2nd Grade- "How We Express Ourselves" Emojicons Project

This a brand new project I did with second graders this past year. I discussed how people use art to express themselves using symbols. My students love emoji-cons, so I had them draw them.  The materials needed for this project are

Black Crayons
Construction Paper Crayons
Watered Down Sax Perscalent Tempera Paint
12 x18" paper
paint brushes




The first day of this project, students drew six circles to serve as their emojicons using construction paper crayons. I had them draw 3 on the top row of their 12 x18" paper and 3 on the bottom. I then instructed them to start drawing different emojicons (they each had to a different one). This took 1 class period.

During the second class period, students then added the eyes and mouths of their emojicons. To finish their pieces, I gave them watered-down Sax Pearlascent Paint, to give some color to the backgrounds of their paper. The end result ended up like this

3rd Grade-Yayoi Kusuma Pumpkin Paper Mache Sculptures

I have been trying to focus more on contemporary  artists recently, and came across the work of Yayoi Kusuma. Her "Infinity Mirrors" exhibit came to the Hirshhorn in Washington DC last spring. I tried to get tickets to see it, but unfortunately they sold out. Anyways, I still decided to do a lesson on her work. I always try to do a paper-mache lesson with my 3rd graders.  I talked about how Yayoi is an installation artist, and fascination her with dots and pumpkins.

The 1st part of this lesson I talked about what Installation Art is and what Form is in Art. Students identified that they the pumpkins that they would be creating would be in the shape of a "sphere." They did two sketches of what they would want their paper mache pumpkins to look like at the end. Students used colored pencils to color in their drawings.

Then students used newspaper to shape their pumpkins in to sphere. I always tell them to "shape" it as if they were making a snowball. You would rather have one that is tightly packed together. They used masking tape to hold the newspaper together. Then they rolled newspaper as if they were making a "scroll" to serve as the stem of their pumpkin. Students then attached that to their pumpkin. Using a sharpie, I had students write their names on masking tape and they stuck it to their sculptures.

The 3rd day of this unit is when they start to apply the paper-mache. I always have my students do two layers. I put the paper mache paste in cool-whip bowls, and have bowls full of cut up brown paper for them to dip in the paste. I instruct them to apply one wet strip, and then one dry strip. They apply the paper mache all over. As students are working I give them pieces of colored paper with their names on it which they put their sculptures on when done,

The 4th day of this unit is having students paint their dried paper mache pumpkins using tempera paint. I have them paint solid colors as the first layer

The 5th day of the lesson is having students decorate their painted paper mache pumpkins with dots all over using tempera paint again.

Classroom Bulletin Boards

Here is my current "theme" this year for my Elements and Principles of Art Word Wall. I updated it to the Lego Movie characters. The kids love it!

4th Grade Dream Catchers

Here is a lesson that I have done several years in a row and it has always been successful. When I came to my school 4 years ago, there was lots of yarn and CD's left by the previous art teacher. I had done it with sixth graders, and decided to try with fourth graders. The prep for the lesson does take some time though.

Materials Needed
-Multiple colors of yarn
-Plastic Needles
-Scissors
-Beads (if you want)
-hot glue gun
-feathers

History of Dream Catchers
 I talk about the significance of Dream Catchers within the Native American Culture. I talk about how they are  traditionally they are often hung over cradles as protection.^[2] It originates in Ojibwe culture as the "spider web". Native Americans believe that the night air is filled with dreams, both good and bad. I also talk about Radial Balance, and how students are creating radial balance because they start weaving from the center on out. I also go over the process in which weaving is done. The CD serves as the "loom" for our dream catcher. 

In order to start this lesson, I prep the CD's looms for students. I take a big ball of yarn (any color) and weave around the loom 13 times. It needs to be uneven for the weaving process to work.

When starting to weave, I tell students to cut a piece of yarn, at about an arm's length. I call them up by table and then they choose the color they want. Some years already pre-cut the yarn for students so they can just begin immediately (It depends on what works best for you). They must tie the end of the piece of yarn to the actual loom in order for it to stay on. Then, they thread the needle. They put the yarn through the eye of the needle, and tie a knot.

The next step is start weaving around the CD. Students are weave over and under each "spoke" of the loom. I tell students to keep going around until they run out of yarn. Then they do the same process again. Students who catch on quickly can put beads on their looms. They take 1 bead at a time, and put it through the needle and continue to weave. I tell students to put beads on every other "spoke" so their weavings don't become " bead city. This process takes about 2 class periods to complete (60 mins).

Attaching the feathers
  At the end of this process, I let the students add feathers onto their dreamcatchers. I tell them they can use 6-8. They place the feathers under the yarn (edges of the CD) and then come to me so I can hot glue their feathers on.

3rd Grade Symmetrical Bug Prints

One of my favorite mediums in art is printmaking. I loved my printmaking professor at Towson University during my undergraduate work. This unit incorporates math, and science.

Materials Needed
Tempera Paint
Foam Dabbers
Dull Colored Pencils
Foam ( 6x9")
pre-printed 12x18" construction paper
12 x18" construction paper
Glue
Scissors
Oil Pastels

I start this project by having my third graders look at the bodies of insects. We talk about symmetry, and how if we were to fold their bodies in half, they would be the same on both sides. We talk about the characteristics of bugs (wings, body, legs, and antennas). I give my students a sheet of bugs (ex, below)

This shows students half of the beetle's body. I give students a sheet of paper and have them fold it in half. I tell them to draw half of the bug's body on along the folded sheet of paper. When they are done drawing half of the body on the right side of the paper, and then fold over and shade on top of it. When they open their back up, the other side of their bug should appear. The next step is to have students tape their bug drawing onto a piece of foam. Using a dull colored pencils, they are to trace their drawing onto the piece of foam. I tell students to trace their drawings two times. When done, they give me their work so I can out the shape of their bug.

The next step is apply ink (paint) to the foam. I have my students use tempera paint and foam dabbers.  They like how they have to "daub" it. I tell them to dip their "dabber" into the paint once and apply the paint all over. I talk about color as well because they are printing on colored paper. I give them various 12 x18' paper to choose from. This gives the chance to print their stamp at least 4-5 times.

The final step is the next lesson, where I have students look over their printed stamps from the previous week. I encourage them to pick their best "two to three" prints for their final piece. They cut them out using scissors, and then choose from pre-printed 12x 18" bright colored paper. Once again I talk about color choice with the students. Before students glue on their insects into the background paper, using oil pastels they are to draw an environment for their chosen insect. 

1st Grade- Alma Woodsey Thomas Collages

February is always a fun month for me personally! It is African-American History Month, so this when I try to have each grade do a project based upon African art, or African-American Artist. I have always loved the work of Alma Woodsey Thomas. She has artwork on display here locally at the Baltimore Museum of Art and National Museum of Women In Fine Arts.

  Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia, the oldest of four girls. In 1907, her family moved to Washington, D.C., seeking relief from the racial violence in the South. Though segregated, the nation’s capital still offered more opportunities for African Americans than most cities in those years.

As a girl, Thomas dreamed of being an architect and building bridges, but there were few women architects a century ago. Instead, she attended Howard University, becoming its first fine arts graduate in 1924. In 1924, Thomas began a 35 year career teaching art at a D.C. junior high school. She was devoted to her students and organized art clubs, lectures, and student exhibitions for them. Teaching allowed her to support herself while pursuing her own painting part-time. (Source- National Museum of Women In Fine Arts)  

                              I discussed Emphasis with my 1st graders, and talked about how Alma creates a "Center of Interest in her ''The Eclipse" work. I also talked about how she used both shape and line to create movement in her works as well. For the steps of this project, I gave my students a dark dull 12x 18" piece of construction paper. I then gave them circle templates, which the traced onto black paper and cut out. This was to create "Emphasis." They glued their black circle into a 12 x 18" paper. They then used a pencil to draw lines around their black circles. This helped the students stay on track. I then gave them pieces of bright colored paper (about 3 x 4.5"). They chose their colors, cut them into strips, and then squares. This project helped students practice their "gluing" skills. I had the students put dots of glue on the lines they drew on their 12 x 18" paper. I encouraged them to use space in between their dots. The kids had alot of fun with this project.

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Eagles Win The Superbowl

I am so excited that the Eagles won the Superbowl. They became my team after my Ravens dropped out of playoff contention.  I'm actually a member of the Philadelphia Museum of Art there. I became one because they have great exhibitions, and I find myself taking frequent road trips to visit. It's only a 2.5 hour drive, so it is do-able in one day. If I take my friends, they get a discount as well! I will wait to visit after the Super Bowl "hype" ends.

Potential Art Lesson Idea

Last year at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, I was inspired by this artist Sonia Gomes. She does these fabric sculptures. I thought that my kids could do something like this. Perhaps use pipe cleaners and wrap them in different types of yarn? Could I have them use straws and then tape, paper mache, and add fabric? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

4th Grade Pop Art Onomatopoeias

 just finished this unit with my 4th graders, where we learned about Pop Art and the purpose of Onomatopoeias. I showed them the work of Roy Litchenstein, and discussed how He was one of the most prominent artists of that time. I also talked about the purpose of comics during that time. Students had to choose an onomatopoeia and enlarge it into a 12x18” piece of paper. I encouraged them to surround their word with word bubbles and think about using “bright” and “bold” colors when painting. They used tempera paint, and sharpies for this