Showing posts with label 2nd grade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2nd grade. Show all posts

Friday, September 6, 2013

Inspired By Nature, Art and Poetry



“The worship of convention will never lead to astonishment.” Tama J. Kieves



I Am A Leaf Bridge


I am a leaf bridge
I wonder if more leaves will fall on me?
I hear the water run
I see birds chirping
I am a leaf bridge


I pretend to be solid
I feel the leaves on my back
I worry about tornadoes
I cry when I crack
I am a leaf bridge


I understand that sometimes people will want to use another bridge
I say that’s okay
I dream about walking away
I try to lift myself up
I hope I will always be useful
I am a leaf bridge




2nd Grade Ms. Narsette’s Class
Visual Arts




Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Express Ourselves
Central Idea: Art is a way to explore our ideas and feelings about nature.
An inquiry into:

  • nature in art from the past and present
  • ways in which artists observe and record their own ideas about nature
  • illustrators- nature in storybooks
  • details in natural objects
  • how artists can use lines and colors to suggest mood and/or movement






2nd grade collaboration
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I love the way the kids responded to this project.  Let me back up a bit...last week I introduced our central idea (see above). We looked at and discussed images of nature in art from the past and present. We looked at leaves through loupes (10x magnification) in pairs and discussed discoveries relating to the art elements; colors, lines, shapes, textures, etc. and  of course along with anything else that came to mind!  We then used watercolor paper and either invented a new leaf design or did an observational drawing (their choice).
Now, here's the best part...this week when they arrived we reviewed a bit and then I introduced the work of Andy Goldsworthy.  They were fascinated by his process and work, especially this one...

Screens Series, Lake District England, 1998
     .
I asked the class
" Could we create one class project  to go with our central idea?"
A lot of different ideas came shooting out.  I was just there to facilitate. At this point, I had no idea what the outcome would be, but I was okay with that, because I knew only great things come out of such excitement.  One student had the idea to make a bridge with the leaves, they all loved it, should it be flat or raised, thick or thin, how do we get it to stay up?  They worked everything out together and they were sooo excited.  Just one problem...
who takes it home?!




*side note- Using the same process as Mr. Goldsworthy (he works with existing materials in nature) was not one of the goals of this lesson, nevertheless, his work itself was a wonderful inspiration.



Friday, November 2, 2012

Birds


Sebastian, 4th grade

Natalie, 4th grade

Kinder-3rd grade artists

4th grade artists

Kindergarten artist
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As you can see in some of my previous posts, we've been using a lot of paint lately as we are exploring color and tint making. Although various classes are exploring this, I enjoy posing a different  project or challenge throughout the week.
The challenge was to draw a bird, whether make-believe or realistic and paint it with tints.  The second day we didn't add white paint to our palette as the pure hues would contrast against the tints.  Patterns were added on the third day with markers or paint.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Class Portraits Fun Style

 
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I thought it would be fun for the kids to create a class portrait to remember this past year and their friends.
They could fold the paper to create various rectangular shapes or they could draw lines to place each student drawing in.  I projected their class list from the projector so the could write everyone's name on their portrait.   One class period did not provide enough time to finish but I let them take them home to finish and they were super excited. This was a lot of fun, it worked out perfectly for an end of the year project!   I did it with Kinder and First. 

Friday, March 30, 2012

Puppet Theater

 
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I highly recommend  this project for many grade levels.  The level of engagement was extraordinary from every student.  We started with a simple template  to create a character puppet (see image above). Simply draw your character, fold in half and tape.   We cut a rectangular shape from manila folders and used these for the setting of the story as well as the theater. I had fabric on a table in case anyone wanted to add curtains. Surprisingly, this project only took 2 class periods.  Another great thing was that the kids continued creating stories in their classrooms with their teacher. 

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

More Than Your Basic Link...really!

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This was a fun project for 2nd grade. We looked at some of Picasso's abstract portraits to get us started and talked a bit about abstract art.  Next I demonstrated the process for creating a linked image.    We started off with a narrow strip of paper and folded it accordion style.  Next, with a pencil they designed an unusual shape (making sure at least one part of the drawing was connected to the sides of the paper) and cut it out while the paper was still folded.  Once this was done, they opened their papers and tried to visualize a character.  Even though each piece is exactly the same, they were challenged by creating a different character for each one.  One of the best parts of this lesson is to actually see this white sheet of paper come to life.  It almost has 2 stages: the unfolding is a marvelous thing and the second  is seeing each "character" develop a personality.

Tips:
Remind them to keep the design simple so they will not have a problem cutting.
Use a light weight paper (11x14  copy paper would be perfect, just cut it in half lengthwise). 

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Nighttime Paintings




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These beautiful nighttime paintings were done by 2nd graders.  We first looked at Henri Rousseau's Carnival Evening (see below). I asked the kids what time of day they thought this way.  As the conversation grew, we discussed what colors made it seem like night, what objects did we see, and what the season may be.  The students also shared  stories of their own nighttime experiences.  We used oil pastels to draw and color in their pictures and  then painted over the entire picture with black paint.  I gave them a second sheet of paper to press over the black paint, smooth with their palm and then "peel" away.  This removes any extra paint and helps to reveal the magical nighttime scene underneath.

Tips*

  • If they take too long with the black paint it will dry.  Demonstrate how to paint over the entire picture quickly (almost with "scribble scrabble" strokes).  I also had them do the scribble scrabble motion in the air with me beforehand just to practice.
  • Some kids will apply too much paint. I walked around with a paper napkin to help them remove any extra paint.  
  • Make sure they use medium pressure with the oil pastels or else the colors may not show up well.

These are 9x12 and took one 45 minute session.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Henri_Rousseau_-_A_Carnival_Evening.jpg

Friday, September 30, 2011

I Am Poem and Animal Print





I think my favorite part of this lesson was adding the I am an Animal Poem.  The actual writing took the whole class period but I think it was well worth it.  The kids had so much actual fun while they were coming up with their poems.  I wish you could of seen the room, it really was so enjoyable for all of us!  Granted, this was not a spelling lesson (and I'm okay with that).  I always tell them we are not seeking perfection, it is all about the experience and enjoying what we are doing.  I loved watching them help each other out (collaborative learning) and come up with great ideas.  I try to always add some type of writing element as a reflection.  I think it adds so much more meaning  to their work.  First, we did one together as an example on the rug and then they went to their tables to start their own.  I found the I Am poem online here.  It's actually supposed to be for grade 4 but I guess it's true what they say...believing in the students makes all the difference!  These are from grade 2!