Adventures in the Art Room
“Bridget’s Beret” written and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
This story and others are also posted under ”Storytime” under the drop down menu.
I’ll be adding new student artwork here very soon! Can’t wait to share with you what my students have been up to in art!
This lesson idea is from art teacher Lauralee Chambers @2art.chambers on Instagram
This was such a fun lesson to teach my 5th graders! It took about (3) 40 minute art classes to complete.
DAY 1
We discussed how we would be utilizing the elements of Art; Line, Shape, Color, Texture, and Value to create these paintings.
I gave students a double-sided sheet of various paintbrush drawings to use as a reference while drawing their paintbrushes.
Students drew at least 6 large paintbrushes on 12×18” 80# paper with pencil. In their drawings I asked that the following be included ; at least 2 of the brushes had to overlap one another, at least 2 be drawn diagonally, and at least 1 drawn so the bristles pointed downward. Students could add also their own brush details within the handles.
Once all drawn in pencil, students traced over their pencil lines with an ultra fine point black sharpie. I showed students how to use the straight edge of a scrap piece of paper to keep their sharpie lines for the bristles from going into their paintbrush handles.
DAY 2
Students finished drawing if needed, then used a black oil pastel to draw a thick line along only one side of each brush. Only on all the brushes left sides or only on all the brushes right sides. Then using one finger gently smudge the oil pastel going in the same direction to create a shadow.
DAY 3
On the final day students used watercolors to create the splatter effect. I showed them how to use a watercolor brush to apply the paint only halfway up each brush towards the tips, and then add only water on the ends a little to dilute the color and help spread the paint where it meets the paper. Then using a medium sized tempera brush, they dipped into the same paint color and then flicked the bristles close to their papers to splatter. They also used the watercolor brush to splatter paint as well by shaking it or tapping their brush handle against another one.
I absolutely LOVE how they all came out and students had a lot of fun creating them!
This lesson took about (4) 40 minute art classes to complete.
On day 1 I discussed with students the many different art careers out there available, then showed them a great video on all the different art related careers out there someone could do for inspiration for this lesson. I wish I could just post the video i showed my students for you here, but for some reason it wont let me embed the video from YouTube. If you search ”MHRD – Careers in Art” you can watch it there.
After the video students were shown a huge variety of various contemporary artists in my Google slides. Then, using their laptops, students logged into my art classroom in Google, and were able to review the slides of artists. Each slide showed 1-3 photos of their artwork, and a small description of the kind of artwork they created. I hyperlinked the photo of the artist to either their blog, their website, an article, or to Wikipedia about the artist.
From there, students took some time researching artists that intrigued them, then selected one artist to focus on.
Days 2-4 were spent thinking about that artists style, and/or what materials they used to create their art with and draw a picture related to and inspired by that artists work. Students looked at ceramicists, photographers, painters, illustrators, fashion designers, interior designers, architects, graphic designers, animators, installation artists, jewelers, video game designers, weavers etc. I also wanted to make sure I included just as many female artists as male artists and to include artists from a variety of cultural backgrounds.
Students then drew using pencil, colored pencils, markers and/or crayons.
On the final day, students filled out a sheet with questions on why they chose that artist and what facts they learned about their chosen artist. Students did such an amazing job on researching independently, and coming up with their own creations and drawing artwork inspired by their chosen artist! Students really enjoyed this lesson and I’m hoping doing this lesson will inspire them to research and learn about additional artists on their own time. I wish I took more photos of their artwork, but check out some of their work below!
This first grade lesson took about (2) 40 minute art classes to create.
Students first learned about the artist Sanford Biggers and we discussed his AMAZING artwork. We also discussed how we’d be utilizing the elements of art; Line, Shape, Color, and Texture to create these fun paper quilts.
DAY 1
After reviewing his artwork, students each received a sheet of 8.5” x 11” copy paper with a grid as seen in the photo below.
Then students colored in each corner with marker, and drew a pattern with black sharpie on the edges.
After that students colored in 8 sections with whatever color they wanted using marker.
Then they drew patterns in the remaining 8 sections with sharpie.
Then students drew ”stitches” with black sharpie all around each rectangle and corners.
DAY 2
On day 2 students cut all around the edges of their paper, creating fringe.
Then students crinkled up their papers into a tight ball and then carefully pulled it apart and repeated crinkling it into a ball and uncrinkling it about 12 times to create texture! Students were surprised they were told to crinkle up their artwork and were amazed that their papers had also shrunk!
This lesson took ( 2 ) 40 minute art classes to create.
Students learned about the artist Charles McGee and we discussed his artwork. We discussed how we’d be utilizing the elements of art, line, shape, and form to create our sculptures. Then students received a sheet of copy paper with 4 lines pre-drawn and photocopied for the class.
Then using a black sharpie marker, students drew a different pattern in each section, creating 5 sections.
Then on day 2, students cut out each section with scissors.
Students then flipped over each strip, and folded back the ends. They then glued the flaps with a glue stick and positioned the flaps on a piece of 8×8” white cardstock paper and pressed for 5 seconds. Students could place each strip wherever they wanted creating height by placing the flaps closer together, and then gluing on other sections on top of previous ones. They had a lot of fun creating these fun and interesting sculptures!
This fun flower lesson was created for my special education class. It’s a 2 day lesson and the materials needed were 3 coffee filters, watercolors, cupcake liners, pipe cleaners, glue sticks, tape and a paper straw.
First students wet the coffee filters down with water using a big paint brush. This allowed the coffee filter to lay flat and also helps absorb and spread drops of paint.
Students then used watercolor paint to paint on various colors of their choice over the entire coffee filter. These 3 filters were then set aside to dry.
On the second day, the filters were folded in half and students drew “bumps” all around the edge to create the petals. Each filter was cut a little smaller than the previous one. Then students glued each opened filter together in the center with a glue stick. A cupcake liner was then glued into the center of their flower. Then using a pipe cleaner, students created a spiral by bending and shaping with their hands. This spiral was then glued into the cupcake liner with a glue stick.
For the final piece, students chose their colored straw and taped it to the back of the coffee filters for the stem.
I just finished creating this new op art video tutorial for my 4th and 5th grade students and wanted to share! We will be starting this art lesson later next week. I plan on stretching this lesson out over (4) 40 minute classes.
I created an OP Art video for this lesson a few years ago, when I first started making YouTube videos, but never liked how it came out and always wanted to recreate it. So here it is! Hope you like it and can use it for your art class, or if you’re a student, can draw along with me at home!
Thanks!
HAPPY SUMMER BREAK EVERYONE!!
PHEW!
WE MADE IT!!!
I never would have thought this is how the school year would end, and I’m sure all you teachers out there (AND PARENTS!!) thought the same.
Our official last day of school was Monday June 22nd. Going into school on June 10th wearing a mask and gloves, to close out out my classroom for the summer and sort through supplies felt so surreal. It was like walking into a time capsule from that last day we were all there on Friday March 13th. Unfinished projects were still in the drying rack, my examples were still up on the board for the following day, and notes to myself on my desk were still there for the following week of March.
BUT….. we made it through! We all figured it out, and I’m very proud of my students and how they rose to the challenge with remote learning.
Here are the final “Art Shout Outs” from learning remotely during these past 3+ months of school closure. As well as a few pics from the last day of school’s 5th grade clap out celebration!
In this Google slide, students could watch a 6 minute video on the book “STICKS” written and illustrated by Diane Alber.
If you’ve never read this story to your students or kids, I highly recommend it. I have and love, many of her books. Her stories are great and help open up discussions about empathy, kindness, perseverance, and fitting in.
Amazon writes; “Sticks is a story that almost anyone can relate to. It’s about finding yourself in a situation that didn’t turn out like you expected and having your friends and family help you find he courage to pick yourself back up and persevere.”
Next to the video, we added 6 different photos of artwork created using popsicle sticks. From dragonflies, to rainbows and clouds, to bird feeders and people, animals and airplanes… kids were encouraged to create whatever they wanted, using sticks!
Below are some screen shots taken from a video sent to me from one of my 2nd grade students! He designed a really cool plane and decorated the sticks and paper for wings with markers.
Nick created this super sweet popsicle stick rainbow with clouds below!
So for this slide, we included a 2 minute video link to watch the “science of art materials” to give kids a better understanding on how art materials are made, a simple recipe on how to make your own air dry clay, and then 3 short videos; how to paint with mud, paint with coffee, and how to make your own sidewalk chalk from home!
Students loved experimenting with creating their own art materials!
For this slide we included the following; a 50 second video on ice cube painting, how to draw an ice cream cone in 9 simple steps, and a short video on how to make a paper airplane. This was the last week of art activity suggestions, and we wanted to keep it really simple, fun and summery!
Praneeth sent me another fun video on how he created his airplane and also a super fun slow-mo video on his plane and his brothers plane flying! Below are some screen shots taken from that video.
Point of view landscape- draw what you see when you look out your window! We included a pic of a landscape drawing as well as a seascape drawing in this google slide as examples.
Below is a drawing Taylor sent me of her viewpoint looking out her window to her back yard!
Re-design a Logo; We posted 7 different logos to look at in this section of the slide for ideas. Kids had the option of selecting one of those 7, or select one of their own, and to change the colors, image or font!
Although I have no art to show for this art activity suggestion, the last activity choice was to go online and take a virtual tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for kids. Kids were asked to “hop in the time machine” for some interesting art exploration! Click on the link to check it out!
And now for a few pics from the last day of school “5th grade clap out celebration”! …
To those of you reading this that aren’t teachers, students or parents from the North Attleboro school district, normally on the last day of school we line up the hallways inside the school, and all the 5th graders walk down the hall while teachers and staff clap, cheer and hi-five the kids to celebrate their last day at the school. Of course with Covid-19 and social distancing, that had to change. So all the teachers and staff lined up outside the school, 6 feet apart, wearing masks, while families drove by as we all cheered and clapped. It felt so nice to have positive closure for such a bizarre year. And of course it was so nice to see my 5th graders one more time before the school year was over. I’ll miss them!! If any of you guys are reading this, I wish you all the best of luck!! Keep creating, and please stay in touch!
Unfortunately, I forgot to snap pics at Amvet but managed to remember to pull out my phone at Roosevelt later that morning! Some pics below were taken by other staff as well.
I’m excited summer break is here, as I’m sure all of you are too!!
Enjoy, relax, and have fun!!
Looking forward to seeing you all in the fall!!
I can’t believe we’re winding down to the last couple of weeks of the school year! Just maybe 1 or 2 more blog entries of “Art Shout outs”!
Here’s round 4!
In this Google slide, students could view a YouTube video of their art teacher (myself, Kim or Sarah), reading the book Perfect Square by Michael Hall. It also showed steps on how to fold and cut a rectangular piece of paper to make it square.
Students were asked to change the shape of their square paper into whatever they wanted! Students could cut it, tear it, fold it, twist it, rip it, punch holes in it, etc. to transform their square in a creative way! I love their creations!
This slide had 6 different mandala examples to look at, as well as a short 3 minute video on how to use the program to create your own mandala online. If you’d like to create your own mandala, click HERE.
My students told me they had a lot of fun creating their mandalas! They turned out amazing too!!
Grab a paper and pencil/marker to create a treasure map. Come up with creative names for places in your own house or backyard. Then go on a treasure hunt with your family! Don’t forget to add color to your map. To make your map look ancient, carefully crumple and uncrumple your map.
In addition, we shared pictures of various maps with buried treasure, and directions on how to age their papers with tea or coffee to make it look like an authentic old map. We also included a 3 minute Youtube video for kids that explains the different parts of a map.
Check out these awesome handmade maps below my students created!
Included in the Google slide, was a description about origami and its origins;
Origami is the art of paper folding, which is often associated with Japanese culture. In modern usage, the word “origami” is used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin.
Traditionally, it was believed that if one folded 1000 origami cranes, one’s wish would come true. It has also become a symbol of hope and healing during challenging times.
As a result, it has become popular to fold 1000 cranes (in Japanese, called “senbazuru”).
Also included in that slide were 2 short videos on how to create an origami cat/dog (front and back), a flower, a link to check out additional videos to choose from, as well as how to fold and cut a sheet of rectangular paper to make it into a square sheet of paper.
Students had so much fun creating these, and my student Nolan L. sent me a fun video of his cat/dog below!
ADDITIONAL ARTWORK BELOW BY NICK D.!
Hope you all enjoyed checking out what my students have been creating! Thank you everyone for submitting your art and keep up the awesome work!!
Stay tuned for another round of Art Shout Outs coming soon! Check below to catch up on all the previous Art Shout Outs 1-3!
Here is the latest batch of artwork from my students, who shared their beautiful creations from home and the art lesson activities!
Included in that Google slide were 4 pictures from start to finish showing steps on how to draw flowers using various sized circular objects for the center to the finished drawing with a pot. Also included were links to 2 short videos students could watch. One was about flowers; their importance and taking a closer look at the flowers parts, as well as a video on how to draw a flower and a flower pot. Here are some lovely flowers drawn by my K-2 students!
Included in this google slide were 3 drawings, one just as a pencil drawing so you can see the lines easier, and the other two colored in. In addition, students could watch a short 6 minute YouTube video showing kids how to create an Op art drawing as well!
My students did an awesome job creating their op art! Check them out below!
Included in this Google slide were a variety of portraits using plates to create the head, descriptions on the difference between a portrait and a self-portrait, as well as a 3 min. video on found object art plate faces. Check out the artwork below!
Bryce R. (below) created some super cool vehicles using plates and other materials! Very creative!
Included in this slide were photos of plants leaves casting shadows on paper with a close up pic of all the contour lines drawn of that leaf, pictures of various toys lined up with their fun shadows cast onto paper, and 2 short videos; one showing how to create a shadow drawing, and the other short video was the science behind lights and shadows.
My students had a lot of fun creating these!
Below is a series of pics of AJ ‘s awesome shadow artwork!
Additional artwork below!
BELOW IS A COLLECTION OF AWESOME ARTWORK BY SOFIA D. !
I hope you all enjoyed checking out all the amazing artwork my students are creating!
I’ll be updating this blog post with any additional artwork I receive this week, and will be posting “Art Shout Outs #4” very soon! I can’t wait to see what they create next!
Scroll down to catch up on “Art Shout Outs #2 and #1” in case you missed it! Additionally, if you’re new to my blog, you can scroll up to my main menu and click on art lessons for grades 1-5 with photos of student artwork, lesson descriptions and learning goals, as well as check out my YouTube channel, play free online art games, and more.…
I’d love to hear from you too, so feel free to email me any questions or comments anytime under “contact”.
Take care everybody and stay safe and healthy!