Squash and Stretch Animations

Third graders made these animations. Each student designed a character and then drew squashed and stretched versions of the same drawings. When we photographed the drawings in the right sequence it gave the drawings the illusion of movement.

Greek Vases

Fourth grade students were very eager to share their prior knowledge about Ancient Greek culture when we did this lesson centered on Greek vases. Some students had Greek heritage and were excited to share family traditions, some students shared stories from the Percy Jackson series, some students where history buffs that loved to share their knowledge. It was great to hear the students voice their connections with ancient art. We took that excitement and dove right into making our own vases.

First we used oil pastels to create a colorful design. This was covered with a soapy India ink solution. 

The next step was to create designs and images by scratching away the India ink to show the color underneath. The Ancient Greek vases we looked at were presented as trophies to the victors of the Panathenaic games so some students scratched images of sports and activities in which they were champs while other students focused on making Greek inspired patterns. 

The final step was to create a pedestal in the style of a Greek column. We analyzed Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns so that the students could create an informed version of their own. This was a fun time. I really appreciate the energy my students brought to the lesson. Way to go 4th graders!

The first graders expressed their wild side to create these pinch pot monsters. They loved squeezing the clay and exercising their fine motor skills. It helped us learn about using shape and form to create expressive facial features too. First we patted our clay into a sphere which was then pinched into a pot. The students manipulated the pinch pot form to create an expressive mouth. Some students made their mouth look happy while others made it look sad, surprised, or angry. They then added smaller forms for eyes, ears, tongues, horns, and tails. We finished our monsters off with some color glaze.