Monday, April 25, 2016

Complementary Colors Robots



Key Vocabulary:
Value
Tint
Shade
Complementary color

I wanted to design a lesson for my 3rd graders to better understand value and the color wheel.  We initially talked about value and how artists can brighten or darken color with tints and shades.  We learned that adding white to a color brightens up a color and is called a tint.  We sketched out robots both in our sketchbooks and then on a larger scale before using tints to create robots which appear to have light casting on them.



After the tinted robots were finished we then discussed shade and complementary colors.  Students watched the above youtube clip to help understand how complementary colors work.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this song!  Students then matched their robots to their complementary color and used shade to created the background.  A little outline work and , ta-da!  Awesome color robots!







Thursday, April 14, 2016

Wall-E: Bots :)



1st and 2nd grade students showed off their stamping skills with this robot project.  After watching the above video clip, students brainstormed all the different shapes robot could be and their special functions.  Students used these shape ideas to design their own robot using cardboard, cans and other recycled objects.





After stamping was complete, students used pastels to color their robots in.  






The results are spectacular!





Egyptian Profiles and Papyrus



Key Vocabulary:
Egyptian
Profile
Papyrus
Hieroglyphics

Part of the sixth grade History and Social Studies curriculums is studying Ancient Civilizations.  The Egyptians make for a great opportunity to collaborate and demonstrate student learning with the arts. Students are required to learn the following:

  • 7.13 Describe the kinds of evidence used by archaeologists and historians to draw conclusions about the social and economic characteristics of ancient Nubia (the Kingdom of Kush) and their relationship to the social and economic characteristics of ancient Egypt.
  • 7.14 Describe the role of the pharaoh as god/king, the concept of dynasties, the importance of at least one Egyptian ruler, the relationship of pharaohs to peasants, and the role of slaves in ancient Egypt.
  • 7.15 Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt with respect to beliefs about death, the afterlife, mummification, and the roles of different deities. 
  • 7.16 Summarize important achievements of Egyptian civilization: the agricultural system, the invention of a calendar, monumental architecture and art such as the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza, hieroglyphic writing, andthe invention of papyrus


To incorporate the above History standards, student created Egyptian profiles of either a pharaoh or god. They also created a papyrus style paper to matte their profiles and finally, added hieroglyphics to embellish in true Egyptian style.

PreK–12 STANDARD 2: Elements and Principles of Design

  • 2.10 For shape, form, and pattern, use and be able to identify an expanding and increasingly sophisticated array of shapes and forms, such as organic, geometric, positive and negative, or varieties of symmetry Create complex patterns, for example, reversed shapes and tesselation 
  • 2.11 For space and composition, create unified 2D and 3D compositions that demonstrate an understanding of balance, repetition, rhythm, scale, proportion, unity, harmony, and emphasis. Create 2D compositions that give the illusion of 3D space and volume


Below are pictures of students making papyrus paper.  Students ripped strips of brown paper, dipped them into 1/2 glue & 1/2 water mixture and then overlapped the strips onto plastic tablecloths to dry.



More to come as the artwork begins to come together!


 Sketching Egyptian Pharaohs then adding paint to the drawings.



Adding hieroglyphics to the papyrus followed by gluing down profiles to complete the project.