Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tornadoes, 5th Grade

This is a fun tornado lesson that I did with my fifth graders. I've done this lesson before, but it has been a few years.
This is a very simple lesson. Basically, we used cotton batting to form the tornado. Then we dug into my scrap paper box to create the rest of the picture. During the last 10 minutes of the lesson, I handed out oil pastels to add details. I just love the creativity in these pictures.

6 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh! There is so much energy in these. And so much sadness. I remember the only tornado that hit our area. I was picking flowers with my mom and the sky turned green and the sound was silent and muffled like the first snow fall and we ran to our car. We didn't see it but we saw the destruction. The fire coming out of the windows WOW! I wonder if they see this in movies or are you in a tornado belt?

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  2. Silly question, do you get many tornados in Maryland? I'm in Kansas so I have done a tornado lesson with 1st grade the last 2 years to review safety (http://artteacheradventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/1st-grade-tornado-safety.html). Last year a tornado really did touch down by my district's high school just a couple weeks after we finished the lesson! I like the batting, it really does look wispy like a tornado!

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  3. Maryland doesn't get tornadoes often, and when we do, they aren't very large ones. However, we did this project only a week after a tornado went through Ocean City. A lot of my students had seen the footage from that.

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  4. Hi Holly,

    I'm a parent art instructor volunteer in a school that pretty much has no art. I just found your blog this morning and I'm amazed. I was pretty overwhelmed as art instruction is not my background but your site is so inspirational. Is the comment section the best way to ask you questions about a specific project? Your students are so lucky to have you as their teacher!!
    Odile in California

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  5. HI Odile, Yes I respond to the comment section, especially on newer posts. If you have any questions, you can also email me. My email address is: holly.vandersommers@gmail.com

    I am glad that you volunteer to teach art at your school. It's a shame when art is cut from the curriculum.

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