Recycled Art

     This activity was all about reusing recycled material to make art.  For this project, we used crushed pop cans to create fish.  First, we painted our cans.  We were required to use at least three colors to make our fish.  I painted my can green, blue, and yellow with touches of black and white.  While our cans were drying, we all worked on an ocean mural reusing recycled bottle caps.  This mural would be in a display case along with our fish.  After the paint was dry, I added white and black dots all over my fish.  Another requirement for this project was to include at least two patterns.  My two patterns were the black dots and the lines on the fins.  Finally,  I glued on my googly eyes and my fins that I cut out of construction paper.
       An extension activity the students could do could be to find more recycled material either at home or around town and bring it to school.  With the recycled material the students brought, they could create their own work of art and write a story about their piece.  The students would be required to bring at least a bag full of recycled material.  While the students are writing, they could also include in their writing another way to recycle or reuse recycled material.        

Scratch Art Mitten

       For this project, we made our very own scratch art mitten.  To begin this project we used crayons to color on a sheet of thick paper about the size of our hand.  We were required to use at least two different colors and had to press really hard on the paper.  After coloring, we taped down our sheet of paper to some cardboard.  We used black tempera paint with a little bit of soap to paint over our colored sheet of paper.  While we were waiting for the paint to dry, we listened to the book "The Mitten" and learned about five different lines.  Then we drew a mitten and some lines on a another sheet of paper the same size as the thick paper.  Then we cut our mitten out.  After the paint was dry, we traced our mitten on the black surface to scratch off the black paint.  Then we scratch off the black paint to draw our lines on our mitten.  After we scratch off our design, we cut out our mitten.
       An extension activity for this project could be to first create two mittens and then attached a piece of yarn to connect them.  After doing that the students could write a story about where these mittens have traveled from, where they are going, and who has been wearing them.  This story could tie in with the lesson that the students are discussing in geography.  

Totem Poles

       Can you guess what animal my totem pole is?  It is a wolf!  For this activity we created our very own totem poles.  To begin the lesson, we first learned about what totem poles are and their history.  Then, we started making our own totem poles using an 8 1/2 x 12 sheet of construction paper that could be any color.  We were able to chose what animal we wanted our totem pole to be.  We then drew all the parts of the animal we chose on our construction paper.  We were required to include at least 2 3-D body parts to our animal.  I first drew on my eyes and then my eyebrows.  My 3-D body parts are my ears and my snout.  I also included arms each side of my totem pole.  Now, all of my body parts were drawn and added before I rolled up my construction paper.  Another requirement for this project was to use at least 3 different colors.  I chose the colors violet, blue, and green since I used red construction paper for my body.
       An extension activity for this project could be to have the students pair up with a partner that created a different animal totem pole and have them write a story about their totem poles.  Maybe they were friends or maybe they were enemies.  The story could whatever the students wanted but it would have to be at least a page long.

Decorative Tiles

       This decorative tile was made with air dry clay.  To begin the lesson, we first learned about the different building techniques used when working with clay such as wedging, scoring, additives and subtractives.  Some of these techniques would be used to make our decorative tiles.  The first step in making our tiles was to roll out a 4x4 piece of clay.  Then we could add whatever shapes, designs, or letters to our tiles.  I added a "splat" shape and wrote my nickname using a needle tool.  For this assignment we were required to use at least two techniques we learned about at the beginning of class.  After we made our designs on our tiles, we then got to paint them.  Another requirement was to include at least 2 colors.  I chose blue, green, and little bit of white.  Those are my favorite colors.
       An extension activity for this project could be for the students to create their own animal or plant using the leftover clay from their tile project.  This project would have to stand on its own to make it more 3-D.   Now, to incorporate this project into another subject, the students could create another tile with a number or a math sign such as a plus or equal sign.  Once the math tiles are made the students could practice their adding and subtracting skills using these tiles.