Thursday, September 18, 2008

1st GRADE--Mondrian Bears

The 1st grade students learned about
and looked at the artwork created
by Piet Mondrian. They learned the
three primary colors: red, yellow, and
blue through the book, Mouse Paint.
They also learned about vertical and
horizontal lines, and how to use them
to create squares and rectangles.
Each student created a Mondrian inspired
blanket for their bear.

Another Mondian Project that the 1st graders have done is a clay mice piece of art. The students learned about the primary colors and created a grid background to replicate the style of Piet Mondrian. Then they each created 3 clay mice that were later painted with each of the primary colors. The students had to choose where they wanted their mice on their backgrounds, but could not put them on the same color as the mouse. Finally each student work was put together to create a huge class mural.

1st GRADE--Eric Carle Caterpillars

The first grade students learned about the artist Eric
Carle. They learned that he is both an author and
an illustrator. We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar
And looked at how he created his own paper using
different textures. The students learned that texture
is the way something feels and they were able to
create their own paper using a variety of colors and
texture plates. Then they added more texture using
paint and sponges. After their paper was complete
they traced and cut out their circles to create their
very own Hungry Caterpillar!

1st GRADE-Kandinsky

The first grade students learned about
The artist Wassily Kandinsky. They
learned that his style of artwork is
abstract, which means it doesn’t
necessarily look like anything. They
learned that even though abstract
art is made up of different lines, colors,
and shapes, it is still art. Students
also learned what repetition is.
Students were able to repeat circles
and use various colors to create their very
own work in the style of Kandinsky.

Another Kandinsky lesson the students used vertical, horizontal, curvy, and zig-zag lines to create an abstract piece of art. Then they filled in their design with different geometric and organic shapes to create patterns.

1st GRADE--Snowmen

The 1st graders were able to create a 3-D sculpture of a snowman made out of paper mache. We looked at the book, The Snowman, which does not have any words, only pictures. Students learned the importance of pictures in a book and each student took a turn to read a page in the book just by looking at the pictures. We also discussed the different between 3-Dimensional art and 2-Dimensional art. Students were able to pick out the finishing details for their snowman and cut out their mittens. Finally the students were able to view the movie, The Snowman. This movie, like the book, does not have any words only music. So the students were able to see again the importance pictures have. At the end of the movie we compared similarities and differences from the book and the movie.

1st GRADE--Jim Dine Hearts

The first grade students learned about the artist Jim Dine through a power point. They learned that he is a living artist who was born in Ohio, but now lives in Europe. We talked about symbols and how people all over the world recognize what a heart is. We looked at different examples of Jim Dine’s work with hearts in them. We reviewed what abstract art is and also reviewed different lines and shapes. Students were able to repeat hearts in their artwork and then they had to choose two different lines and shapes to create patterns in their background.

1st GRADE--Klee Scapes

The 1st grade students learned about the artist Paul Klee through the book, Animal Tricks. They learned about Paul Klee’s love for animals, and saw the many different animals he painted. Students were able to use a variety of different animal books to create their own landscape. We also reviewed the primary colors: red, yellow and blue. Students were only given the primary watercolors and had to experiment with mixing the secondary colors: green, purple, and orange. After their paintings and drawings were complete, they used carbon paper to transfer their drawing onto their painting.

1st GRADE--Corn Husks

The 1st Grade students learned about the importance of corn in our society. They learned that corn is the number one crop in America. We read the book, Corn On and Off the Cob, and learned there is many different ways people eat corn. Corn is also in many foods such as candy, soda, cereal and soap. Students also learned that the Indians were the first people to grow corn and that is where “Indian Corn” gets its name. Students were able to use pointillism to create their own Indian Corn

2nd GRADE--Da Vinci Horses

The 2nd grade students learned about the artist Leonardo Da Vinci and his many talents. He was born in Italy in 1452. Leonardo Da Vinci was not only an artist, but he was an inventor, an architect, a musician, a sculptor, a scientist and a mathematician. Da Vinci was one of the first artists to paint people in a realist style. They also learned that Da Vinci used to write lots of notes with his work and he even wrote them backwards because he didn’t want people stealing his ideas. Some of the paint on Da Vinci’s work is chipping away because he had to mix his own paint. We read the book, Leonardo's Horse. Then the students learned the different proportions of a horse and created their own horse that would later be apart of a class carosaul.

2nd GRADE-Chinese Bamboo Scrolls

The 2nd grade students created there own Chinese scrolls. They learned that the Chinese people were the first to invent paper. We also talked about the importance of scrolls to relay messages. We also discussed the importance of bamboo in the Chinese culture and how it is used for building, decoration and a food source. The students were able to use special Sumi paintbrushes to create their bamboo trees. We also reviewed coloring mixing and the students were only given the primary colors and had to create the secondary colors by mixing their own colors.

2nd GRADE--Cityscapes

The 2nd grade students were able to learn about cityscapes and skyscrapers through a powerpoint. We looked at different cities in the United States and around the world that have skyscrapers. We discussed that overlapping buildings makes a cityscape more interesting. We also talked about the fact that their buildings do not have to be rectangular. We looked at some buildings that were round, triangular, etc. The students learned the difference between the warm and cool colors and had to pick one color scheme for their buildings. Then they had to use the opposite color scheme for their background create contrast in their art. Finally the students were able to add patterns and shapes to their buildings to create their very own city.

2nd GRADE--Van Gogh Sunflowers

The 2nd Grade students studied the artist Vincent Van Gogh and his artwork. We also read the book, Camille and the Sunflowers. The students were able to create a giant sunflower creating emphasis in their artwork. Then they were shown how to blend colors using oil pastels. The students had to choose a cool color for their background to make their sunflower "pop" in their piece of art.