Royal Self Portraits
The second graders' self portrait unit is a royal one. We still discuss adding detail to the face, but we also talk about where on the face our features usually reside. We draw in pencil, painted in tempera, and outlined in sharpie. Don't forget the bling!
Stained Glass Windows
Looking at examples from gothic cathedrals, second graders learn about stained glass and symmetry. We folded black construction paper in half in order to get the pointed arch shape and interior cuts. The "glass" is tissue paper attached from behind with a glue stick or tape.
Saint George and the Dragon- Shadow Puppets
First, we began by reading Tomie dePaola's The Knight and the Dragon, a variation on the tale of Saint George featuring a happy ending for the dragon as well as the humans. Students then created one of the four characters on black construction paper with pencil and construction paper crayon. We attached narrow dowels to the back to make them into shadow puppets. Since my classroom has a suspended ceiling, I used binder clips and paper clips to hang a long white sheet of bulletin board paper to serve as the puppet theater. The students then created a drawing of a setting and wrote their own version of Saint George for small groups to perform. Some of these stories were just wonderful- princesses throwing hissy fits or shopping, baby dragons hatching and making friends, all kinds of great ideas. I made sure to remind them that the story must describe actions characters are taking and words they say to each other, and it worked quite well.
Faith Ringgold Quilt Squares
As a class, we read Faith Ringgold's Tar Beach, observing the theme of family in her work. Then, we drew a picture of ourselves with someone special to us, usually a family member or a few friends. We colored using watercolor crayons, and then "turned crayon into paint" by brushing water across the crayon. Once it dried, the painting was glued to a larger square of cardboard, and the quilt-style border was added by gluing scrap fabric and beads.
Small Town Drawing
We used our own town as a theme for some drawings- I gave the kids lots of pictures to choose from and they did their best to copy the architecture of our area. Adding detail is again important here, the more the merrier when it comes to buildings.
Picasso Style Portrait Collage
Second graders revealed their sense of humor when we made these collages! I told them that they needed to include at least one of all the parts of the face, but to be playful about where they put them.
Pattern Drawing
Using their own hands as a stencil, students drew "ripples" of the shape extending outward, off the page. These stripes were filled with repeating patterns. We used pencil to trace the first hand, but the rest was done entirely with marker.
Stewart Davis Style City Collage
This was one of my favorite projects, and it's new this year. We used construction paper, mirrorboard, corrugated paper, construction paper crayons, and sharpies to create a city on a wide sheet of brown kraft paper.
No comments:
Post a Comment