Collage! – Jointed Creatures
Posted: June 3, 2014 Filed under: 1st grade, collage, Uncategorized | Tags: collage, joints Leave a comment First graders built jointed moving creatures! Joints allow bodies to bend. Students identified different joints on their bodies and discussed how they help us move. To create their own moving creatures, children were given pre-cut pieces of cardboard with holes drilled into them. Students selected the cardboard shapes they would need and attached them by putting a metal brad through the holes of two pieces of cardboard, creating a simple joint. They glued pieces they wanted to remain stationary.After creating these cardboard skeletons, children used paper, fabric, ribbon, yarn and all kinds of good stuff to cover and add details to their creatures. Their work was so imaginative and thoughtful – check it out.
Vocabulary: A joint is the place where two different parts of a body are connected. Examples of joints are: elbows, knees and shoulders.
Book Making! – Storybook Theaters
Posted: June 3, 2014 Filed under: 3rd grade, drawing, graphic design/illustration | Tags: 4/5-460, artist's books, book making, bookmaking, George O'Connor, thumbnail sketches Leave a comment Thirds graders and 4/5-460 had the happy timing of meeting visiting author, George O’Connor at the beginning of our book making unit. O’Connor, the author of the Olympians graphic novel series, sketched for the children and talked to them about generating thumbnail sketches while planning his books. Thumbnails are tiny sketches artists use to quickly consider multiple ideas without investing a lot of time on each one. Once back in art class, third graders began planning their own stories and creating thumbnails. Children planned their text and images using storyboards, or rough sketches that can be rearranged to help determine the sequence of events in a book or film.We created a special binding for our books. Instead of a traditional binding with one spine, we created Theater Storybooks. We cut and folded three sheets of paper to create the books. Each story is split between two smaller books that act as curtains for the center stage area. We created small stick puppets to use in our theaters.
This was an intensive unit and the children worked very hard to create each component of their final project. You can see a selection of the books in the school lobby.
Sculpture! – Observational Drawing
Posted: May 31, 2014 Filed under: drawing, sculpture | Tags: drawing, K, Kindergarten, sculpture Leave a comment Kindergarteners capped off their sculpture unit with a brief introduction to drawing from observation. We discussed how artists create drawings from both their imagination (drawing something invented in your mind) and from observation (drawing something that you can see in front of you).Children observed the sculpture they created and chose a favorite/special block. This shape served as a sort of “home base.” Students carefully observed where all of the other shapes in their sculptures sat in relationship to their favorite shape. We looked at our sculptures to determine whether they were taller or wider and how we should orient our paper – horizontally (lying down) or vertically (standing up). We thought about whether our special shape sat in the bottom, middle or top portion of our sculpture, and then we drew the shape in the proper position on our paper.
Drawing from observation is an emerging skill for children this age. It is meant as a way to introduce careful observation skills and to learn to see relationships between shapes. Some children take to it naturally, while others take more time to develop the skill. Although some children have an amazing eye for drawing from observation, the goal is to have an engaging and creative experience within each individual child’s skill set. Don’t worry if your child isn’t there yet – the process takes time and the kids should have fun on the journey!
Vocabulary: When you draw something you invent in your mind, you are drawing from your imagination. When you draw something that you can see in front of you, you are drawing from observation. A horizontal piece of paper looks like it is lying down. A vertical piece of paper looks like it is standing up.
Sculpture! – Block Construction
Posted: May 31, 2014 Filed under: Kindergarten, sculpture | Tags: K, Kindergarten, preK, sculpture Leave a comment Kindergarteners made wood block sculptures. We began our unit discussing balance. Children used wooden blocks to experiment, creating different arrangements of blocks that could stand on their own. We read the book Changes, Changes by Pat Hutchins and talked about how the same group of blocks could be used to create many different arrangements. Children were challenged to try many different combinations with their blocks (and not to cry when they were bumped or knocked over) and we played several “games” to encourage this: students traded seats with one another and altered one another’s sculptures to see how different they could make them. In another game, children built a sculpture and were asked to create a new sculpture where they move the block at the bottom of their original sculpture to the top of their new sculpture, and move the block at the top of their original sculpture to the bottom of their new sculpture.We talked about where wood comes from (trees) and guessed what parts of a tree we eat as food (cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree and maple syrup comes from the sap of a tree).
During the next week, children used wood glue to attach their wood blocks in a permanent sculpture. We reviewed the concept of balance, which is required to make a sculpture that will stick together. We read the book Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson and illustrated by Daniel Kirk. Some of Kirk’s illustrations feature symmetrical buildings. We talked about what makes something symmetrical and looked at each other’s hairstyles to determine if they were symmetrical.
The following week, students painted their sculptures with liquid watercolor paint. We looked at the book Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale. This interesting book pairs children’s play structures (blanket tents, stacking toys and card houses) with examples of significant real-world architecture.
Vocabulary: A sculpture is a three-dimensional work of art. It has height, width and depth. You can walk around a sculpture and view it from many angles. Blocks are balanced when they are put in a steady position where they will not fall. Wood is the hard material that makes up a tree’s trunk and branches. People use wood to build houses, furniture and toys. Bark is the tough, exterior material that protects a tree’s trunk and branches. Cinnamon comes from bark. Wood glue is special glue used to attach pieces of wood. It is a buttery yellow color. An object is symmetrical if it has the same parts on both sides, arranged in mirror image. Butterfly wings are symmetrical. Water is a liquid; you can pour it.
Picture books related to block construction:
- Changes, Changes by Pat Hutchins – Children can “read” this wordless book to you.
- Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Daniel Kirk – This poem is fancifully illustrated and recounts the imaginative fun of block play.
- Building Up: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale – A creative pairing of architecture’s greatest hits and children’s play structures.
Drawing! – The Purple Spill
Posted: May 9, 2014 Filed under: drawing, Uncategorized Leave a comment During all of that testing, we flexed our brains with some open-ended creative problem solving. No filling in bubbles here! : )Students were given a piece of paper with an ambiguous and unique purple splotch across it. Children considered their pages from all four angles and imagined what their purple shape might look like. Next they used black felt tip pens to fill in all of the missing details. The children came up with some truly ingenious solutions. Check them out!
Drawing! – Classroom Maps
Posted: May 9, 2014 Filed under: 1st grade, drawing | Tags: David Elliot, mapping, maps Leave a comment Before all of the testing began, first graders mapped their classrooms! We read the book Henry’s Map by David Elliot. In this story, Henry, an uncharacteristically tidy pig, needs everything in its place, so he sets out to map his farm. Children looked at images of Henry’s farm and compared them to his map, checking to see that everything was located where it should be.We looked at a few other illustrated maps and thought about how we might map our classrooms. Children started with a major classroom landmark (for some the door, for others their table) and considered where different parts of the room sat in relation to one another. This is an emerging skill for children this age, so perfect accuracy was not the only measure of success. Rather, we focused on simple relationships, details and making the map visually appealing for its user.
If you’re interested in an even more whimsical take on maps, check out My Map Book by Sara Fanelli, which includes a Map of My Day, a Map of My Family and even a Map of My Dog : )
Drawing! – Observing Monsters
Posted: April 7, 2014 Filed under: 1st grade, drawing | Tags: drawing, K, Kindergarten, preK, sculpture Leave a comment We capped off our puppetry unit with a lesson on drawing from observation. We discussed how artists create drawings from both their imagination (drawing something invented in your mind) and from observation (drawing something that you can see in front of you).Children began by thinking about where they had placed their monster’s head (or heads). We noticed that we could divide our monster into thirds. Some monsters had heads on the right third; some on the left third; and some in the middle third. Children were given a sheet of paper that was folded into thirds and they drew their monster’s head in the appropriate section of the paper. They began looking at other parts of their monster and thought about what third of the paper they should draw each part. Once they had mapped out all of the large shapes, they paid careful attention to smaller and smaller details. We talked about how artists distinguish one shape from another by shading them (filling them in with different values of light and dark).
Drawing from observation is an emerging skill for children this age. It is meant as a way to introduce careful observation skills and to learn to see relationships between shapes. Dividing their paper into thirds helps students to see these relationships and keeps them from making a very small drawing on a large sheet of paper. It is common for children to “flip” their images (draw a shape from the left side of the object on the right side of the paper etc.). Although some children have an amazing eye for drawing from observation, the goal is to have an engaging and creative experience within the skill set of each individual child. Don’t worry if your child isn’t there yet – the process takes time and the kids should have fun on the journey!
Vocabulary: When you draw something you invent in your mind, you are drawing from your imagination. When you draw something that you can see in front of you, you are drawing from observation. Dividing a shape into three equal parts creates thirds. Artists show values through shading. Shading can be used to help distinguish one shape from another.
Puppetry! – Monster Madness
Posted: February 19, 2014 Filed under: 1st grade, puppetry | Tags: collage, puppetry Leave a comment It’s puppets all around! First graders are using puppets to investigate character development. Puppet makers (artists who make puppets) design them to look a certain way. These visual qualities tell their viewers something about a character.First graders are designing monster puppets! For research, we looked at two great monster books:
- Where the Wild Things Are – the perennial favorite by Maurice Sendak and
- Mythological Monsters of Ancient Greece – the zanily collaged, fact-filled collection by Sara Fanelli
Students looked carefully at the illustrations to gather clues about characters by paying attention to how they appear. First graders came up with these types of questions:
- How might an artist tell you if a monster is good or evil by the way they draw/paint/collage it? Do they use certain colors or facial expressions?
- Can you tell if a monster flies through the air or swims in the sea by the way it looks? How might you show a monster can run really fast or glide through the air? What parts might they need?
- What might tell you if a monster was a meat-eater or a vegetarian?
Each child was given a strip of corrugated paper with a Popsicle stick glued on each end. The strip is flexible and serves as the monster’s body. The attached Popsicle sticks serve as handles to control the puppet. Children cut pieces of colored poster board to make monster heads (as many as they wanted). Students used a variety of colored and textured collage materials to create all the details their monster needed, whether it be horns, claws, scales, fur or fangs. Next week we will show off our characters in a Monster Fashion Show!
Vocabulary: Character development is how an author/illustrator creates a persona with thought out physical characteristics, temperament and traits. Puppet makers are artists who make puppets, whereas puppeteers operate puppets.
Puppetry! – “Finger Leg” Puppets
Posted: February 19, 2014 Filed under: Kindergarten, puppetry | Tags: collage, puppetry Leave a comment For our second finger puppet lesson, Kindergarteners collaged “Finger Leg” puppets!Children were given a small rectangle with two finger-sized holes along one edge. In a class discussion, students considered how the holes could be used. Once children discovered their fingers fit through the holes, they deduced that their fingers could act as legs and the rectangle could serve as a torso. Children added additional body parts to invent their own character, be it a person or animal — a head and two arms for a person or a head and six additional legs for a octopus ; )
Puppet shows are told through dialogue (two or more characters talking to each other). To illustrate this concept, we read There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems. In this silly story, the plot is revealed entirely through dialogue. Children used their finger puppets to develop their own dialogues. Interested in more picture books featuring dialogue? Click here to see last post.
Vocabulary: Collage artists arrange and glue paper, fabric and other objects to a backing. The torso is the trunk of a body (no arms, legs or head). A dialogue is when two or more characters talk to one another.
Puppetry! – Foam Finger Puppets
Posted: February 19, 2014 Filed under: Kindergarten, puppetry | Tags: puppetry 1 CommentPuppet making is a great opportunity for kids to create their own toys. Playing with puppets promotes language development and storytelling in a fun, lighthearted manner. Kindergarteners are focusing on finger puppets for their puppetry unit. We will be making two different types of puppets and will celebrate with a culminating puppet show!
For our first puppet, children were given foam squares with a narrow strip (for their finger) glued to the back of each. We thought about all of the different ways we could use the square to create puppet characters and collaged pieces of foam to make our own. Some children used their square as a head shape; others used theirs as the body of an animal or person.
We discussed the concept of dialogue (two or more characters talking to each other) and read Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka. In this simple picture book, the plot is revealed entirely through dialogue – a conversation between two boys, each looking for a friend. Children created two finger puppets and used them to practice their own dialogues.
Vocabulary: Collage artists arrange and glue paper, fabric and other objects to a backing. (We used craft foam for this project). A dialogue is when two or more characters talk to one another. A puppeteer is the person operating a puppet. The people watching a puppet show are the audience.
Picture books featuring dialogue:
- Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka
- Any book from Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series. Some favorites are: There is a Bird on Your Head! and My Friend is Sad. This series is fun and great for beginning readers.
- Books from Mo Willems’ Pigeon series tend to be more of a monologue (the pigeon does most of the talking), but they are conversational in style and can be used to remind kids how a story can be told through characters speaking rather than traditional narrative (Once upon a time there was an art teacher trapped in tower. She was forced to cut paper all day and night).
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