The Noisy Paint Box Lesson

                                               

After reading one of my new favorite art books, "The Noisy Paint Box" by Barb Rosenstock I couldn't help but have my second graders do their own music inspired painting.  This was new for me, I hadn't tried it before so I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but I did know that second graders are still at an age where they are not afraid to jump right in to art without the fears of perfection that haunt my older students.  So to begin I gave them each a black crayon and played some very well known classical pieces, they ranged from slow and soft to loud and exciting.  I would name them, but I found a YouTube playlist that I skipped around in to give them a variety of emotion.  I didn't get to see the names of all the pieces, but you can find the mix of classical music here. Students were on;y given one instruction, and that was to draw what they think the music looks like.  I let them use both sides of the paper and then they chose the side they liked best.  I think this was helpful because they had a chance to get used to it on the first side and try again on the other.  I then provided students with water color paint to color in the whole paper.  I think the students had a lot of fun creating these, and I had a lot of fun watching them.  I love how each interpretation looks so different, and I really am impressed with how they came out!

                                                 

African Masks

Students discussed African masks and their significance.  They also discussed symmetry, lines, patterns, color, shape and form as they created these masks.We used air dry clay, tempera paint, and then finished them with Mod Podge.  I found a great YouTube video tutorial here on how to create the masks.  We used it as a guideline, but I have student freedom to make it their own. I am so excited by the results!

National Junior Art Honor Society

Victorian Houses

 I found a great lesson (surprise, surprise) on Deep Space Sparkle that gave great instructions for guiding me through this lesson.  I think they came out pretty great! Students looked at the structure of many Victorian homes to help them with details.  

Animal Close ups

Students in 8th grade chose animals they wanted to get closer to;) They were given printed pictures and strips of paper. To create a frame around the areas they chose to focus on.  I am so happy with the effort they put into these, and the results they got! 

Paper mâché Pets!

Students in grade 5 studied form and color theory to assist them in creating these adorable pets! 

Complimentary Color Monsters

Students were read, "I need my Monster" and discussed features that monsters may have for inspiration. We then reviewed the color wheel and learned about complimentary colors.  

They chose their colors and wrapped them around cylinders I have had donated...not sure where they came from! 

Added 1,2,or 3 eyes.

Hair and arms. 

Mouths, teeth, horns, hands and claws! Can't wait to display these! 

Pout pout fish model magic

Pout pout fish sculpture project with model magic.  This was a fun lesson! Students learned about form and color mixing through the use of model magic.  We first read "The Pout Pout Fish Goes to School" and then discussed some features of the fish.  We also discussed the difference between shape and form.  When they got to their seats they were given model magic and were allowed to experiment and play for about 15 min.  I gave them some ideas on the board to try (try to make a sphere, cone, snake...etc).  We then created cone shapes together and pressed our fingers into the wide end to form the mouths.  We let them dry over night. The next day students were given liquid water colors to paint their fish, and a small amount of white model magic to create the eyes.  Then we let them dry again.  On the third day I took out the colored model magic (red, yellow and blue) We reviewed what primary colors were and how to use the color wheel to make secondary and tertiary colors.  As students gave me instructions on how to creat the new colors, "You make green by mixing yellow and blue!," I gave them pieces of the model magic to mix together.  As they gave it back to me mixed I placed it on chart paper and we formed our own color wheel.  They were so excited to do this, it was a great teaching moment! Students were then allowed to go back to their seat to create fins and details with the colored model magic, I think they came out adorable! Next time I will try to get them to make their fish a bit more round and wide.