Brooklyn Bridge Silhouettes

2nd graders drew Brooklyn Bridge silhouettes after looking at Walker Evan's Brooklyn Bridge photograph.  We discussed perspective and what it would look like if you were standing on the bridge looking at the towers.  Students were instructed how to draw the image and then colored their drawings with black crayon.  The last step was to add a sunset using colored pencils.  The results were stunning!

Brooklyn Bridge Drawings

 

2nd grade is learning all about the Brooklyn Bridge.  After their field trip we discussed what the Brooklyn Bridge looks like and what all the different components are called- towers, deck, cable, hangers, anchors, etc.  After looking at some photos 2nd graders were instructed how to draw the Brooklyn Bridge.  They added details and textures to make it more realistic.  When we were done drawing we outlined our lines with black sharpie and erased our left over pencil marks.  They came out great!

Hot Air Balloons

This is an image from a first grade bulletin board that I hung.  We made hot air balloon drawings.  I gave students a blue paper with four different sized circles on them.  We looked at images of hot air balloons and discussed what shapes we needed to complete our drawings.  Students used different designs, lines and shapes to decorate their balloons.

Me and My Shadow

1st graders drew self-portraits with shadows.  We began by reading Dr. Seuss' The Shape of Me.  We talked about what a silhouette was and how it looks like a shadow.  Students were given a long narrow piece of paper with a lightly photocopied person image on the top half.  The folded the paper in half so that the persons feet were touching the fold.  They then decorated their person to look like themselves using marker.  The next step was to cut them out keeping the paper folded in half.  When they opened it up they had a mirror reflection of their self-portrait which they colored black with a crayon.  They really enjoyed this project and couldn't wait to take them home!

The Lorax

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2nd and the opening of the Lorax movie, 1st graders drew their own version of the Lorax.  We began with a read aloud and then a demonstration of how to draw the Lorax by breaking it down into simple shapes.  I also gave students a How To Draw paper showing them the steps one by one.  The drawings came out great! 

Day of the Dead Masks

This idea as well as many others, was inspired by www.artprojectsforkids.org (a fantastic website for elementary art lesson plans).  We began by learning about the Mexican holiday of Day of the Dead or Dios De Los Muertos.  I explained how it was a holiday that celebrated loved ones who have passed away in a joyous manner.  We created Day of the Dead masks by first drawing the other half of a skull (I gave all students a piece of card stock with half a skull photocopied onto it).  We discussed symmetry and after the skull was drawn drew symmetrical designs on it.  We reviewed cutting skills and how to cut the eyes out by bending the paper and cutting a small slit to put a scissor blade through.  The finishing touch was a taped on popsicle stick so that they could be used as a mask.

Halloween Silhouettes

My new school was very into celebrating Halloween this year so third graders created these Halloween silhouettes.  This is a lesson I have seen on several different blogs.  We looked at images of silhouettes and discussed how they are created- objects that are lit up from behind.  Next we brainstormed different Halloween images and I did a demonstration.  We used a black crayon and 6x18 piece of orange paper.  Students began by drawing a horizon line towards the bottom of the paper and then added silhouetted details making sure to color everything in black.  I stressed the idea of just showing the shape or contour of the objects.