Lines and Cakes!

The focus of this lesson was the art element of line.  During one class period, we looked at photographs and artworks and discussed how lines are all around us.  I believe kids are natural explorers and love to look around and find lines in the environment!  Next,  we made a line chart while we were on the rug.  Finally,  they went to the tables to create their own line charts.  I created more excitement by letting them know that the following week they would be learning how to draw a cake and decorating it with all kinds of beautiful line designs!  

I have to give credit to Explorations in ART the K edition.   I have found it a wonderful resource for ideas.  That's where I found the line chart lesson.  The birthday cake idea probably came to me because I was craving a piece of cake!

Animal Drawings

These are from 3rd Grade.  Their challenge was to draw an animal and create the texture of the skin or fur by repeating lines or shapes.  I placed small animal figurines at each table so they could choose which ever animal they liked. When they were done with their drawings the wrote a short poem about their animal.  I'm super happy with the results!

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This Week in Art...

This past week we have been finishing up our colorful castle paintings while learning about color mixing. We are also finishing up printmaking and drawing animals to show texture. To find out more about these lessons scroll down to see the posts.

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!

Animals and Creating Visual Texture

Here, we were still exploring the art element of visual texture.  Previously, the students made "texture plates" exploring various ways to create tactile texture.   Their challenge in this lesson was to show the animal's skin texture through repetition of certain types of lines or shapes.  I placed little plastic figurines at each table to help them with the drawing.  I think it helps to see the animal in front of  you as opposed to trying to remember  what it looks like.  That way too,  you also get so much variation with the animals they draw.  Lastly, they added a patterned border to bring focus to their animal.