Adopt a Rescue Animal Today!

This is one of my all time favorite projects! 

2nd grade is the perfect age for learning about the importance of shelter animals and why you should adopt not shop.  They do such a great job of bringing out the character and 

personalities of their dogs and cats.

Learn more about this lesson from my original post.

Thinking about adopting a pet?

Let this year's group of 2nd grader artists tell you why you should!

Mrs. Begin/Mrs. Frey's Class

Mrs. Kennedy's Class

Mrs. LeVangie's Class

Mrs. Mulligan's Class

  

Miss Polom's Class

What did you think? Ready to adopt? 

Check out Middleton elementary alum Molly Wogan's

foundation, The PAWS Project to learn all about local animal shelters.

Animated Swing Scenes with Stop Motion Studio

Second grade artists learned to take their art to the next level with this digital extension of their Swing Scenes.  Learn all about how they created these whimsical self-portraits here!

Second grade artists used this project to become young animators - and they LOVED seeing their art literally come to life.  For this animation we used Stop Motion Studio.  They have a free and paid version.  I have had success teaching students to animate from Kindergarten through upper elementary with this app - it is very user friendly!

After much trial and error, I figured out how to have each students box set up for them like a mini movie set.  This required ALOT of prep!

First I attached a wire to each swing that ran through the back of the box.  This would allow each animator to move their swing to one of 3 positions.

Next, I created a set for each swing scene.  We needed to be able to hide the student animator standing behind the box and block out the background environment around the box. The box is also taped to the base paper so that it can't be moved.  Finally, I also tape the base paper to the table so that can't move!  We took many precautionary steps so that all students could be successful!

Best case scenario is to have the tables set up before the class walks in the door. However, there are days that I have back to back classes and this isn't possible. 

In the cases where I can't have the tables set, I pre-tape the boxes as in the picture above and then set up the iPads and iPad stands on trays to quickly distribute.

Students worked in pairs and each student had one of two jobs, director or animator.  

The director controls the iPad, and the animator is in charge of moving the swing.

Before any animating took place - all students took an oath: 

"I will not move my box, I will not pick up my iPad"

(disclaimer: even though we took that oath - their were definitely boxes and iPads moved!)

The director now opens up the Stop Motion App, and sets up their iPad and iPad stand. Once their camera was centered in the correct position, the used the 2 strips of take to secure their iPad stand. Again a good precaution!

Ok, students were now ready to animate.

We took the first pictures step by step as a group. 

These movies are made up of a rotation of 3 swing positions.  First step, animators marked position 1 by making making sharpie mark on their wire when the swing is in position 1 or the base position. After marking position 1, the director takes 1 picture. Animators now move the swing to position 2 by pushing the wire into the box about 1-2 inches and again marking the wire with sharpie. Once swings where in position, the director takes 1 picture.  The same process for position 3.  Then animators come back down following these steps for position 2 and then back to 1. 

                                 

After completing this cycle as a group, I let student teams go on and finish by themselves. 

They needed to repeat the process 2 more times.  At the end, movies will be made up of approximately 14-16 pictures.  

These young animators were so excited to see their movies finished!  

Take a look at each classes' finished animations.  

Mrs. Begin and Mrs. Frey's Class

Mrs. Kennedy's Class

Mrs. LeVangie's Class

Mrs. Mulligan's Class

Mrs. Polom's Class

Do these movies bring you as much joy as they do me?!

Swinging in Grade 2

I have been looking forward to sharing this project since we started it .... in NOVEMBER! 

 It was a long one with many many steps, but these Fuller Meadow Grade 2 artists 

persevered and finished their projects with gusto.

A while ago, I pinned these swing scenes from Krokotak to one of my Pinterest boards.  Since I love anything whimsy, I immediately feel in love with these boxes and I have been waiting for the chance to develop them into my own lesson ever since! 

If you are like me, you probably cringe when ever you hear the word diorama.  I think it brings me back to the cliche projects of my youth. Everything I learned seemed to end with a diorama.  

I wanted to make sure these boxes had much more depth to them and

 that students would love making them....and they did!

These Swing Scenes can be broken up into 2 main parts, the figure and the box scene.

First step, collecting the boxes.  You are going to need to search high low for boxes for this lesson as each student will need one.  I also wanted to make sure they weren't too big, as they would over power the size of their figure self-portraits.  I requested children's size shoe boxes.  Bigger ones definitely came in but I only used them if I was running very low.  Start collecting boxes while students are working on their figures so you can be sure you have them in plenty of time.

Part 1: Figure Self -Portraits

Day 1: Gesture Drawings: I wanted to make sure that students were truly learning skill as they developed their figure selfies.  We started out with a day of warm ups, capturing gestures with different poses.  2nd graders did a great job with this and especially loved it when they got to be the subjects! (you could skip this step to save time - but it was a very fun day.)

Day 2: Guided Drawings:  This is where the meat of the drawing came in.  

As first graders, we studied the proportions in the face so it seemed fitting that in grade 2 they learn about the rules for drawing the figure.  I pre-lined paper for them into 8 sections and we learned how to fit the proportions of a child into 6 of those sections.  

They took their drawings from stick figures to shape figures. 

Day 2-3: Final Copy Transfer:  Once students had their shape figures on their paper it was time to transfer their drawings to final paper.  Rough drafts were outlined in sharpie, but it still became difficult to see through the paper.  We got creative in order for every student to successfully trace their drawing.  Students used light boxes, windows in hall,and outside windows.  Basically, any surface that would allow more light to shine behind their papers worked as a transfer spot.  Once drawings where transferred, they added clothes, faces, and color!

Part 2: Box Scenes

. 

Day 1: Time of Day: Students were asked to envision what time of day their swing scene would take place.  We brainstormed all different times of day and discussed how we can use different hues to represent that time of day. 

Day 2-3: Perspective using Foreground, Middleground, Background: Next step was to choose a place for their scenes. 2nd graders examined how to use 3 layers of a landscape to show depth in their boxes.  Students were tasked to create 3 layers using oil pastel and cut paper.  They showed such creativity as they brought their scenes to life. Each box represented a unique time and place!

Day 4: Assemble Swing: Finally these 2nd graders were ready to put their finished boxes together.  They could choose between a flat seat swing and a tire swing.  Students used twisteez as their swing wire.  Figures were cut out glued to their swings and they were finished!

Phew!! That was a huuuuge undertaking.  

But we actually weren't done yet....each student had the chance to bring their swings to life using stop motion animation.  Check out my next post to learn how we did it!

Adopt A Rescue Animal Today!

This spring, second graders embarked on a true PBL (project based learning) experience. 

I was inspired by this Mrs. Knights Smartest Artists' Pet Portraits.  Check out her lessons here!

When it was time to tackle our clay model magic lesson I knew my grade 2's would love it!

I started out by printing pictures of cats and dogs available for adoption from two local animal shelters, The Northeast Animal Shelter and the Cape Ann Animal Aid.  Click on their links to learn more about their animal adoption.Students created animal sketches based on these images.  

Following the sketching process, students began sculpting with Model Magic. Student's learned to push and pull and manipulate their clay to capture their animals best features!

The next step was to paint.  

Painting was divided into 2 layers over 2 days, the background and the details. 

 We also experimented with using a spot of white for the reflection in the eyes and noses.

I loved seeing their rescue animals come to life with color. 

They did such a great job - take a look!

Finally, to make this a true project based learning experience, students learned about the importance of adopting rescue animals from former Middleton student, Molly Wogan.   Molly is such an amazing young woman.  She started her own organization working and volunteering with many local Animal Shelters.  Click here to learn more about the wonderful work Molly does with PAWS New England.

We were so fortunate to have Molly come and talk to the 2nd Grade about her volunteer work. 

To prepare for Molly's visit we had a drive and collected donations for the Cape Ann Animal Aid; used linens, treats, newspapers, toys, and gift cards. 

We loved hearing how important it is to help animals and adopt a pet!

2nd grade artists used Molly's presentation as research for their persuasive arguments about "Why you should adopt a pet."  Finally, they used Chatterpix to make their special arguments!

They did such a wonderful job on their Chatterpix arguments.  

 Begin's Class 

Kennedy's Class

LeVangie's Class

Mulligan's Class

What did you think?  

Did they persuade you to adopt a new cat or dog?!

Inside Relief Architecture with Grade 2

This year, grade 2 artists dove into architecture and designed their own buildings.
We explored all sorts of different residential structures, 

 like free standing houses, town houses, and city buildings. 

 We examined roof lines, window details, doors, porches, and types of siding.

Students started out using a ruler to draft their building designs.
They then used crayon and marker to add color to their drawings.
2nd graders also learned to increase crayon pressure to show value in their houses and make them appear more 3-dimensional.  Finally student's mounted their buildings on cardboard using varying layers of small cardboard squares behind each building to create a work of art in relief.

I loved seeing the whimsy come out in their finished houses!

Here's a few second grade artists showing off their work at our annual Flint Library Art Show!

The last surprise part of this project was tying in the green screen. 

Each 2nd grader wrote an artist's statement, where they analyzed and reflected on their work. 

 Thank you to our Technology Specialist, Dierdre Baker who, filmed each student reading their statement and used Do Ink Tweets to put each student inside of their work.

Check out each group's performances - I loved how they turned out!

Mrs. Begin's Class

Mrs. Kennedy's Class

Mrs. LeVangie's Class

Mrs. Mulligan's Class

Painted Paper Sunflower Collage

2nd grade artists recently learned about Vincent van Gogh's sunflower paintings. 

Click here to learn more about them!

First they examined and analyzed his work for the feeling and emotion that the artist was trying to convey.  They used that idea to create their own sunflower works that expressed emotions.  

2nd graders discussed how they could alter the shape and color of the 

flowers, stems, and petals to change the emotion in their work.  

We usually think of sunflowers as happy but these young artists learned they can be so much more! 

Finally, they got to work. They used the papers they created during 

painted paper week (check it out here) to create their own sunflower works of art.  

Finally, 2nd graders learned about haiku poetry and its 5 syllable, 7 syllable, 5 syllable pattern.

Each student wrote a haiku about their work.  

Check out some of their work below - I am so impressed with both their art and poems!

I am happiness

My sunflowers are so proud

I am so happy

By Vivi G. in 2M

I am very sad

My petals are drooping off

I am very lonely

By Ava L. in 2M

It is really sad
The sunflower is droopy
It is crying loud

by Gavin M. in 2M

This flower is sad

it misses it's grandfather

it is all alone

By Nikola P. in 2K

My flower is weird

What a funny sunflower

What a silly guy

By Izzy C. in 2K

What would your sunflower Haiku say?

Painted Paper Week

1st and 2nd graders embarked on a week of painted paper creation in the Fuller Meadow Art Room. Each table was assigned a color paper and specific paints.  They then used a variety of objects, such as sponges, corks, forks, straws, and more to created beautiful painted papers.  

FM artists made paper after paper, some even made 6 or more! Each one was unique. 

Take a look at our paper factory at work!

Hmmmm, now what are we going to do with all of these papers?!

The Year of the Monkey!

How do traditions and holiday celebrations of other cultures compare to our own culture?

Mrs. LaVangie's 2nd grade artists are learning about Chinese New Year and the special dragon dance that often takes place to celebrate the holiday.  Students also learned that it is traditional to hang lanterns and scrolls outside of homes and businesses.

This year 2nd grade artists are integrating both of these traditions to create beautiful dragon lanterns.

Students first created detailed dragon drawings.

Tempera paints were used to add vibrant colors to their dragon paintings.

Finally, a lantern was created and cut from red construction paper to act as an outside layer for these young artists dragon paintings. 

Look closely through the slats and you will see a colorful dragon surprise!

How does your school celebrate Chinese New Year?

Contour Lines in Complementary Colors!

How can we use planning or drafts in art to influence our final work?

Second grade artists are building on their contour line skills to create bicycle drawings from observations.  

In the process, they discovered it all starts with a plan! 

Their challenge was to zoom in on a section of the bicycle and draw that using contour lines.  View finders were a huge help for this task.  

These budding artists honed in on their observation skills - it was so fun to watch!

Students also learned to use planning sheets as a tool to brainstorm their ideas and practice sketching first.  

These thumbnail sketches then were developed into their final drawings.  

Its visual brainstorming at its best! 

Finally, these 2nd graders had a lesson in complementary colors as they had to choose 1 pair to use for their final artwork.  It was tricky creating different values of their two colors to make sure their paintings had interest. I think they did great!

What do you think of their final work?