The 1st-4th grade
students just finished up a fantastic quarter of Art. I presented challenging projects for each grade
that required the students to design a new creature based on a mixture of two
different things. For example, 1st grade had to draw a fruit mixed with an animal. Next,
the students had to draw the environment in which their “fruital” lived
in as well as illustrate what it is doing in that particular environment
(swimming, eating, running, hunting). To finish up the project, students
had to carefully color their artwork using rich bold colors.
Creativity, imagination, craftsmanship and quality were emphasized.
In addition to the new creation projects, 1st graders created a secret
code alphabet artwork which involved writing the alphabet one letter on top of
another. The further along they overlapped the letters, the more the
secret code developed. After a while, the letters were
unrecognizable. Students then filled in the shapes created by the overlapping
lines with markers to create a balanced color design. Students were
challenged to ask others (parents and friends) to see if they knew the secret
code. Emphasis was given to craftsmanship, neatness, penmanship, borders,
spatial relationships, vertical horizontal and diagonal lines, and color.
To finish up the quarter, I
strengthened the 2nd
and 3rd graders’
drawing skills by walking them through step by step instructions on how to draw animals and insects.
Mr. Ransom
1st-4th Grade Art Teacher
