Pinch Pots

For this project I created Speedy the Snail using clay. To begin this project, we were given clay and were instructed to slam it on the table and to crush it into the palms of our hands. We were instructed to do this so that we would get all of the air pockets out of the clay, in hopes of preventing it from cracking. I created the shell of my animal by using my thumbs and making sure that my shell was a thumbs distance thick to prevent it from being to small and cracking. Once my shell was complete, I added a face and tail to my shell. I added water throughout my entire snail to smooth it out with my hands. I added a mouth and eyes to my snail, and also added some designs on its shell.

An extension activity would be to research the area where you would find the animal that created. Have to students research some facts and have them create an environment for their animal to live in. For example I would create a garden as my environment for my snail, and have him eating a plant.

Printmaking Bulletin Board

Here is the bulletin board that Brendan and I created to show off our student's artwork. We used green wall paper and stapled it to the board. For our title, "Printmaking About Us," we printed it off large enough to see, and also stapled that to the board as well. Finally, we hung up the student's projects so that everyone's hard work can be on display.

Printmaking

To create this printmaking project we used tempra paint, and paint rollers. To begin, we handed each student a Styrofoam sheet. We had them cut it in half. On one of the sheets, we had students create a pattern of whatever they wanted using a pencil on the Styrofoam sheet. My patterns consisted of a dash and then a curvy line and so on. Next, I created a star and then a square and so on, and just kept repeating until I ran out of room. We then took our pattern sheet and covered it with paint. I placed it in the top left corner with the side with paint on it facing the construction paper and pressed down hard on it. Then I took a roller and rolled it until I felt I did it long and hard enough to show on my construction paper. I continued this process with my other two prints, but notice that I also created a pattern with my colors (white, blue, white). Once we had the three prints done, we moved on to the final step of the project. For the final part of this project, we had students come up with three different symbols or logos that relate to themselves. We had the students use the second part of the Styrofoam sheet they cut for their symbols. My three symbols and logos were:
1. Minnesota Twins- Favorite baseball team.
2. Wrestling mat- I've wrestled my whole life, and the sport means a lot to me.
3. Donut- I love donuts, one of my favorite foods to eat.

When we had our three symbols done, we then repeated the same process with the paint and construction paper as we did for the other three prints.


An extension activity for this lesson could be language arts and having the students pick on of their symbols and write a reflection about how it relates to them. For example, I could pick the Minnesota Twins logo and write about how they are my whole families favorite team, or  how I've been to many of their games at Target Field and their old stadium the Metrodome etc.

3D Play-Doh Creatures

For this project, we learned about the differences between 2D and 3D objects. When then learned about Dr. Seuss and some of the characters and objects he uses in his stories. We even got to watch a video and see the book, "Oh the Places You'll Go!" To start this project, we were to create our own Dr. Seuss character on a piece of paper. We did this to represent the 2D image. I created a fish that enjoyed searching for treasure in the bottom of the ocean. We then created a 3D background with construction paper. For our 3D background we had to have items in the foreground, middle ground, and background. For my foreground, I used green play-doh for rocks. Used a brown crayons to create a treasure chest, with some sparkles on it. For my middle ground, I had different types of seaweed, to try to represent the middle level of the ocean. I used green play-doh again, and green fluffy balls, and green pipe cleaner as different types of seaweed. For my background, I just had the top level of the ocean with a balloon flying in air. I used orange construction paper for the balloon, and purple pipe cleaner as the balloon string.

For my 3D character, I molded him with orange play-doh. I added orange pipe cleaners to him for his arms. I used the purple pipe cleaner for a mouth, which I glued on. I also glued on the eyes for him. Once I was done creating him, I glued him in the foreground of my back to show that he was searching for treasure.

An extension activity you could do for this lesson is relate it to shapes. This would give students extra practice in determining what objects are 2D and 3D. Example is having a cube drawn on a piece of paper for 2D, and then having an actual cube for 3D.

Wassily Kandinsky

This project was based on the artist Wassily Kandinsky. He mainly focused on creating landscapes using many colors. To begin this project we start with the three main primary colors: Red, Blue, and Yellow. Next, we dealt with secondary colors: Orange, Green, and Purple. We than got paint and had to mix the colors together to get all the colors of the rainbow. We did this by having a paper plate with the primary colors on it, and then mixed two together to get the secondary colors. (Example- Mixing red and blue to get purple. Mixing Yellow and Blue to get green). Once we had all the colors, we used a small sponge and created the layers of a rainbow. When the rainbow was complete, we set it off to the side to dry. We than took another sheet of paper and created a background. For my background I just created a landscape with the sun and an airplane flying by. When I was done with my background, I cut out my rainbow and glued it to my background.

An extension activity for first graders could be mixing colors with water cups and paper towels. This would be another way for students to see how different colors are created. Also, its a neat thing for young students to see how it works. The only materials needed would be: food dye, clear cups, and paper towels.  

Eric Carle Animals

Here is project I created for a lesson about Eric Carle. Carle is famous for using different types of paper and prints to create different animals, as such in  Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
For my project, I was given a duck. To create my duck, I used different types of yellow paper and prints. You can't really see them all in my image, but there are three different ones used. I used one type  of paper for my ducks tail and back half. I used a second type of print for my ducks body. I used another type of paper for my ducks neck and head. Finally, I used an orange print for my ducks beak and feet. Once my duck was complete, I glued him to a sheet of construction paper. We than had to name our animal and write a few sentences about it on a separate sheet of paper.. I named my duck Howard. My sentences were, "I see a yellow duck looking at me. He had a long neck and bright orange feet. His name is Howard, and he is the best." I could out that the sheet, and glued it right under Howard.


An extension activity you could do for a younger students is split them into groups and create a story involving the groups animals. This would give students the opportunity to use team work to create a story to share with the class. This activity would get each student involved, and it would be fun for the students to create a little story about their animals.

Jasper Jones Fish

For this project, we learn about Jasper Jones. Jones used bright colors and used a stamping or smearing technique to create his artwork. We got to experiment with stamping and smearing with different objects. We used: apples, carrots, celery sticks, and spoons. We got to experiment with each object before we created our fish. When creating our fish, we had to follow certain directions. The face and fins need to be smeared gray. The body of the fish need to be stamped with the other objects. Once completed stamping the body of the fish, we cut it out with scissors. Then we glued it to a piece of construction paper. Below the fish we wrote with a marker the objects we used.

For mine, I used:
1. Apple
2. Carrot
3. Celery
4. Spoon

I could use:
1. Bottle Cap
2. Tooth pick
3. Pickle
4. Grape

Once completed with that, we then needed to stamp our initials at the bottom of the page. I used a carrot to stamp CJV with the grey paint.



An extension activity for a fourth grade class would be to teach about different types of fish in a local lake or pond. Finding out information like what they eat, where you can find them in the water, and how many eggs they lay etc. This would be a fun extension activity for students because they would learn information about fish and the local lake or pond.