Mouse Paint

Kindergarten Art Lesson
2 Class Periods

Mouse Paint, Kindergarten Art Lesson

                                                                 
Day 1:
As a class we examined the color wheel.  Students were shown how to use the wheel to find out how to create secondary colors.  Students learned that the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) are the most important colors in the art room, for they create all the other colors.

Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh was read to the class.

Students were given a large piece of paper and 4 pieces of colored construction paper (2 red, 1 yellow and 1 blue).  The colored construction paper was glued onto the paper creating three "pens" for their mice.  The red pieces are to be glued on the outside edge of the paper.

Using follow along instruction, students were guided on how to create their mice.

Students drawing mice.

Mice were outlined with a sharpie marker.

Day 2:
To help students review White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker was read to the students.

Students were then instructed on how to mix the primary colors to create secondary colors.  Students used their colored construction paper bars for reference on where to paint each secondary color.  For example, the mouse in the "pen" with the yellow and blue bars would be painted green, since blue and yellow when mixed create green.

Painting mice.

Students were taught to dip the darker color into the lighter color when mixing paint, how to properly clean their brush between color changes and proper care of their palettes and brushes on overall clean up.

Examples of Student Work:

 

Undercover Chameleons

Fourth Grade Art Lesson
2 Classes Periods

Undercover Chameleons, Fourth Grade Art Lesson

Day 1:

As an introduction to the lesson students heard the story Chameleon's Colors by Chisato Tashiro.  As a class we disucssed what we knew about chameleons.  Many students knew that chameleons changed colors to hide into their environment.

As a class we also learned that chameleons are territorial and do not like other chameleons in their space.  We discovered that dark colors mean fear or anger and pale colors signal defeat.

Students learned how to draw a chameleon through step by step instruction. 

Students had lots of free range in this assignment.  They were allowed to determine the direction of their composition, the size of their chameleon, and the design of the environment in which the chameleon would be placed.

The overall goal was to have the chameleon hidden in the composition.  We used the idea of Where's Waldo? by Martin Handford for reference.  We did not want the chameleon to be impossible to find, but at the same time we didn't want him to be too obvious.

After compositions were drawn with a pencil, students outlined them with a sharpie marker.

Day 2:

On the second day of this lesson students were allowed to color their masterpieces.  Markers, colored pencils and crayons were used. 

We also examined several photographs of chameleons noticing the textures on their skin.  Students were given the opportunity to use rubbing plates to create textures for their chameleon masterpieces.

Student Examples:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Owl Collage

Kindergarten Art Lesson
2 Class Periods

Owl Collage, Kindergarten Art Lesson

Day 1: 

We began this lesson by reading The Barn Owls by Tony Johnston.  As a class we discussed what we knew about owls and identified the parts of the owl (wings, beak, eyes, feet, claws, feathers, etc.)

Together as a class, we created an owl out of very thin wood laminate.  Students used sharpie markers, crayons to decorate the owl's body.  We used construction paper to create the eyes and beak.

The owls were collected and stored for the next class period.

Day 2:

During the second class period we discussed the word collage.  Students were told that a collage was a picture created using many different types of materials.  We discussed the materials that we would be using for the day (construction paper, newspaper, wood laminate, felt, and burlap). 

Students created a birch tree from newpaper.  Owls were passed back and glued onto the branch.  A felt moon was created for the sky and burlap wings were made for the owl.

Students added stars and feet to their owls using oil pastels and markers.

Student Examples: