My 3rd grade students are studying biomes. The grade has divvied up the class into small groups to research the Tundra, Rainforest, Marine, Deciduous Forest, and Savannah. My goal is to have each student make an individualized illustration to go along with the biome that they are studying. First up, the Savanna. Home to the Maasai Tribe, this would make a colorful and fabulous launching point for the class.
I began by having students watch this video clip of the Maasai tribe. The video beautifully showcases the environment in which these natives live in and how they adapt to the Savanna. I have students focus on the landscape, clothing and differences of the Maasai people in comparison to us.
Students began their artwork by making the background. We focused on using a variety of brushstrokes to add depth and texture to the pictures. For the grass, students tried using long "up and down" brushstrokes to practice painterly, stylized grass which resembles the straw like qualities of the grasses in the Savanna. For the sky, students tried "dabbing" their brushes to make tiny dots with blue and then a second round with white to make the sky appear to have fluffy clouds. They loved how the color mixing occurred right on the paper as opposed to in their cups.
Dab away!
The next day, students work on their sun. Since students observed that the Savanna has minimal trees and mountains, the sunrise and sunsets produce large, gorgeous skies. I had the students begin with a half circle on the top of their paper and use dotted lines to make the sun radiate all the way to the ground.
How cool is this! Unplanned concentric circles.
The final lesson was about adding the Masai Tribe to their pictures. This was a great way to use up printed paper I had hanging around. I had so much left over from their hamburger collages :) Students cut simple rectangles for the bodies of their people. They then used black paint to add a silhouette of a head, arms and legs.
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