End of Year Gifts

I have to admit, I am a little late with this post! It was that time of the year again when you come to reflect on the many months of teaching and learning that has gone by and you can't help but think of all those people who have supported you on their own way. The photocopier, the security guards, co-teachers, assistants, facility managers to name a few. 

I decided to give them all a bar of chocolate beautifully wrapped up with a little Thank You note. Who doesn't like chocolate right? I took the time and effort to wrap each chocolate bar myself down to even sealing the edges of the ribbons with a flame! I wrapped and made flowers for 33 gifts in total.

Instead of giving them out face to face, I decided it would be even nicer to leave the gift on their desks so that they would see it first thing in the morning. It's a wonderful feeling to unexpectedly receive a little pressie from a co-worker. Yes, I did get loads of thank you emails after!

 What do you do to thank those who helped you? I would love to hear your suggestions for next year!

Clay Tiles

My last unit of work every year focuses on 3D artwork and clay is a great option for me to do this. Students absolutely love working with clay and they get to take their creations home at the end of the lesson.

The learning objective for Grade 3 students was to recognize and explain the meaning of texture. They also had to differentiate between above and below the surface textures and eventually create a texture board of their own that would demonstrate their understanding and skill of working with a 3D material.

Materials required:
- clay
- black card
- white labels 

Duration:One lesson of 80 minutes

Prep: Stick labels onto black card (in a corner) for students to write their name & grade.

1. We started talking about texture and all the different kinds of textures we can find in the world around us such as soft, spikey, rough, smooth, pointy, fluffy, etc. I showed them real work examples of textures on a powerpoint  such as the road, a dog's fur, a pineapple and so on.
2. Through questioning, students learned the difference between above and below the surface textures.
3. I then did a demonstration for them on how to roll the clay into a ball, flatten it out to the shape of a pancake, neaten the edges and/or cut it to their desired shape, and how to smooth out the ridges with some water. I also showed them two examples of how to create above and below the surface textures. Once they saw that, they were eager to get some clay into their hands and start working.

How do you think they turned out?

Still Life inspired by Paul Cezanne

This lesson is by far one of my favourites for Grade 2 because there is a beautiful mix of observational drawing, an artist study & oil pastel techniques. Although this was the first time I did this project, it is definitely going to be repeated again with next year's second grade students.

The learning objectives for this lesson was to become familiar with the works of Paul Cezanne, to identify a still life, to recognize highlights and shadows within a still life and to use primary or secondary observation to draw & render a still life in the style of the artist.

Materials required:
- A3 paper
- A5 paper
- paints, brushes, water pots
- oil pastels
- pencils, erasers
- laminated images of still life 
- 3D arrangements of fruit
- images of Cezanne's artwork on PowerPoint
- ebook "Cezanne's Astonishing Apples"

Duration: 3 lessons of 80 minutes each

1. After going through the objectives with the students and showing them an example of the finished piece, I started off the lesson by reading them a story about Paul Cezanne which I found online. I asked students to look for all the things that Cezanne painted while they listened to the  story of "Cezanne's Astonishing Apples". What's even better is that the story is already pre-recorded so as long as you have access to speakers, you're good to go!
2. When the story was finished, as a whole class we discussed the works of Cezanne while I showed them more images of his paintings on a PowerPoint. We talked about the subject matter, colours, tones, similarities and differences within his work. 
3. Next, on the board, I showed them a photograph of some fruit in a bowl and did a quick demonstration on how to observe the size, shape and placement of objects while drawing. 
4. As a mini lesson, I gave them each an A5 piece of paper and a pencil and put a selection of real, 3D fruits arranged on a plate in front of them. By "real" I actually mean plastic fruits. Since this project was going to carry on for a period of three weeks, I couldn't possible keep edible fruit in my class for that length of time. Anyway, I set the timer for 3 minutes and the kids had to quickly sketch what was in front of them keeping in mind size, shape and placement of objects. Then, I turned the plate of fruit around so that the viewpoint for each student changed and gave them another 3 minutes to sketch. This made them understand how their drawing of the same fruit would change if they were to look at it from different angles.
5. Now it was time to get on with the final drawing on A3 paper. Based on the results of the mini lesson and their abilities, I selected my high ability students to draw from primary observation using the 3D fruits and the middle/low ability students to draw from photographs.

A student drawing from primary observation

6. A finished drawing on A3 paper saw the end of the first lesson. Have a look at the results.

1. In the second lesson, the main objective was to learn a variety of oil pastel techniques and to start observing & creating the highlights and shadows with the still life drawn in the first lesson using those techniques.
2. As a starter activity, I found a tutorial on YouTube that would teach six different techniques of oil pastels (blending, layering, short strokes, long strokes, pointillism and drawing). After a guided lesson through the tutorial, this is what each student created:

3. Next, I showed them another short video on how to create a realistic apple. As students watched the video, I questioned them on which of the six techniques they saw the artist using.
4. Students are now set to work on their still life. Be sure to remind them to observe the highlights and shadows. Take a look at some of the work in progress.

1. In the third and last lesson, students continue adding highlights and shadows to their objects and once that is complete, they start to paint the background.
2. I did a quick demonstration on how to mix colours and show texture & students got to select their own colour combinations for their background.

3. Once the paint is dry, the only thing left to do it outline with a black oil pastel and you end up with a masterpiece!

If you have done a lesson on Cezanne, I would love to hear how it went!

Flower Collage

This is a beautiful project I did recently with my Grade 1 students. The real hero of this lesson is the painted paper. Students have an absolute ball making the painted paper and those free hand designed papers are the basis for visually striking artworks.

Materials required:
- painted paper
- A3 white paper cut vertically
- newspapers
- white glue & brushes
- circle templates approx. 2-3inches diameter
- black card approx. 2inches x 3inches
- a handout of different flower petal designs
- scissors
- glue sponges or glue sticks
- thick black markers

Duration: 2 lessons of 80 minutes each

Prep work for first lesson: get loads of newspaper and pour white glue into cups. Cut the A3 papers vertically.

1. The objective of this lesson was to understand the meaning of collage and then to create a collage of a flower. I showed the students a finished example of the project and got them to figure out the meaning of collage through questioning. I then explained to them that it would take them two lessons to complete their collage; making the newspaper background first and then the flower itself.
2. For the newspaper background, I gathered all students around a table and showed them how to rip the newspaper into small pieces and especially asking them not to use any pictures they find on the newspaper. They must use only the words. Once they have a good stack of small, torn pieces of newspaper, apply the white glue with a brush on the A3 white, rectangular paper. Tell students to cover their whole sheet with newspaper and once that was done, to apply white glue one more time over the newspaper to make sure that every piece is stuck down properly. This was the end of the first lesson.

The newspaper background

Prep work for second lesson: sort all painted papers into reds, yellows, blues, purples, pinks & greens. Cut green painted papers into long, vertical rectangles so that makes it easier for the kids to cut out a stem. Cut all other colours into smaller squares or rectangles roughly the size of your palm. Place into plastic bags for students to have easy access to them and to choose their colours easily. 
Prepare the glue sponges by placing a sponge into a small box and pouring white glue on top. I love using sponges instead of glue sticks because it is easier to use and white glue is a lot stronger than a glue stick.
Prepare a handout of different flower petal designs. Cut pieces of black card roughly 2inches x 3inches. 
Cut out circle templates approx. 2-3inches diameter. I laminated mine so that they can last longer. Draw the circles on each student's newspaper collage so that it's easier for them to understand where to place their stem. etc.

Prep work: sorting the painted papers

Prep work: the petal handout and the black card

Prep work: the glue sponges

1. Briefly discuss with the students about the different parts of a flower. As we were naming and labeling them as a whole class, I told the students which parts we would be making first, second and so on by writing a number against it. We would make the stem first, the leaves second, third is the centre of the flower and lastly the petals. Have a look at my board:

Since there were too many components of the flower, I decided to do split my demonstration. This means that I gathered students together and demonstrated how to do the stem and leaves, then they would go off to their own places and follow that. When they completed the stem & leaves, I got them around the table again and showed them how to make the centre and the petals.
2. Get a long piece of green painted paper and draw two wobbly, parallel lines at the back of the paper for the stem. Tell students that all their drawing work will be done at the back of the painted papers so that no pencil lines will be seen on the front. Cut it out and stick onto the newspaper background made in the previous lesson.
3. Draw a few leaves, cut and stick. Have a look at this process:

A student making the stem and leaves

4. Next, decide on a colour for the centre and use the circle template to trace the shape, cut and stick it on.

A student making the centre of the flower

5. Using the handout and the small piece of black card, draw the shape of the petal. Make sure the petal is big enough and should ideally touch all four corners of the black card. Cut it out. This will be used as a template to draw all the petals. Trace onto their choice of painted papers approx 6 - 8 times. Cut it out and stick.

A student making the petal shape

Students selecting which colours they would like to use

Work in progress

6. Finally, outline with black marker.
The finished pieces!

Shape Collage

This was a fun project I did with my Grade 1 students last month. I wanted to get them to practice their fine motor skills and my personal agenda was to use up all the painted paper scraps as I would hate to see all those beautiful markmaking techniques go to waste. 

Materials:
- painted paper
- glue
- scissors
- A3 black cardstock

Duration: 1 lesson of 80 minutes

1. First, we looked at the works of Paul Klee and discussed his use of shape. We brainstormed all the shapes we could think of and I showed students a finished example of the project so that get an idea of what is expected of them. We then identified which shapes they could find in my example.

The example I showed to students

2. I did a quick demonstration to show students how to cut and arrange all their shapes on paper and then glue them down properly. Have a look at some of the work in progress:

The results were fantastic!

Love the 3D effect on this one!