Paper Masks, 4th Grade

 I have taught this lesson many times, and my students always love it.  We begin by looking at masks from around the world.  Then students construct a paper mask using paper, scissors, and glue.  I generally allow my students to create anything (animal, monster, or person).  However, every mask must have, eyes, nose, mouth, and other details.

These turned out great this year!

Paper Mache Totem Poles, 5th Grade

This art lesson was done in collaboration with the fifth grade classroom teacher.  A few weeks ago, a fifth grade teacher came to me and asked if I would be willing to create large totem poles out of oatmeal containers he collected.  I immediately loved the idea, but I only see my students for 30 minutes once a week, so I knew I would need his help on this one.  In order to accomplish this large project, the classroom teacher taught the students about the history of totem poles prior to coming

to art class.  He also was kind enough to stay in the art room and assist during the art lesson. This was very helpful, as paper mache is difficult to pull off in short 30 minute classes.   

This totem pole lesson took us 5 (30 minute) art classes to complete.  Students began with an oatmeal container and used cardboard, bottle caps, and paper towel rolls to create an animal.  Once this was created, students covered the entire thing with paper mache.  Lastly, students painted their creation. 

Once each animal was completed, I attached them together to create one large totem pole. The fifth grade teacher then had each student write a short essay about their work.  I think the results are amazing!

Art Show 2015

This was our first Art Show.  I decided to turn our art show into a fundraiser.  We had a company called Artome frame the artwork, and we sold each frame for $25.

By using this company, the whole process was really easy.  I labeled the artwork, and sent it to Artome two weeks prior to the show.  They came on the day of the show with the framed artwork, and even hung the artwork for me.  At the end of the show they packed up any unsold frames, and will send the artwork back to me.  This was great because it made cleanup easy, and we are only charged for what is sold.  

 Other than the framed artwork, we also had sculptures up for everyone to see.  

 Here are our 4th grade paper mache ice cream cones.

 These flowers were made by my kindergarten and fifth graders.  They worked collaboratively on this.

The Totem Poles were made by my fifth graders.  Each student created one piece of the totem, and put them together to make a large totem pole.

Totem Poles, 5th Grade

My fifth graders have recently been studying Native American culture in history class, so I thought it was time to create Totem Poles again. Last year, I did this same project with my students. It was such a success, I decided to do them again. Each child made one piece of the totem pole. When hung, we have several large totem poles.

Salmon, 4th Grade

My fourth graders recently read a story called Salmon Summer in their English class. To tie my art lesson into this, I had my students look at Native American salmon art. Native American salmon are very decorative and expressive. I found many examples of salmon art by searching in Google images.
For this project, I had my students draw their own expressive salmon. These salmon included interesting designs and patterns. Students drew everything with black crayon, and then painted with yellow, red, and orange watercolors.
I am quite impressed with the results of this project.

Native American Wall Art, 3rd Grade

For this project, we looked at the art of the Anasazi Indians. The Anasazi Indians were an ancient Pueblo tribe out west. They often painted scenes of animals and people on the rock walls. I began this lesson by showing students many examples of these paintings.

To begin our project, I gave each child a handout with lots of Native American symbols on it. The students used this as reference. I told them that "they were NOT allowed to draw hearts, flowers, or smiley faces." Everything needed to look Native American. They first drew everything on a plain white piece of paper. Then, everything was colored with oil pastels.

To make our painting look old like a rock wall, we tore the edges of our paper to make it jagged. Then we used brown liquid water colors, which I watered down quite a bit. This made our paper look more like to color of rock.

Totem Poles, 5th Grade

These Totem Poles were lots of fun for my fifth graders. To begin this project, I showed them photos of real totem poles. We discussed that often the animals on the totem pole were representation of family or tribe members. The Native Americans often associated themselves to one specific animal. For this project, I asked the students to choose an animal that they felt they identified with. (Students chose everything from birds to fish). Each child created one animal which became one piece of our large class totem poles.
I found the idea for this lesson on Thomas Elementary Art, except instead of painting, I had my students use construction paper. To begin this project, I had my students choose a piece of large construction paper. They then folded it in half "hot dog style," and cut the sides to make interesting shapes. The rest of the mask was made from my construction paper scrap box. Students used small scraps to cut out eyes, nose, mouth, and designs. For this project, I emphasized overlapping shapes and colors. For example: To make an eye, they could use one color for the eye shape, and then cut out a second color for the eye ball.
I absolutely LOVE the outcome of this project! They look absolutely wonderful hanging tall in the hallway.

Cave Paintings, 4th Grade

I found this basic idea on Artolazzi. Except instead of focusing on Lascaux, I had my students look at cave paintings from the Anasazi Indians, which was an ancient Pueblo tribe in the Southwest of the United States.
I began by having the students tear the edges of the paper to make it look old. Then students drew a few simple hills and other symbols on their page. Students then made their own animal stencils. (I did allow students to share their stencils after they were made). Students used their stencils in two ways. First, they used chalk to outline a few of their animals. Second, students used sponge painting as a different way to use the stencil. Lastly, I used a spray bottle full of paint to put their hand prints on the page.

I did show students examples of cave paintings with hand prints on them. I don't know why the cave painters put hand prints on the wall, but my class theorized that maybe it was kind of like signing your art when its finished. I liked this explanation, but have no idea if that is the real reason or not.
For the most part, I really like the results. Next time, however, I will have them think more about placement of the stencils. Many of them became very random and cluttered. It would have been good for me to talk a little more about composition. Next time, I will perhaps talk about using their symbols and animals as a way to tell a story.

Teepees, 5th Grade

My fifth graders have been learning a lot about Native Americans recently, so I thought it was the perfect time to create Teepees. We decorated our teepees using Native American designs and symbols. To help the students with this, I brought in lots of examples.

The students folded their teepees to make them stand up. We folded our teepees eight times. To make the teepee look like animal hide, I brought in yellow ochre watercolors and we did a simple wash over the whole thing.

Inuit inspired masks, 5th Grade

These are Awesome!!!

I was specifically asked by one of the fifth grade teachers to create a lesson on Inuit masks, since he was going to begin a unit on the Inuit culture. This is what I came up with.

These are entirely made out of paper. I stressed the importance of symmetry and layering in this lesson. We viewed examples of Inuit masks and I showed them how many Inuit masks were decorated with simple shapes like ovals, squares, circles, rectangles, etc.

To make symmetry easier, I had students cut through two pieces of paper at once. This way they end up with two identical images. When students were finished, some stapled raffia on to the mask for hair.

Native American Patterns. 5th grade

Sorry, these photos are a little fuzzy, but I think you get the jist. Basically, we talked about Native American Patterns and I especially focused on their bead work. I took a blank grid and had students create their own simple patterns that could be repeated over and over.

Some students love this, but some do not. It takes a lot of thought and planning. It's great for students with more mathematical minds though. It is extremely important that students color neatly inside the grid. (I photocopied the grid from a Native American beading book I own.)

Kokopelli, 5th Grade

The fifth graders were learning about Native Americans, and I needed to come up with a lesson with this theme. I know that normally this is a common theme for art projects, but I just could not find anything I liked.

After much googling, I had an idea. I kept seeing this image of a man playing an instrument on the Internet. I looked into it, and found that his name is Kokopelli and it is a Southwestern Native American legend dating back to over 3,000 years ago. According to the legend, Kokopelli plays his instrument to change the seasons. Kokopelli usually is slightly hunch backed and generally has wild hair. I just loved this image and decided to dedicate a project after him.

Students used oil pastel and liquid watercolors for the background. For the image of Kokopelli, students drew and cut it out of black paper. (I showed students basically how to draw him, but details like his hair were up to the students) This was then glued on top the painted paper.

I just love how these turned out. This lesson is definitely a keeper. :)