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!

                                                 

Peacock Sculptures

Made with model magic, feathers and sequins.

I have a dream

We had a discussion about MLK and what he wanted for this world, and we shared what we wanted for this world.  Students were instructed to use color shape and line to create an art piece that embodies these thoughts.  It made me happy to look at on the bulletin board with the inspirational quotes from MLK.  

Paul Klee Castles

I found a variety of these types of lessons on Pinterest, but most were crayon resist.   I do a enough of that with the younger grades, so I wanted to switch it up a bit to give students a chance to use oil pastels instead.  So for this activity we look at a power point that shows several examples of Paul Klee's work, and we discuss common themes.  We learn a little about his life with a very short bio, and then I end on this picture of his "Castle and Sun" painting.  We then discuss what shapes we see, and their likes and feelings towards his work.  Students are then given white crayon and brown construction paper.  they are instructed to make tall, short, wide and thin rectangles that start on one side of the page and continue to the other.  Then within each rectangle they can add other shapes and horizontal lines to cut their rectangles into smaller pieces.  They are encouraged to be creative and add details that make it their own.  Once this is completed they then work on adding oil pastels. We practice coloring inside the lines and filling in the whole shape being sure not to leave any spots without color!  My second graders love this project and I really love the way they come out!