A VISUAL LESSON STORY PART 2: Let's get MOVING

I love to start the year off with a lesson about line. 

I saw this awesome idea on pinterest and put my own spin on it.

Here is a PICTURE STORY of my LET'S GET MOVING lesson.

DAY 1: Make TINTS and SHADES of your favorite color.

DAY 2: LINES IN MOTION. 

How many lines can you make? 

How many tints and shades can you make of your favorite color?

DAY 3: ACTION POSES. . . Gesture drawing our classmates. 

One student poses in an "action" pose while the class draws them with simple stick figures. 

We cut our action figures out of black paper. . . and

 VOILA!

What we're listening to: 

Okay and my new teaching tool is a mix cd. It has totally squashed the incessant talking and replaced it with kids humming along in their cute kid voices. I turn on their favorite songs really quiet and they have to be silent to hear it. You'd think playing this song it would get louder, but to my surprise the opposite happened; everyone got quiet, stayed quiet; it works magic.  Finally some reprieve from the non stop chatter that I'm totally not used to after summer vacation!

LINES, LINES, LINES

It's the end of the school year and I find myself wanting to review the elements of art before graduating my Kindergarteners to first grade. I drew lines on manilla paper before students came to class. We identified these lines (most of my students are E.L.L. and special education) but I can imagine finding these lines in a painting with a high level class. Next students were asked to make these lines with CLAY. Most made coils. . . 

Some students broke their clay into pieces and placed it on the lines. . . 

Then I asked the students to make their lines come OFF the page.

Finally the art mentors (5th graders) helped with clean up. Wedging the clay back together and putting it in a plastic bag with a wet sponge keeps the clay pliable for our next project.