Bead Work (Crafts)

     The purpose of this project is to introduce pattern, texture, and color to 3rd grade.  Students must use at least 2 types of beads.  They were also supposed to make a pattern using color; my bracelet was purple, text, purple, etc. 

     This is a picture of our completed bulletin to celebrate Mother's Day.  Students were able to make a heart whatever size they wanted.  Then, they wrote the reasons why they love their moms.  We taped their bracelets to their hearts and stapled them to the bulletin board.

Extension Activity:
     A fun extension activity for this project would be to make a necklace and bracelet for their moms.  Once they finished that, they would have the option of making another bracelet for their best friend.  They would talk to their best friend to find out what colors they would like and vise versa for their bracelet.

Clay "Picasso" Faces

     The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the basics of clay, such as the terms scoring and slipping) to 4th graders.  They are growing in critical skills, self-evaluation, as well as evaluation of others.  This age can concentrate for longer periods of time which is critical to this project because it can be very time consuming--students need to be patient when waiting in line, they will need to wait for their clay to dry enough to paint it, and to wait even longer when waiting for it to dry to paint it other colors.

Extension Activity:

     This activity would work well with Social Studies because Picasso was the first to make non-realistic pieces of art.  He used simple and abstract ways of expressing a new perspective.  I would also introduce artists that came before Picasso and show the difference between the artworks.  

Science in Art: Seasons (2D Paper)

    This active learning project is designed to keep the students working and engaged instead of giving a lecture of instructions, then allowing the students to work on their project.  Students in 1st-3rd grade have limited attention spans and can only grasp one thing at a time.  The students will be able to choose between a fall or winter scenery and are able to get creative when adding the background or any other season related objects (snowman, piles of leaves, etc.).

Extension Activity:

     It's already in the title, but I could easily tie this project into Science.  I would discuss the different seasons with my students, making sure they know what the trees look like during each; spring=starting to bloom, summer=green leaves, fall=brown/orange leaves, winter=no leaves.  I would go more in depth with it by talking about how the weather affects the trees and their leaves.

A Box of Crayons

     The purpose of this lesson is to introduce specific elements of design that will be used for their crayon project created for 1st grade.  Students at this age need to be interested in their projects and they also desire the approval of classmates and teachers.  This project will allow them to share what they have made to their classmates.  
     The first example below is how students will draw one part of the body (head, middle/arms, legs/feet), then pass it on and see what your creation turned out to be.  The picture on the right shows how students can be creative with crayons, drawing things about themselves such as music notes, school colors, favorite season, and more. 

 
Extension Activity:
     Again, this project could be used to show diversity.  It will take students a while to realize that no one is the exact same.  The project on the left is a great example because the students weren't able to see the drawer before's work, so it gave the next drawer the chance to be unique.  All of the little "monsters" students create will show that none of the same.  Even though each person drew on 3 different monsters, they were still very distinctively diverse.  The crayon is also a good project to do with younger students because they will make it individualized to match their personality; it's kind of like a mirrored image of themselves.

Scratch Art

     The purpose of this activity is to introduce crayon engraving and scratchboards to 4th graders.  These students select and arrange objects to satisfy their compositional design need, rather than realism.  They will be given the opportunity to select which design they choose to use when creating their Mother's Day project by drawing it.  This will enable the students to create texture in their project though the use of patterns in fine detail.

Extension Activity:
     I would also use this project in Science.  Mother's Day cards always (or at least, usually) have a flower incorporated into it at some point.  4th grade would be a perfect time to talk about the parts of a flower, as well as different types of flowers (most common ones).  Instead of making a card from scratch art, the students can keep the paper flat and draw different types of flowers such as tulips, simple roses, and others.  At the end we would display them with a sheet next to them labeling the parts of the flower.

Multicultural Masks

     The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to an art activity that is relatively new to them.  Students in 3rd grade are eager and have an interest for trying new things.  They will be able to show uniqueness to their masks by using construction paper, tissue paper, foam, string, glitter, beads, and more--all ways of making multicultural masks because everyone's masks will be different.

Extension Activity:

    Just like the title says, this mask project would be another great way to display and discuss multiculturalism.  I could easily make a unit over this topic and show students different masks of cultures, including Greek culture, African culture, and many more all over the world.  This will show my students how everybody is different and it doesn't matter how you make your mask because it's all about you, not anybody else.

Holiday Printmaking

     The purpose of this lesson is to introduce 2nd grade students to making light and dark value compositions with a variety of shapes, patterns, and details.  This lesson also introduces skills used in printmaking, such as the use of lines and texture, and different colors to enhance the look of the greeting cards.

Extension Activity:

     I would also use this project in Social Studies.  All holidays have a reason why they are considered "holidays".  I would tell my students more in depth history when each holiday was coming up in the school year, such as the 4th of July (Independence Day) was the day our country gained its independence and Columbus Day is when Christopher Columbus founded America.  I would also include religious holidays, making sure I discussed Christmas, Hanukkah, and others.