The Rainbow Fish: Watercolor Painting 2nd Grade ~ Ms. Vilhauer and Ms. Sandmeier

Description:
This lesson addresses the media of watercolors.  We first discovered different watercolor techniques.  After we learned different application techniques we talked about the difference between warm and cool colors.  To begin our rainbow fish paintings we painted the backgrounds.  For my background (water) I used the wet-in-wet application.  I first wet down the sheet of paper with water and splashed on a light and dark blue as well as a green (cool colors) and then used my brush to smear them all together.  Once my background was painted, I set it aside to dry.  At this time, I then went to work on my fish.  I first used my crayon to create scales and I even made silver fins.  This application was the resist technique.  I finished by applying the warm colors of red, orange and yellow.  Once everything was dried, I glued my fish to the background.

Extension Technique:
Watercolor would be a good extension activity for a Laura Ingalls Wilder unit.  Students will read from selected books and draw settings or scenes from the book.  Students will use the author's descriptions of the land and create watercolor paintings.  These paintings will then be displayed in the classroom or hallway for fellow students to see.

Painting and Printing 2nd and 3rd grade ~ Ms. Kringen and Mrs. Davies

Description:
The object of this lesson plan is to create texture by using various printing techniques.  The objects we used to print varied from paintbrushes, carpet scraps, laminate, sponge brushes, bubble wrap, astro turf, pine cones, corn, sandpaper and tinsel.  The object of this lesson is to cover all the white space by printing paint on to the paper in patterns or to create a picture making use of applied and actual texture.

Extension Activity:
A fun spin to this activity would be to create homemade wrapping paper for the holidays.  Students will use various sponges with holiday shapes and paint brushes to make holiday pictures.  The students will then take the wrapping paper home to use.

Oil Pastel Snow-globes 3rd-5th Grade ~ Ms. Lee and Ms. Gilbraith

Description:
Students will create oil pastel drawings using foreground, middle ground and background.  Also included in this project will be use of at least two elements and principles.  To begin the actual project, we took circle stencils and traced one large circle on the paper we were working on.  The area within the circle will be the working space to create our snow-globe pictures.  To begin applying the oil pastels to create a background.  Once the background is completed, the middle ground comes next.  The foreground is the last application.  The foreground is the object up close and is often the focus of the picture.

Extension Activity:
Another idea for oil pastel work it to create a puzzle.  Cut out a large piece of cardboard creating puzzle pieces. Each student will create their own puzzle piece by using oil pastels.  They will design the piece to represent themselves and the pieces will come together to make a large classroom puzzle.

Monochromatic Painting 5th-6th Grade Lesson Plan ~ Ms. Ewalt and Mrs. Schlecht

Description:
This lesson plan employs the idea of tints (by adding white) and shades (by adding black).  Monochromatic paintings focus around one color or color scheme and then plays with the tints and shades of that color or color scheme.  This lesson plan is appropriate for 5th and 6th graders and is the introduction to tints and shades.  The use of shapes is to level the field; to give the students something that they know and the monochromatic painting is to introduce something new to enhance the shapes.

While teaching this lesson I learned the importance of time management.  Although, some students were able to complete the assignment within the allowed time, some were not.  To change this, I would lower the amount of shapes required from 8 to about 5 shapes.  This will not only help with time but also allow for bigger difference in sizes of the shapes.

Extension Activity:
An extension activity could be again, self portraits.  Students would take a drawing of themselves and apply monochromatic techniques using each primary colors.  Therefore, the student will have one true life portrait and three monochromatic self portraits.  This would probably a high school assignment that would require a great deal of time.
This could also be done with still life portraits.  For example, drawing a bowl of fruit and creating monochromatic paintings of the still life portraits.  This could also employ the idea using primary colors as well as secondary colors.  The possibilities are endless, it all depends on the amount of time allowed for such a project.  

Pinch Pots 6th Grade Lesson Plan ~ Ms. Schafer and Ms. Dargatz

Description:
Pinch Pots: "The oldest and simplest handmade ceramic form.  Holding a kneaded ball of clay in one hand, and pushing the thumb into the center.  By pinching and rotating motion between the thumb and index fingers, one can open up the form" (Schafer and Dargatz).

This was the first peer lesson plan of our Arts Method class.  Ms. Schafer and Ms. Dargatz presented a beginning clay unit lesson plan with pinch pots.  They showed us the proper way to knead the clay by means of pushing straight down on the clay against the table, picking it up and repeating in order to remove any of the air bubbles that may reside in the clay.  Once all the air bubbles are removed, the clay form is tossed from hand to hand to create a ball of clay that can be worked into a pinch pot.  Once a ball of clay is formed the artists place their thumbs in the center of the ball and push down, holding the sides of the ball with the remaining fingertips.  To increase the size of the center and to create the desired shape, the artists leave their thumbs in the center and rotate the forming pots with their fingertips.  Once the desired shape of the pot is obtained, the pot's surface is smoothed out using slip.  To decorate the pot, I used a scoring tool to outline the inside of the pot to create a raised center.  I also took a toothpick like stick and made indentations in a zigzag pattern.  The outside of the pot is scored with a cheese grater like utensil.

Extension Activity:
Pinch pots would work perfectly with studying any ancient cultures and their pottery.  Students will research the type of pottery made in the culture and recreate the pottery and explain what it would be used for.

Hidden Safari Pictures

Description:

This fun project is focused on the idea of warm and cool colors.  The hidden safari project began by making the very "warm"  red cellophane glasses you see above.  After we made the glasses we looked at various safari animals and chose which ones we would like to draw in a "Hidden Safari" picture.  I chose to draw a giraffe amongst two trees.  I began by drawing the picture upside down because drawing upside down makes the artist more in tune to the lines and the direction they are drawn.  I drew my picture using the cool sky blue color.  Once I completed the initial drawing, I covered the sky blue picture with the warm colors red, orange and yellow.  I covered the picture with spirals because to me, spirals are fun.  If I could do it over, I would have done something more along the lines of squares and lines rather than spirals because while I was drawing the spirals, I noticed it was not covering up my hidden picture very well.  The squares and lines would have probably made the finished project look more clean rather than sloppy.

Extension Activity:

I would use this in an 5th-8th grade math lesson.  The students would create math equations and the answers would be hidden in the background.  

It would also be a good use in English or Language arts class.  Students can write secret messages.  This type of activity can also be extended into an art lesson revolving around Leonardo Da Vinci.  He is said to be a very secretive artist and encrypted messages and symbols into his art work.  

Vincent van Gogh Inspired Tissue Paper Collage

Description:
This Vincent van Gogh inspired project began by applying tissue paper to a black sheet of construction paper.  The tissue paper was cut out in shapes such as swirls and arches to represent a van Gogh brush stroke and the movement he created with his lines.  Once the paper tissue collage was applied, a clear modge-podge was applied to create a second form of texture.  Once the clear coat was applied, oil pastel colors were applied to create definition as well as the essence of the line movements as found in van Gogh's "Starry Night."  After I applied the oil pastel colors, I added a city scape background made out of construction paper and decorated with a white colored pencil.

This was  by far my favorite project to date.  I used to love playing and creating things with tissue paper.  My favorite element of this project was the clear finish that we applied.  It created such a cool texture and shine to the artwork.  However, I do not like how my city scape turned out and have plans to one day return to this project and redo the building part of the project

Extension Activity:
A fun way to use the idea of a tissue paper collage would to create Pablo Picasso inspired self-portrait.  I believe it would be fun to make use of his style of painting into a tissue paper self-portrait.  Students will be able to make use of the fact that tissue paper has a transparent quality that allows artists to layer it and make new shades of color.  The modge-podge clear coat would be applied to make sure that the tissue paper does not tear and lays flat.  The oil pastels would then be used to add definition to lines and details.