Who is the Mona Lisa?

3rd Grade Cardboard Montage

3rd Grade Cardboard Montage
     Each 3rd grade class created a collaborative art piece, to hang throughout our school.  For this project, each student used paint to design and decorate a piece of cardboard.  Once all of the pieces were designed and decorated, students worked together at their tables to assemble their pieces in a creative way.  Each table assemblage was then glued together to create a larger work.  As a class, students discussed:
- What does the world collaborate mean?
- How do artists collaborate with each other?
- What are some things to keep in mind when working on a project with others / as a group?

Learning Targets:
1. I can create a piece of artwork through collaboration with others.

2nd Grade Patterned Letters

2nd Grade Patterned Letters
     2nd graders learned how to draw a bubble, or a block letter.  Students draw the first letter of their first name, in pencil, and then created patterns out of lines, shapes, and designs inside their letter, and in the background.  Sharpie markers were used to trace the drawings.  Tempera paint was used to add color to the project.

Learning Targets:
1. I can draw a block or bubble letter.
2. I can repeat lines, shapes, or designs to create a pattern.
3. I can show good use of craftsmanship.

Kindergarten Line Paintings

Kindergarten Line Paintings
     Kindergarteners learned to name, identify, and draw a variety of different lines.  The lines included:
- Straight
- Thin
- Thick
- Dashed (road line)
- Zig Zag
- Lightning bolt
- Heartbeat
- Squiggle (snake line)
- Castle
- Curly cue
- Spiral
- Scallop (ocean wave)

     Kindergarteners practiced drawing a variety of lines.  Each student started by tracing lines that were given to them, and then creating their own lines.  After they were done practicing, students took their pencil for a walk across their paper, trying to draw each line they learned.  The lines were then traced with oil pastels.  Students used tempera paint to add color to the background, experimenting with overlapping, and color mixing.

Targets:
1. I can name and identify a variety of lines.
2. I can draw a variety of lines.

4th Grade Radial Designs

4th Grade Radial Designs
     4th graders learned about radial designs as art forms, as well as in everyday life.  A radial design has multiple lines of symmetry, and contains designs that are symmetrically balanced around a center point.  Students chose colored buttons to glue down onto a large piece of drawing paper.  The buttons were used as centers to base the radial designs off of.  Students used a compass, pencil, and free hand drawings to create their radial designs.  One goal of this project was to have at least 2 of the radial designs look like they were overlapping.  A fine tip Sharpie marker was used to outline the designs.  Colored pencils were used to add color to the radial designs, making sure the colors were balanced all the way around.  If the button (center point) was a warm color, then warm colors were used in the radial design.  If the button was a cool color, cool colors were used for adding color.  If the button was neutral, students chose whether or not to use neutral colors, warm, or cool.  Tempera cakes or chalk pastels were used to add color to the background.

Learning Targets:
1. I can create radial designs that are symmetrically balanced around a center point.
2. I can show the difference between warm colors and cool colors in my artwork.
3. I can show careful craftsmanship in my artwork.

First Grade Jim Dine Hearts

Kinder Jim Dine Hearts
     Kindergartners learned about American painter and sculpture Jim Dine.  Jim Dine is known for painting and sculpting hearts.

Here are a few samples of Jim Dine's work:

  

     Students used square drawing paper, and folded their paper horizontally and then vertically, to create 4 boxes on their paper.  A small piece of paper was then folded in half, and a pencil was used to draw half of a heart.  The small hearts were then cut out, and used to trace in each box, on the larger drawing paper.  Oil pastels were then used to outline the hearts and add shading.  Students were encouraged to think about their color choices, and to choose colors that go well together, to overlap with their shading.  Tempera cakes were then used to paint in the hearts and backgrounds.  

Learning Targets:

1.  I can create shading on one side of an object.

2.  I can make color choices based on what I know about colors. (colors that go well together, colors that make each other stand out).

2nd Grade - 4 Views of a Snowman

2nd Grade - 4 Views of a Snowman
     2nd graders created 4 drawings of a snowman, each showing a different view:
- Front view
- Close-up
- Zoomed - in
- Peeking into the picture

     The drawings were completed in pencil and then traced with a fine tip Sharpie marker.  Each class used a different medium to add color to their drawings.  The various mediums used were watercolor paints, tempera paints, oil pastels, and colored pencil.

Learning Targets:
1. I can create drawings to show different views of the same subject.

4th Grade Warm / Cool Hearts

4th Grade Warm / Cool Hearts

      In this lesson 4th graders created drawings of hearts.  A ruler was used to create lines intersecting lines across the paper.  Students then filled sections of their choice with patterns.  Sharpie marker was used to trace the drawing.  Oil pastels were used to add color to the drawing, using warm colors inside of the heart sections, and cool colors in the background.  Students were encouraged to work on color patterning, as well as overlapping and blending with the oil pastels.

Learning Targets:
1. I can show the difference between warm and cool colors.
2. I can repeat lines, shapes, or colors to create patterns.
3. I can overlap and blend colors that go well together.