Student Impressionism Show

3rd, 4th and 5th Impressionism- Japanese Bridges

After Abstract Impressionism we moved onto Impressionism and Monet. For this lesson we talked about color mixing. Students learned that Monet could have made each painting using only red, blue, and yellow. So we decided to take the challenge with our own paintings and mix each color ourselves. For our backgrounds we used tissue paper to create our water. Our lilies were made using blue and yellow chalk pastels blended to make green. We talked about how our water would reflect the trees above, sky, and flowers in the water. Because of this we included several colors in our water. By the end of the lesson we all knew how mix any color we could think of!

1st and 2nd Grade Impressionism- Water Lilies

After Abstract Impressionism we moved onto Impressionism and Monet. For this lesson we talked about the primary and secondary colors. Students learned that Monet could have made each painting using only red, blue, and yellow. So we decided to take the challenge with our own paintings and mix each color ourselves. For our backgrounds we used tissue paper to create our water. Our lilies were made using blue and yellow chalk pastels blended to make green. The lilies were mini coffee filters with which we colored with markers. By the end of the lesson we all knew how to mix secondary colors!

1st- 5th Grade Abstract Expressionism- Drawing to Music

Last year we studied art from around the world and this year we are learning about artistic styles. For our first project we learned about Jackson Pollock and Abstract Expressionism. We practiced drawing to slow music and fast music, then compared the differences between our color and line choices. We noticed that our slow drawings had less lines and they were curvier, also our colors were softer and duller. Our fast drawings had many more bright colors, sharper edges, and a larger amount of lines all together. Next, we added our paint layer and kept the things we learned in mind. Lastly, we looked again at Pollocks work and wondered what kind of music he might have been listening to while painting.

Quarterly Newsletter... More Art to Come!

3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Australian Rock Drawings

The final destination in our travels was the county and continent of Australia. We started the project by talking about collaborative art and how it might be helpful for this project. "Well the rocks are big, so the more people we have in our groups the easier and faster it will be to finish such large drawings. We can also split up the work according to everyone's strengths. Also, we might get to work with people we usually don't get to work with and discover that we are a great team." Once we split up into teams, each group was given an article about a different Australian current event. The teams split up the articles so each person read and recorded notes about a different part. The groups then had to create a sketch that communicated the main idea of the articles without using words. We talked about how our drawings would have to be simplified and could include symbols to educate other Australians about our article subjects. Also, rocks are bumpy, so we could not include alot of detail in our drawings. The Australian rock drawings were primarily done before language existed, so the drawings were a form of language. We would be communicating with pictures instead of words (symbols!). When we moved on to start creating our large rock drawings, each group split up the jobs according to everyone's strengths. A challenge arose when the students learned they could only use chalk that was the color of the Australian rocks, sand, and dirt, because that was what they used long ago. In the end we shared our drawings with the class and they had to guess what our articles were about. If the class had some correct guesses, then we created a successful rock drawing that communicated to other Australians walking past!

Article: "Eucalyptus Leaves Laced with Gold, A Miner's Best Friend"

Article: "Spider Army on the Retreat from Wagga Wagga Floodwaters"

Article: "Killer Starfish threaten Great Barrier Reef"

Article: "Extinct 'Godzilla' platypus found in Australia"

 Article: "Why Ayers Rock Was Changed Back to Uluru"

Article: "Tasmanian Devils Spread Cancer by Biting"

Article: "Perfect storm led to Black Saturday Bushfires"

1st and 2nd Grade Australian Rock Drawings

The final destination in our travels was the county and continent of Australia. We started the project by talking about collaborative art and how it might be helpful for this project. "Well the rocks are big, so the more people we have in our groups the easier and faster it will be to finish such large drawings. We can also split up the work according to everyone's strengths. Also, we might get to work with people we usually don't get to work with and discover that we are a great team." Once we split up into teams, each group was given an article about a different Australian animal. The teams split up the articles so that one person read and recorded notes about the animal, another about the diet, and another about the habitat. The groups then had to create a sketch that included all three things. We talked about how our drawings would have to be simplified and could include symbols to educate other Australians about our animals. Rocks are bumpy, so we could not include alot of detail in our drawings. The Australian rock drawings were primarily done before language existed, so the drawings were a form of language. Our drawings would show others walking past our "rocks" what the animals were like, what they ate, and where you might find them. When we moved on to start creating our large rock drawings, each group split up the jobs according to everyone's strengths. A challenge arose when the students learned they could only use chalk that was the color of the Australian rocks, sand, and dirt, because that was what they used long ago. If a group's animal lived near the water, they had to figure out how to draw the water without blue so that it still looked like water, and not a sidewalk or street. In the end we shared our drawings with the class and they had to guess what our animals, diet, and habitats were. If the class had some correct guesses, then we created a successful rock drawing that communicated to other Australians walking past!

Animal: Dingo

Diet: Rabbits, Rats, Mice, Birds, Reptiles

Habitat: Close to Major cities

Animal: Platypus

Diet: Worms, Yabbies, Insects

Habitat: Streams and Rivers

Animal: Tasmanian Devil

Diet: Insects, Lizards, Fish, Bones

Habitat: Forests and Caves

Animal: Kangaroo Island Kangaroo

Diet: Grass, Herbs, Leaves

Habitat: Scrubland and Grassland

Animal: Saltwater Crocodile

Diet: Fish, Birds, Small Mammals

Habitat: Mangrove Swamps, River Mouths, Coastal Marshes

Animal: Koala

Diet: Eucalyptus Leaves

Habitat: Eucalyptus Trees

Animal: Broad-Shelled Long-Necked Turtle

Diet: Fish, Frogs

Habitat: Rivers and Under the Mud