Radial Prints

My fourth graders just finished their printmaking unit.  They created Radial Prints.  They had to use a "wet on wet" technique to paint the paper, so they could create a tye-dye affect.  I wet the paper before they painted and then if they wanted me to I sprayed it with water again at the end.  They could pick it up and tilt it to let the paint drip if they chose.  Next, they had to draw a design (using lines and shapes) on a small sqaure of paper starting from a corner.  Then, they had to trace their design onto a piece of foam to create the printing plate.  I have them trace it one more time after they pull off the paper to make sure the lines are deep enough.  Finally, they roll ink onto the foam and print it four times on their painted paper.  To make sure they print in the right direction each time, I had them mark the corner they started from on the back of the foam.  I told them the mark has to point to the center of the paper each time in order to create a radial print.  For their assessment they had to write a "How-To" paragraph.  They look fantastic!