Native American Plaster Mask art lesson

 5th Grade Art Lesson 

Plaster Masks

My 5th graders viewed Cherokee artists Allen Long, Billy Welch and John Henry's masks. We discussed the many materials used and the design elements of the art. Students then sketched out ideas. This took one 50 minute class period. 

 On day two of the lesson students built their mask. We used plastic face molds, water and plaster strips (Plasti-r-craft brand). For around 80 students we used approximately 3/4 of the box. They had to apply at least three layers. We covered the tables with their paint mats and I had paper towels at each table so they could wipe their hands quickly.  Each time they reached into the bin with the strips they had to wipe their hands so they didn't get the dry ones wet. They did great!  Before class, I cut all the strips on the paper cutter. Yes it was messy! Most of the students enjoyed this part. It was new and exciting! Students could add a plaster strip rim around their mask to have something to glue feathers on or other embellishments later. 

The masks took a couple days to dry. Since my students come once a week this was perfect. 

On day three of the lesson students painted their masks. On my demonstration mask I used tempera paint but it flaked off. So, I had my students use acrylic paint which worked out great. Just warn your students that it is hard to get off your clothes and to wear an apron. 

I purchased these little fine tip bottles so students could draw with the paint. They loved them! They just took me a while to fill up! 

On day 4, students added feathers, shells, beads and yarn. I bought low temperature glue guns and I monitored those who were confident in using them. I also had Elmer's All Purpose Glue All that worked fine as well. They had so much fun and they turned out great! I couldn't have done this project without the generous grant I received from the Education Foundation of Caldwell County. Thank you! 

4th grade radial symmetry snowflake art lesson

 4th Grade Snowflake paintings

This lesson comes from Leah Newton. Just click on the link to see the original idea. 

We reviewed the term radial symmetry and discussed how snowflakes were created. Youtube has some great kid videos on how they are created. 

I gave the 4th graders choices of colors. They glued an 8" x 8" , a 10" x 10" and a 12" x 12" together. On the 8" x 8" they folded it into fours and then drew a snowflake design. Using tempera paint they painted the snowflake with their choice of white, purple or blue (they could mix these as well). Students could also use a Q-tip to paint dots around their design as well. 

If you want to see the video of me teaching it click on the link here 

https://youtu.be/qWKOOtWfxAQ

This student decided to outline her snowflake with a black marker. 

They had so much fun creating these! 

5th Grade Christmas ornament painting art lesson

 5th Grade Christmas ornament watercolor painting

I found this idea from the  Tiny Art Room blog.  She said she found it on Pinterest so I'm not sure who thought up this great lesson but here is how I taught it. 

I began the lesson by talking about still lifes and showing examples of Van Gogh's sunflowers. We discussed the difference between still lifes, portraits and landscapes.

Students were given three different circles to trace. They were to overlap them and then add shadows and a highlight. I did a quick lesson on shadows and lights for this part with the kiddos. 

If you want to see how I taught this here is the link. Just copy and paste it in your browser. 

https://youtu.be/UxcyyENu2S4 

          I would number each circle so students make sure they have one of each shape. 

 Students drew hangers and erased lines to make the ornaments appear they overlap. This took one 50 minute class period. 

The next step was to outline all the lines with a black crayon and color the highlights with a white crayon. My students complained that they needed the crayon to have a finer tip. They probably could have used a black fine tip marker but it wouldn't have had the same effect with the watercolors. 

They still turned out nice! The last step was to paint the ornaments with watercolors. If they dripped paint onto their background then they were encouraged to come up with how to mask it. Have a look!