.