My Cube

My fifth graders have been working on multiple projects to put on the faces of a cube sculpture they are going to make.  I found this app called Wordfoto that allows the students to take a picture or upload a picture and add words over it.  There are a lot of fun colors and styles.  It does cost $1.99.  There is a free app called aTypo Picture that has a free version.  I like Wordfoto better, but aTypo Picture is good.  Here are the examples that I made.  Fun!

 Wordfoto

aTypo Picture

  For this project my students are working in centers.  Printmaking is one of the centers.  My students are very engaged, and it makes managing printmaking a lot easier.  I will add the other projects they are doing a little later.  It is a really fun unit! 

Zentangle Animals

My fourth graders learned about contour line drawing and zentangles for this project.  They had to pick an animal to draw.  I brought in pictures of the animal they wanted, and they had to draw by observation.  Then, they traced the animal with sharpie.  Next, they drew zentangle patterns inside the animal.  Finally, they painted them.  I demonstrated using a wet on wet technique or just painting in each of the sections.  My students did a great job!  I love these! 

Self-Portraits Inspired by: Roy Lichtenstein

My fifth graders studied Roy Lichtenstein for this project.  They had to either take a selfie or have someone else take a picture of them close up.  I printed the pictures in black and white.  They drew the contour lines of their face, and transferred them to a white piece of drawing paper.  They traced them with sharpie before painting them.  I had them choose one area to do the dot painting and the rest they painted solid.  They absolutely loved this project, and they turned out great!

Kindergarten:Talking Lines

In Kindergarten, we always start the year out with learning lines and color.  This project is perfect for both!  I always start out by showing the students actions for the different line families.  They practice drawing them and then we play Simon Says using the actions for the lines.  They love it!  As they were practicing drawing lines, I went to each table and took the students' pictures.  I told them they could look like they were blowing, whistling, talking, or singing.  On day two, we talked about mixing colors.  I told them to pay close attention to what happens when we mix colors today.  As the students worked on a color wheel, I pulled them in small groups to a painting station.  We used the wet on wet watercolor technique to paint their background paper.  I told them it's like Tye-Dye.  They thought this was pretty cool!  The last day of production, I had their pictures glued onto their paper and they draw the lines coming from their mouths with markers.  We culminated the project by doing an interactive review using an ActiveInspire presentation I made.  This was a lot of fun!  I think this one will stay in the rotation! 

 

 

Here are some of the videos on color I use with Kindergarten.  They are great fillers!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpK9uff3cNU

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQASh8bbkUY&feature=share

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAfqaJ7xdRw&feature=related

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=4Fs81MDwCzk

 

I always start the first day of art talking about the elements of art.  This video is a cute introduction for K-1.  It was made by a Kindergarten class. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=8jO4PljlODA

 

 

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year!  It has been kind of a crazy start, so this is my first post of the school year.  I have had a change in my schedule and am finally settled.  Most of my classes (except my new school-Shakerag) are into their first projects of the year and I am so excited to see how everything turns out!
Kindergarten-We are "Talking Lines" in unit 1.  This project involves some technology, and I am so excited to see how they turn out. 
First Grade-It's all about color!  We are looking at different color schemes and using them to paint a non-objective design for the background of their collages. 
Second Grade-We are looking at Aboriginal Art.  Their artwork will have a personal symbol and lots of colors and patterns.  Be on the look out!
Third Grade-We are doing a color study inspired by Kandinsky. 
Fourth Grade-Contour Drawing and Zentangles.  I am in love with this project!  If you don't know what a zentangle is, then come back in about 5 weeks and you can see what they are and how they can be used in art. 
Fifth Grade-We are talking about the Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.  They are creating self-portraits using his comic book style.  They are so pumped about this project and very engaged.  I can't wait to see the results!

Come back and visit in a few weeks and I will have some pictures posted of the projects!  See you then! 

I love weaving!  This project was so much fun!  What a great way to end the year.  My third graders did tree weavings this year.  They had to pick a season, then they painted their paper plate to match the season.  I wanted to tone down the colors to go with our nature colored yarn, so they had to paint the whole plate brown or black first, then they painted the colors over top.  They cut the slits to make the warp strings.  Next, they wrapped the loom with yarn to create the warp strings.  They used the excess yarn to wrap up from the bottom to make the trunk.  Then, they used yarn to weave and create the top of the trees.  They turned out amazing!  I can't wait to do this project again next year!  

My fifth graders this year learned about the Egyptian culture for their clay project.  They learned about and create Canopic jars.  They had to make two pinch pots for the jar and attach them together.  They had to cut the opening of the jar.  They made the lid and attached a coil under the lid to prevent from slipping off.  They created something to attach to the lid.  Some students chose to engrave the base of the jar.  They antiqued them with watered down black paint and then added gold or silver paint with a sponge.  They turned out amazing!  I would buy these!      

My fourth graders made clay mugs this year.  We had a lot of fun with this project.  I had rolled slabs ahead of time for the base and the sides of the mugs.  They had to construct it using the score, slip, and bond technique.  They had to roll a coil for the handle and attach that.  Finally, they got to choose what subject matter they would use to design their mug.  Fun Functional Art!

3rd Grade Clay Cupcake Sculptures

My 3rd graders this year made clay cupcake sculptures.  This was a new lesson for me this year and I loved it!  The third grade clay standard is coiling, so this worked out perfect.  The students made a pinch pot for the base and then used coils to make the frosting.  Some students added a cherry or something on top.  They glazed them after they were fired.  They turned out great!  I will definitely use this project again.