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.

Cherry Blossom Prints

3rd graders made cherry blossom collage/prints inspired by Van Gogh's Cherry Blossom painting.  We discussed his composition- how he doesn't show the whole tree- just a section of branches and flowers.  Students started by drawing and cutting out a branch to glue on a light blue background- this surprisingly took an entire class for most students.  The next week we discussed printmaking and cut a flower shape out of sticky backed foam (thank you yet again Rhode Island Recycling Center) which we stuck onto a piece of cardboard to create our printing plate.  We also used this time to draw and cut out some birds to include on our brances.  The third week students misxed their own shades of pink and painted their printing plates which they used to stamp their flowers.  I saw a similar lesson on a blog where the flowers were also collaged.  My students really enjoyed the printmaking process!

Arts Night

I work at two elementary schools and this month they each had their Arts Night.  It is a lot of work but the results are really worth it.  This year It was artist's choice but in the future I would like to choose one project per class.  I think part of the key to a successful show is large noticeable labels (class, student name).

Updated Thiebaud

Here is a different version of a Wayne Thiebaud project.  We specifically looked at his cakes and discussed what types of 3D shapes we saw (cylinder, triangular prism...) as well as his straightforward compositions- rows with shadows and a blank background.  I showed students how to draw a 3D cake slice and a 3D cake with a slice missing.  I showed them step by step (and provided some oval tracers) and then supplied them with the same instrucions written/drawn out as a reminder.  They did a great job with these!  We used oil pasted to draw details and painted in the larger areas with tempera cakes.

Picasso Portraits

I have seen this lesson on several blogs. Students draw abstract portraits based on Picasso's. They begin by drawing a circle and draw a profile line down the center. We discuss how he shows different points of view at once and how to draw features from the front and side. Students then divide up their drawing using a large figure 8 and horizontal and vertical lines. Students use different colors and patterns to fill in the spaces.

Reflective Self-Portraits

For this self-portrait, students drew themselves from the front and back. They began by tracing a circle template on one side of their paper. In that circle they drew a self-portrait after reviewing proportions and how to draw facial features. Next to the circle they drew themselves from behind with an outstretched arm holding the mirror. In the background they were to draw a room setting paying attention to size to make objects appear to be off in the distance. We reviewed colored pencil techniques such as blending before they colored in their art work. In the future I might consider using crayons instead- the colored pencils took a very long time for this project- they would work better with a smaller sized paper.

Laurel Birch Cats

This is another lesson borrowed from www.artprojectsforkids.org. I used her step by step how to draw a Laurel Birch cat. 3rd graders drew their cats and outlined in sharpie adding different line designs and patterns. They used construction paper crayons on colored construction paper to color. When finished with their drawing, students created a patterned border using strips of construction paper around their paper's edge.

See Laurel Burch's art work here.

Modigliani Style Self-portraits

After learning how to do a self-portrait using proper proportions, 3rd grade students are introduced to the work of Amedeo Modigliani. I originally saw this project on www.artprojectsforkids.org where I borrow many of my ideas from. Students began by folding their paper in half vertically to get a fold right down the center. They then folded their paper horizontally in half, also folding the top half down to the center fold and the lower half up to the center fold creating 8 rectangles. These folds were used as guidlines. We looked at the works of Modigliani and discussed the proportions he used and why. They drew a narrow oval along the center fold in the top half of the paper, the neck was drawn in the next section and the upper body in the last section. After adding facial features and hair, drawings were traced with black oil pastel (these are done on black construction paper). We reviewed how to use oil pastels and how to blend them to create new colors. Students had to blend colors to create skin tone and hair color. The oil pastels on the black paper made the colors very vibrant.

Fall Landscapes

3rd graders made fall landscape wax resist paintings. We reviewed vocabulary and students had to include a horizon line, foreground, middleground and background in their paintings. They used crayon to add textures and painted the rest of their drawings with watercolors. They had to show atmospheric perspective by drawing objects in the distance smaller than objects in the foreground.

Name Tangles

To start of the year I did a variety of name design projects to help me refresh my memory of my 500 student's names. Third grade created name tangles, the idea for which was found here.

Students wrote their names so that the letters touched the edges of the paper. The first letter begins in the lower left hand corner touching the left side and bottom of the paper. The next letter touches the first letter and the top of the paper. The next letter touches the previous letter and the bottom of the paper and so on. I then had students paint their letters with thick black lines. The next week they filled in the negatice space with different patterns and line designs.

Wayne Thiebaud Inspired Paintings

Students were introduced to the paintings of Wayne Thiebaud. Thiebaud's (pronounced Tee-bo) paintings depict realistically painted desserts and sweets. We looked at paintings of cakes, ice cream, lollipops and gumball machines before brainstorming other treats. Students drew multiple desserts and added details using oil pastels. They then painted them using tempera cakes.

Paul Klee Inspired Scratch Art

We started by looking at artist Paul Klee's Golden Fish. We talked about what the focal point of his painting was and how we knew that (in the center, bigger, brighter). We also looked at the details and textures in his painting. Students made their own scratch paper by coloring with oil pastels in diagonal lines. They then used the width of a ruler to measure a border and colored the inner rectangle with black oil pastel. They were then able to use a toothpick to scratch away at their paper to reveal the colors underneath. We used an ocean theme and had to include an obvious focal point.

Warm/Cool Sunsets

Students review warm and cool colors. Demonstrate how to draw a sunset- start with a wavy horizon line, draw a half circle above it with radiating diagonal lines. Students paint sunset using warm colors for the sky and cool colors for the water. Students practice blending colors and gradation. Students can use black sharpie to add silhouetted details (birds, marine life, boats...).

Trophies

This is a project that I have only done using model magic but you can also use clay. Students design a trophy for someone important to them for something that they do well.