I have done this lesson many times, but this year the results are better than ever before. This year, we had more time to do this project, and therefore their drawings had more detail. This lesson focuses on the concept of foreshortening. This is a hard concept for even experienced artists, so to make it simpler, we traced our hands and feet. The other details were drawn in after. I found the idea for this lesson years ago on the blog Oodles of Art. Over the years, I have adapted this lesson, and this year the results are amazing. I just LOVE these!
Want a fun way to teach measurement that can be adapted for all students? Let me introduce MEASUREMENT TAG!
If you are on the search for fun math activities, look no further. These activities designed for 3rd, 4th and 5th-grade students are engaging and free.
This week 4th grade is starting their Robin Mead inspired landscapes! She's a contemporary artist from Georgia, and you can check out her work on her website here! I was also inspired by the awesome art teacher, Lauralee Chambers, from her beautiful student examples on Instagram! Here's Robin Mead's Instagram too :) She has a Youtube channel too! Here's how we created ours! Materials: Sax 90 lb paper pencils Sharpies Crayola artista II watercolor Big Kid's Choice Paintbrushes Robin Mead examples Day 1: Show examples of Robin Mead's work, and show examples of other 4th grade work from Lauralee Chamber's art room. Then I demonstrated how to add the water, ground, mountains, and sun. After I drew it out, I traced it with Sharpie, and let them get to work. When enough had drawn and traced, I demonstrated how to blend their watercolors in a way similar to Mead's work. They did a great job, and enjoyed creating their own landscapes! Here's some examples of Robin's work! It's so beautiful and colorful!! Here's a video, showing how to draw a Robin Mead inspired landscape! Here's some great student examples on day 1 of instruction! here's Mrs. Braswell's class, working hard on theirs! Here's Mrs. Torres' class, finishing up! Just beautiful!! DISCLOSURE: LINKS TO PRODUCTS ARE AFFILIATE LINKS, WHICH MEANS I GET A SMALL COMPENSATION FOR SALES. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR BLOG!
Fun, hands-on human body for kids project to learn about body systems, organs, bones, muscles, and more! Print playdough mats for activity.
Students can travel across the globe without leaving the classroom. Check out these fun geography lessons for any grade and curriculum.
Explore ancient Egypt with kids by solving a FUN, free printable CSI-style case investigating was King Tut Murdered. Fun history activity!
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Fourth of July crafts for kids. Family and kid activities to help celebrate Independence Day. Art projects, games, and more.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this project - AND so do the kids! :) We begin by talking about what a mandala is, how it has radial symmetry, and even watch an amazing video clip I found on YouTube of some Tibetan monks creating one with sand (the video clip is a must - it puts the kids in awe). I tell the kids that the radial symmetry found in the mandala will be the inspiration for our very own printmaking project! Then we look at an amazingly awesome PowerPoint I put together to show students how to properly create their printmaking plates so that when rotated and printed, it will create a print which shows radial symmetry. After viewing the PowerPoint, each student gets a piece of graph paper which has 3- 2"x2" areas blocked out (this is the size of the Styrofoam printmaking plate they will make). I leave 3 blank squares so that they can make a couple sketches for their plate and choose their favorite. Students are instructed to pick a corner which they will design around. Then they begin adding lines and shapes to their paper. I explain that any line that they start at an edge must connect to the adjacent edge at the same distance from the corner they are working towards (I know this sounds confusing - which is why I rely on the PowerPoint and the grid to visually show students). Once students select their favorite sketch, I give them a piece of 2"x2" Styrofoam which they place over their favorite sketch. Then using a dull pencil, students trace their design onto their Styrofoam. Using a sharpie marker, students gently write their name on the back of their stamp when done, and attach an opened paperclip to the back with a piece of tape (to create a handle). With some of my groups, I had them paint a background for their printmaking paper with liquid watercolors, but with other groups this just wasn't an option because of time. Either way though, students printed their designs onto an 8"x8" paper (so they stamped a total of 16 times). Students used brayers to evenly roll black tempera paint (or black printing ink) onto a piece of plexiglass, then pressed their stamps into the paint. The students really get into this project, and I think it's because of the zen effect completing radially symmetric prints creates. Even students who either messed up a bit on their prints or their stamp-making got really beautiful results too! :) Another great alternative is to color oil pastel on your paper before printing! Check out how vibrant this is! If you are interested in a more thoroughly explained lesson plan with visuals, instruction pages (teacher and student), and the awesome PowerPoint that goes with it, please check out my store! :) Also available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
Kids will have fun learning about the European country GERMANY with these free printable coloring pages that teach and are fun.
Are you looking for something that will have ALL of your elementary students engaged from young kids to older? Do you hate planning out stem projects that use hard-to-find equipment and are exhausting to prepare? Have you tried easy STEM activities yet in your classroom? Easy stem challenges are a great way to have students […]
Looking for a fun way to introduce the writing process to your students? What about using playdough? Come grab a fun & hands on lesson for your classroom!
Make learning about Australia FUN for kids with these super cute Australia coloring pages for kids of all ages to read, color and learn!
Learn about Japan for Kids with this printable book to read, color, and learn about Mt Fiji, charming gardens, and sushi without leaving home!
Looking for visuals to help your kids make sense of math? Grab this free set of printable math manipulatives for all the hands on resources your kids need.
This back to school math activity is a perfect get to know you activity to start a new school year. There are multiple versions of the math pennant included and glyph directions if you'd like to give more structure to the activity. The finished pennants are a colorful addition to your math classroom decor and make for a welcoming classroom. Now includes a digital drag and drop version of the back to school math activity in GOOGLE Slides to meet the needs of distance learning. Happy back to school!
Halloween math activities and reading comprehension can be so much fun with Halloween Project Based Learning! What upper elementary student doesn't love haunted houses and everything spooky? Turn that excitement into learning with a creative, engaging, hands-on Design a Haunted House Project! This project is not only perfect for classrooms already familiar with project based learning (PBL), but it's also ideal for teachers who are looking for ways to really engage students with a high-interest activity. Kick off your Halloween Project Based Learning Unit by showing several different videos or ads which highlight haunted attractions and persuade people to visit
I got this idea from my peer teacher, Nina. It's a great way for students to share about themselves. I think it would be perfect for a first day of school activity. I would start by having the students first write the numbers. Later, once we have learned about multiplication and division, I would have them create the equations. Finally, they can put it all together in time for Open House. It can be easily adapted for the younger grades by using addition and/or subtraction. It can be adapted for older grades with exponents, multi-step problems, and including fractions or decimals. Thanks to my friend Nannette for inspiring me with her sample.
Take your word work reading center to the next level with these low prep and engaging word work centers! Plus, learn how to organize and run the word work center!
Ready to learn about the second largest country in the world? Grab these printable Canada Coloring Pages to learn about Canadian wildlife, Mounties,hockey, and more!
Want a fun way to teach measurement that can be adapted for all students? Let me introduce MEASUREMENT TAG!
Today I'm sharing one of my favourite tasks for building community in the classroom. Students are able to share an important aspect of themselves (the story of their name) with the class and with me, their teacher. Through this task we are also working on important skills, like reading comprehension, writing, and reflection. Day 1 To begin, I asked my students to write any name they wish they had on a sticky note. They then placed it in a mason jar. I read my class the story "The Name Jar" by Yansook Choi. We stopped at several points in the story to predict, make connections, infer, and ask questions. At one point, we paused in the story so that students could journal about the name they wrote down on the sticky note earlier: - Did they choose their own name? Or another? - Why? - If you chose another name, where did you hear that name before? Day 2 At the end of Day 1, students were given homework. (Stick around to the bottom of this post for a chance to get your own copy of this sheet.) I make it very clear, that while names all have meanings, your family may not have chosen your name for that reason. They might not know the meaning, and you can choose to look it up with your family if you wish. I also focus a lot on nicknames and your own feelings about your name. While I've never taught a student in foster care, or one who was adopted, I do think it's important to mention that this could be a touchy task in those situations, so be sure to know your students first, and modify as needed. Students use the homework task, and the journal write from the previous day, to write "The Story of their Name". Some possible options to include are: - who you are named after - the meaning of your name - a name you'd rather have - your feelings toward your name - nicknames you may have - the person (or people) who chose your name - how your name was chosen This piece of writing is then self, peer, and teacher edited, and a "good" copy is made. Day 3 I found this excellent step-by-step self-portrait from "Art Projects for Kids". I modified the task so that instead of drawing the left or right side of their face, they would draw the top half. Students find that folding their page into quadrants as she suggests is very helpful. Under the document camera I demonstrate each step, and students copy, adapting to their own facial features. Each student gets a mirror to look in to help them personalize. The final pieces are put on a bulletin board for display. Students also coloured in a bubble letter version of their names to complete the display. (I used the font KG Red Hands Outline for this.) Day 4 Once we've completed the task, the last job is to reflect on our work. I pulled some elements from our Arts Education curriculum (very relevant regardless of where you teach) for students to self-assess on. I've used the proficiency scale language our school has moved to for all reporting. A few students found it helpful to complete their reflection while looking at the finished product on their bulletin board, but most didn't need this. Want a copy of both my homework and reflection pages? Follow the image or button below to grab your copy. Take Me to the Free Download Pin this post.
Open House ideas. Great activity for students to do to show during Open house.
Teaching hands-on math with free printable math mats is the best way to engage your children and keep them excited about math.
Kids will be WOWED with this hands-on, fall science experiment where they will explore Why do Leaves Change Color for kids! Fun Leaf Activity!
Spain is beautiful and is full of a rich historical culture. These free coloring pages for Spain will be a great resource to teach about it.
One way I keep students engaged is to take them outside, so here are some of my favorite activities for teaching math outdoors.
Learn about the South American country of Brazil for kids with super cute, printable Brazil Coloring Pages from Amazon jungle to colorful Carnival!
Help your students become multiplication masters.
Kids will have fun learning about the European country GERMANY with these free printable coloring pages that teach and are fun.
Make the kids scream with this spooky self-portrait inspired by Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’. This Halloween art project The Scream Painting for kids i
No more boring book reports! Check out 26+ FUN, creative and unique book report ideas and free printable projects too!
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Three cheers to the good ol' USA!
I can’t say I’m a big fan of icebreakers myself, at least the get-to-know-you type. Students may be grouped in a different way from the previous year, and there are always new students to the schoo…
Learning to write is fun and effective with these adorable First Grade Writing Prompts for Winter. Opinion, Narrative and Informative Prompts included.
