Little Owl

Kindergarten
2 Class Periods

Little Owl, Kindergarten Art Lesson

Day 1

• As a class we examined photographs of owl and read a non-fiction fact book on owls from our school library.
• Using follow along demonstration students created an owl drawing.  Shapes were identified and reviewed as they were drawn on the paper.

Day 2

• Students used oil pastels to color in their owls.  We discussed the color of the feathers and eyes and beak.

Coloring with oil pastels

• After coloring was completed, a black oil pastel was used to outline the owl.
• Students used black tempera paint to paint over the composition.  The oil pastels repelled the water leaving the resist.

Painting the owl.


Student Examples:

Burgers With A Taste of Texture

My third graders this year kicked off the school year with one of my favorite lessons that I entitled Burgers With a Taste of Texture.  I saw this project about three years ago at our Youth Month Exhibit and knew that I had to give it a try.  As with most lessons, it usually takes a few years to perfect how you want to teach it and this year, I feel that I finally got it down.  Attached is the link to the first time I blogged this lesson. Burgers With A Taste of Texture

This year, I really concentrated on making sure my students knew the difference between actual and implied textures.  Instead of making this a two day lesson, I increased it to a three day lesson, allowing the last day to be used for the final push of details and some reflective writing.  I had students design a restaurant menu which made them think a bit deeper about the piece they made. This menu was then put on display next to their burger for all to enjoy.

Examples of the Menu Design Worksheet

Examples of Completed Projects:

How do I find time for this?

 The school year has been off to a crazy, busy start as usual.  My schedule has my head spinning with 6 day rotations at the elementary schedule and an A/B day rotation at the middle school.  I discovered that I have a total of 563 young artists that I am working with.  As you can imagine, my days fly!  My hardest challenge this year, so far, seems to be my 5 minute transition time between my elementary classes.  This schedule has me on my toes and I find myself very thankful for my one long prep (50 minutes) that arrives on Day 2 of our 6 day rotation.

To my fellow art teachers out there,  I would love to hear about your challenges so far this year, or how you manage a schedule similar to mine.  :)

Somehow, though, I still managed to complete two personal paintings at the beginning of this school year.  I have no idea why I waited so long to paint these pieces, considering I had all summer to do it, but from an artist's view point, you just never know when the mood or inspiration will strike.

Acrylic on canvas.  September 2016

Started as a late afternoon sketching session....

and then ended at midnight as a watercolor painting.  September 2016.

Bear Math

 Today I had such a hard working kindergarten class they finished the work I had planned for them 15 minutes ahead of schedule!  I debated quickly in my mind if I should move forward with the lesson, knowing that I might need a filler for the next day they have art or if I should just try to come up with a quick activity to fill the time during this class period.  For whatever reason, the idea of creating a bar graph popped into my head.

To my delight, it worked out well, it engaged the students and YES...I incorporated some math (which, I must say to our defense we do all the time...but this was just a much more obvious demonstration).

This activity worked out so well, I am planning on incorporating into the other 4 sections I teach at this level.

Sometimes, I must say, I surprise myself on my quick thinking in the classroom.  Three cheers for spontaneous lessons that actually work out well!

New year...here we go!

First day photo!  Starting my 10th year for the Cameron School District and my 14th year teaching art overall.  Where or where does that time fly to?

Borders...Staples....Bulletin Boards. OH, MY!

My bulletin boards for the 2016-2017 school year in the elementary art room.

This bulletin board ties in with our school theme this year and has a connection to our school's PBIS policy.

Word wall for art vocabulary words.  

This bulletin board is dedicated to all the drawings and paintings I will receive this year from students.  They love making me presents!

Classroom Ready!

My Elementary Art Room is ready.  Just waiting for my young artists!  

Yummy Cupcakes

It is time again for those yummy Thiebaud Cupcakes!  I had to put a new spin on this lesson when I realized that I was running out of days before the trimester ended.  Instead of having 6 to 8 cupcakes in our composition, we just concentrated on drawing one large cupcake.  These pieces turned out beautiful and I must say, definitely look good enough to eat!

You can check out the original lesson here: Wayne Thiebaud Cupcakes.  The link will give you information about the artist studied, see examples of student work and will allow you to view a great youtube clip I share with my students on artist Wayne Thiebaud.


Student Examples:

Mixed Breed Animals

Fifth Grade
3 Class Periods

Mixed Breed Animals, Fifth Grade Art Lesson

Day 1:  
To begin this project we examined photographs of mixed breed animals:  Zonkey, Jaglion, Grolar Bear, Leopon, Tigon.  We discussed the parts of each animal that we recognized in each new breed.

Jaglion

Liger

Zonkey

Students examined various photographs of different animals that I had on file, ranging from spiders to elephants.  Students were instructed to combine numerous animals together to create a brand new breed in a drawing.

Students were also asked to think about the environment in which they would find this animal.

Day 2 and 3:
Students took the next two to three days to color their artwork using colored pencils or crayons.  Blending techniques were discussed and craftsmanship was emphasized.

Student Examples: