Chalk Roosters

Fifth graders created roosters using chalk! Chalk is a medium that is often loved or disliked.  It has a messy side which lends itself well to blending but can also be intimidating. The kids did a great job with this rarely used medium!

We talked a lot about texture for this project.  We started by creating a smooth texture by rubbing and blending the chalk dust and added a rougher feathered texture on top of the smooth texture.

Students learned the art room's rules for using chalk:

- No blowing chalk

- No dust piles (these are caused by pushing too hard... if one did form the students learned to rub them in right away!)

Students also got to use a kneadable eraser to pick up fingerprints and smudges in the background! 

Learning Goals: I can...

- Use chalk to create different textures

- Use a kneadable eraser

- Explain the chalk rules

Adobe Chalk Landscapes

Fourth graders created these colorful glue and chalk landscapes.  We learned about the Hopi Native Americans through a PowerPoint and by reading some of this awesome book: "If you lived with the Hopi." 

The current elementary curriculum in our schools seems to focus on Native Americans in the Michigan area so kids usually do not know about some of the other famous tribes!  This was a great chance to get a feel for how other tribes are different. Again, I can't say enough good things about this book!

Chalk is not a medium (material) that we use regularly so this was a project that involved new experiences for many students.  Before we started each day we reviewed my two art rules for good craftsmanship using chalk: 

1. Don't blow the chalk (we avoided a lot of coughing and mess). 

2. No chalk piles (I explain that these are created when students press too hard and that when they happen students should stop immediately and rub the pile into the paper.  This helps prevent colors from falling all over into unwanted places).

We blended using our fingers and erased out with kneadable erasers.  Kneadable erasers were a new thing for most of the kids. I got lots of questions about where these could be bought.  Hobby Lobby is a great place to get an interesting stocking stuffer like this if you are a parent of one of these kids! 

 We also talked about analogous colors (colors that are alongside each other on the color wheel, neighbors) and how well they blend together.

Learning Goals: I can...

- Tell about the Hopi and their Adobe houses

- Pencil lightly

- Draw with glue

- List the 2 chalk rules

- Use chalk to blend colors

- Explain analogous colors

Chalk Owls

This week fifth graders pulled out the chalk and had a hoot!  Chalk can be messy but it sure does blend well!  We talked about how to use chalk.  The kids did a great job of avoiding piles of chalk dust! We used blending techniques, highlights and shadows to make our owls look more 3D.  It was great fun to see these little owls coming to life! Great work 5th graders!

Learning Goals: I can...
- explain what a medium is (our medium for this project was chalk!)
- use chalk effectively
- Create different textures

Fruit Still-Life Collage

Second graders worked on learning a variety of concepts during this still-life project.

Learning Goals: The learner will...
- use primary colors to make secondary colors
- create a collage
- explain concepts such as, still-life, collage, and overlap
- use chalk to show highlights

The fist day of this project was spent creating special collage paper.  We reviewed ROY G. BIV and color order.  We also talked about primary and secondary colors.  Each table mixed to make their own secondary colors and then painted them on paper.

Next we cut and glued our fruit to create a collage still-life of a fruit basket. The final touches involved using chalk to add highlights which made our fruit look more 3D!