2nd/3rd Grade Radial Nature Designs

Prior to the students' current Unit, Plushy Monsters, room 202 created Radial Nature Designs. Throughout the course of this Unit the students learned about symmetry, radial designs, warm/cool colors, and a charcoal transfer technique.

Upon completion of this Unit of study each student reflected on symmetry, cool/warm color usage in art, and how to create personal art.

Take a look at their hard work below!

5th Grade Totem Pole Display!

Before the 5th grade totem pole display comes down soon I wanted to post an image of it:

Although the 4th and 5th graders completed their unit on totem poles awhile back, I think they did a great job. Below I have uploaded some images of the 5th graders idea sketches for their totem poles.

Idea inspired by a lesson found on: Thomas Elementary Art

4th Grade Totem Poles

This post is overdue, but a few months back the 4th and 5th graders completed a Unit on the totem poles of the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. As students progressed through this Unit they focused on the concept of Stylization, Symmetry, and Limited Color.

After discussing totem pole examples in class students chose an animal, any animal that they felt a personal connection to, and sketched that animal in the style of a Pacific Northwest totem pole. While sketching students looked at reference packets filled with totem pole examples. After students completed full color sketches, each totem was limited to four colors, students created totem pole collages.

See below for some of their completed art work:

Idea inspired by a lesson found on: Thomas Elementary Art

Kindergarten and 1st Grade Mandalas

This school year, as an introductory unit, Kindergarten and 1st grade students analyzed Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni to learn about color mixing and warm/cool colors. After students completed color mixing practice activities they delved into shapes and creating images with shapes, which led into using symmetry with shapes to create mandalas!

Students were given various shape manipulatives and taught to fold paper to create a Mandala which would be symmetrical whether you folded the paper "hamburger style" or "hotdog style."

Once students completed their drawings using pencil they chose warm or cool colors to use on inner shapes, then they used the opposite color family on the shapes on the exterior of their mandala. (i.e. warm on the inside, cool on the outside, and vice versa.)