Native American totem poles in Stanley Park; in Vancouver, Canada Taken September 2016
4th graders just finished a lesson about totem poles. Students learned about the significance of totem poles and that they were (and still are) made by native tribes who lived in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The big word for this project was stylize. We learned that some artists stylize their work by changing shapes, colors, etc. in order to give their work their own personal touch. Each student created one stylized animal in the style of a real totem pole. (There are some great resources on totem pole parts online here. Unfortunately, I didn't find this until we were almost done with the project!) In the past, I had kids paint the finished product, but I decided to try collage this year after seeing an example from another blog last year. I really like how clean the collage is. More importantly, the students were more successful using collage. My lesson plan can be found here. My keynote for this lesson is here. A PDF version of my keynote can be downloaded here. Feel free to use or modify for your own room!
Check out what the students in Mrs. VandenBush's classroom are doing in art! Some of th lesson ideas I come up with, but many of these ideas come from other wonderful art teachers!
Grade Level: all ages Clay is a wonderful medium for all ages. It provided an excellent way to introduce the Pacific Northwest First Nations culture, symbols, and art to these K-6 students. Introducing the students to the culture of these peoples through a look and discussion of the monumental sculptures that were created once in abundance led to a hands-on totem segment building project. Each student created a unique totem pole segment with clay that was then fired and later painted. The totems were stacked and a class totem was "erected". This was such a fun project with such great kids!
Unknown to many, Ohio is home to the world's largest effigy mound. The Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, is surrounded by mystery, wonder, and tradition. It is a National Historic Landmark that should be on every Ohio Bucket List. Here are five fun things to do during a visit to Serpent Mound. Where
