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!

Guided Winter Animals in Grade 1

It's hard to decide which of these animals I like better, the rabbits or the foxes,

 they all came out so dang adorable!

I have never done a guided lesson before and I found value in it that I hadn't anticipated.  I think its important to have lessons where children can feel success.   Almost every student felt good about their animal and were able to produce a work they felt good about.

My first inspiration for this lesson was on this blog, Mary Making. I then developed the drawing tutorials based on Art Hub for kids for the fox and then piecing together other tutorials for the rabbit. 

Art Hub has so many great drawing tutorials for kids, it's worth it to check it out!

We started out learning to draw these two animals step by step together as a group.

First graders learned how to take a guided drawing directive of a 

fox and rabbit and add their own artistic touches.

 Next class we choose one animal and perfected it in a final copy.  First grade artists learned how to layer and blend oil pastels to bring their animals to life.

 To create the backgrounds, we talked about perspective and how hills and trees way in the background would be smaller.  Their animal would be big and in the front because it is closer.
I used this lesson from Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists for inspiration!

 Finally, they cut and glued their animals into their background paintings.  

The finished products were so adorable, I'm so proud of their work!

Were you able to choose which animal you liked better?

4th Grade Cityscapes

This lesson packs so many elements of art into 1

Students used stenciling to experiment with positive and negative space to create their buildings. They learned components of perspective as they created bigger brighter details in the foreground and smaller in the background. Finally they successfully manipulated chalk pastels - no easy feat!