Four Seasons Window

For this project we created the four seasons of a tree that you might see when looking out a window. The first thing we did was paint the skies of each of our seasons. Next we added the different characteristics to each of the seasons. We used an apple tree for our tree and put buds and apples on it. We used glitter and cotton balls for winter and pieces of paper for fall. I would integrate this project into a science lesson when studying the seasons and the characteristics of them.

Printmaking

This was another project that was taught by classmates. For this project we took Styrofoam plates and made holiday prints in them by pushing down what we wanted to keep white when printing them. We then took printing ink and rolled it over our prints. Next we placed our plates down on a piece of construction paper and rolled over the top of it creating a print of what we had designed. I would integrate this project into a language arts lesson by having the students print their cards and then having them write to someone of their choice and send the cards to them.

Comic Strips

This is another project that was taught to us by classmates. For this project we created a six slide comic strip. We first talked about different shapes, color blending, and shading. Next we created a storyline and drew out our comic strip. For my comic strip I chose a viewpoint of an ant. I would use this project with a language arts lesson. We would talk about speech bubbles and then the students would have to make sure their stories were grammatically correct.

Native American Sandpaper Art

This is the project that I taught to the class. I started the lesson by explaining different types of Native American art forms to the class. For this lesson we focused on sandpainting and the patterns of textiles and rugs. We did a modified version of sandpainting by coloring on sandpaper. Next the students colored a piece of sandpaper using different Native American patterns. We then ironed the piece of sandpaper onto a piece of white paper to make a print of the piece. We found it rather difficult to get the iron to the right temperature to get the piece to duplicate well. I would use this project when studying Native Americans or South Dakota history. It would be a good project to use to quickly display two different art forms.

Me, Myself and My Initials

This lesson was taught by our classmates. In this lesson we were asked to either bring pictures of us or ads from magazines. We then cut out our initials out of a piece of construction paper. Next we traced our initials onto another piece of construction paper and glued the ads and pictures onto it. We next glued down the piece of construction paper that we had cut our initials out of. I found out that you have to be careful when you are gluing down your initials to be sure that you don’t glue it down backwards. I would use this project at the beginning of the year when students are just getting to know one another. I would then have the students explain their pictures that they used to get to know their classmates.

Clay Day!

For our Clay Day, I made a pinch pot bowl. I then painted it pink, teal, purple and orange. If I were to use this in my class I would use it in Social Studies when studying about Native Americans. It would tie in well with the pottery that Native Americans made.

Sketchbook Binding

For our sketchbooks we first painted a piece of paper with a mixture of paint and glue. Then we used one of two different types of book binding. I used the method that kept the cover as one piece. I bound the paper together and then glued the paper into the cover. If I were to do this over I would have used the other method where you had two separate covers and bound them all together. If I were to use this in my class I would have the students use their sketchbooks to draw and write stories.