Cubist Hands

This is a neat lesson to do with your upper elementary students that covers shades and tints, color mixing, and Art Appreciation. Students trace their hand 2 times onto a 12'' square piece of gray bogus paper, once from the bottom, and once from a side. Using a ruler, trace 3 lines from the top to the bottom, and 3 times side to side. Don't forget to slant the lines a little. Now-very important- outline everything with a black sharpie. Begin painting. EVERYTIME YOU HIT A LINE, CHANGE  COLORS. You may place the same colors kater/corner. When all the painting is complete, let dry completely, re-outline with sharpies, and  make the lines dark and even. They are very colorful, and you may wish to limit the paintings to certain colors of your choice.

Face Book Books

This is an entertaining lesson, which may be used with the older elementary classes. Students will need an old paperback- (the thicker the better)-paste, and a short wooden dowel. I have a lot of short pieces of dowels  around as I do wall hangings with the fifth grades in the spring, but you can buy them at Lowe's if needed. First, students will tear off the back and front cover.  Decide on what shape the outside edge of the pages will take, and cut a pattern. Trace the pattern on a page, then bunch 5-8 pagrs together and cut. In my sample I used a profile of a face, but you can use any shape; apple, house, animal...any shape that is not too complex. When all pages are cut, load the dowel and the first and last page with paste. Put the dowel in the middle, press the first and last pages together, and let dry. The''book'' will stand up by it's self when dry. You can buy expensive YES! paste, if you wish, as that is what was used in the Bookmaking class.

Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam
I had a bunch of cardboard egg cartons donated. I did this with fourth grade for a patriotic project. It is a little crafty but they turn out very cute and the students and other teachers love them!
Materials:
(4) cups from egg carton
blue and skin color tempera paint
(1) 2"x4" white construction paper
(1) l"x5" blue construction paper
(1) 2"x2" blue construction paper
(1) 3"x3" black construction paper
scraps of white yarn, paper, ribbon
scissors and glue
sharpies
Day 1
1. We talk about symbols and that Uncle Sam symbolizes the United States.
2. Each student is given 4 cardboard cups from an egg carton. Trim the edges.
3. They must glue together the egg cartons and paint the top skin color and the bottom blue. (this can be a challenge for them so it may take a whole day to just do this)
4. Have them write the name on the bottom of one egg cup with sharpie.
5. Collect in a paper box lid.
Day 2
1. Fold the 3"x3" black construction paper in half and cut a heart for the feet. Glue to the body.
2. Use the l"x5" blue construction paper strip for the arms, adding hands (cut
into blue rectangle). Glue the center of the strip to the back of the body. Write the name on the back of the blue rectangle in sharpie
3. Color or paste red strips on the 2"x4" white paper. Paste and roll into a cylinder.
4. Cut evenly spaced slits up one edge, fold back and paste to the brim, brim, fold the 2"x2" blue construction paper in half and trim off corners.
5. Use the scraps of white yarn to make hair and a beard. Glue to the head. Glueon the hat. Add other decorations with the scraps.

Sunset Silhouettes

These are great for fall. I found this on Deep Space Sparkle. I shopw 4th or 5th grade this video on positive and negative space: Positive and Negative Space.

1. We talk about what creates a silhouette.


2. Students wash a 9x12 inch piece of drawing paper.


3. Then they trace a ruler on all 4 side of the black paper to create a frame.


4. After that, they draw a landscape with pumpkins, bare trees, fences, grass, houses, etc.


5. Next they cut out the negative space (or background).


6. Finally they glue the black on top of the sunset colors.

Positive and Negative Space Name Art

Positive and Negative Space Name Art

This turned out to be a nice review of positive and negative space for my fifth graders. They began by making a grid on their papers using a ruler with different sized squares and rectangles (one space for each letter or number). Then the students drew the letters of their names using capital and lowercase letters that had to touch at least two sides of the spaces on the grid. If they wanted, they could also put the year or the year they were born. Finally, students colored in either the letter or the space around the letter with a marker and then erased all pencil lines left showing. The fifth graders were very proud of their abstract names.

Giraffe's Can't Dance...

I've noticed this project on many art blogs. I was always curious, this year I decided to give it a try with my first grade. I loved it! The children loved it! The results were amazing.... so fun. It is crayon resist.

More Fundraiser

 

Fifth grade used chameleons for their inspiration for the square 1 fundraiser project. We talked about chameleons, read a book about them and then drew one together. They were then urged to give their chameleon a personality of its own. Each one should look different from the rest. We added patterns and bright colors to our designs. They came out GREAT! I loved them,

and so did the kids!

 

Landscape Shades& Tints Landscapes

This is a shades and tints painting lesson for fifth graders. Students will draw layers of ground and mountains, plus one tree and one sun, onto a 12'' sq. piece of bogus paper. Outline with black sharpies. Define the terms ''shades'' and ''tints'', go over your painting rules, have students pick 2 colors, and start painting.. I have the class begin at the bottom and work their way up---leave the sky for last. When everything is painted, let dry overnight and redraw the black lines- this time adding hatching and texture lines.This always turns out well, and as they have to actually mix the shades and tints , it plants the information in their brains.



Pueblo Petroglyphs

I do this project with Fifth Grade classes. We talk about the Pueblo Indians who were "Cliff Dwellers". We draw a horizontal line for the "cliff" or a Pueblo home, cut along the line, and then use it as a stencil for chalk rubbing. We then add ancient petroglyph symbols with sharpies.

Aboriginal Animals

I did this project with my 5th graders for the "Original Works" fundraiser. Usually I do this with 4th grade and much larger, but they turned out wonderfully! You would be amazed at how into dotting they get.... I made folders with pictures of different Australian animals for them to look at when they sketched their animal, then they painted black outlines, and the next day they started dotting(with limited colors). Finally they paint the animal and finish the dots(with lots of colors o choose from). 3 classes total.

Tree of Life

This is a fun project I started last week with the fifth grade. It is based on the painting by Gustav Klimt. The students are having a blast with it. We used sharpies and colored pencil. We are doing the backgrounds in black and white pattern, so the tree looks full of life.
They are looking great! I can't wait until we are finished so that I can display them.

American Flag Collage

This was a fun collage to make with my fifth graders. They started out with a 9x12 piece of white paper where they sketched out the American flag using a ruler and pencil. Then they searched through magazines to find their collage pieces to glue to their flag. (I recommended pages with print for their white stripes to make it more interesting.) Once their flag was complete, they got an 18x24 piece of white paper and made the black and white border for their flag by using big pieces of black and white photos from magazines. The students had the option of tearing or cutting pieces for their collage.

Cave Art

Ancient Cave Art
One of the fifth grade science SOL's deals with rocks and minerals. I take art back to the time of the cave man and we discuss the Cave of Lascaux in France. We discuss what materials ancient artists may have used, what they would have drawn, and the formation of caves. (There is a cool website that you can take a virtual tour of the Cave of Lascaux.) When we get to the Cave Art project, they use charcoal and chalk to do their drawings on tan construction paper after tearing the sides to make it look rough. After they do their cave drawing, they crumple up their artwork, uncrumple it and glue it to black construction paper. I then use their artwork in cave display in my showcase.

Pop Art Cars

Susan Hill presented a fun Pop Art Movement project using cars as the subject. We used colored pencils.