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.