Last week was Halloween and in some Spanish cultures, that means Dia de Los Muertos! Dia de Los Muertos, or, The Day of the Dead, is a happy holiday which celebrates the passing of friends and family with yellow flowers, sugar skulls and remembering the dead with their favourite food and drink.
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I cannot believe that it's almost christmas already!!! So much has happened in art these past weeks.
Grade 2 Panda has been learning about critiquing their art. We've looked at what makes a good piece of artwork and how to make our artwork better. We've also been making sure that we make our artwork the best it can be for each class. It's been such a good learning experience for all of the grade 2 pandas! Grade 3 has finished their onomatopoeia words (think of words like bam!, crash, plop and splash). We filled out a rubric yesterday and then we started on art journaling. Art journaling is just like regular journaling with words, except this time you use pictures, drawings, and extra materials as well. You can make it as complicated or as simple as you want-it's up to you! Grade 4 has also been learning about art journaling. We have done an art journaling page about winter, and/or what the students want for christmas. As some students don't celebrate christmas, we also have winter!!! We've also done Gallery Walk Day. One this day, we pretend that the classroom is an art gallery, and we walk and talk about the artwork we see around the classroom. They really like doing this and it's good for the children to talk about their artwork. Grades 5, 6 and 7 has been learning how to sew! I found loads of felt in my classroom, so I decided that grades 5, 6 and 7 are going to make electronics cases! They are really excited about making these (hopefully they will be finished in time for christmas :D) and I have never heard the students so quiet while they are concentrating on their sewing stitches. However, they are getting on really well and are coming up with great ideas to embroider on the back. Fingers crossed I can get some good photos of them this week!! Both grades four and five learnt about one point persepctive. They practised drawing it out and then did it on their own with big watercolour paper. Then, we used permanent markers to trace our lines and finally watercolour paints to paint it all! Students made trees on one side and then buildings on the other, with the middle either being a river or a road. They did SUCH a great job!!!
Both grades four learnt about the Day of the Dead. We made small "sugar skulls" out of salt dough (the sugar wouldn't stay together!) and we got to paint them in whatever colours we wanted. The children loved working with the salt dough and creating a skull.
Grade four is learning about micro-organisms in their science class. I thought it would be cool to make our own micro-organism and design what it would look like under a microscope! We looked at some photos of micro-organisms taken from microscopes and were amazed at all the different colours we saw! Students then had to sketch out their micro-organism. When they decided on a share and colour scheme, students could then draw it and colour with oil pastel, and finally use the watercolour paints to add a background. They had such a good time coming up with ideas as to what their micro-organism could do!
Fourth grade learnt about Op Art last week. When something plays tricks on your eyes it is called an Optical Illusion…Op Art is artwork that plays tricks on our eyes. Students looked at pictures of famous Op Art and many different Op artists. We talking about adding value by shading and then they tried to make some of their own!
Students today worked in theirAboriginal dot paintings from Australia. They painted a background last week and this week they are making changes and adding dots to their paintings. They are really coming along nicely, even though adding the dots is tedious! Good work fourth grade!!!
Last week students got into all sorts of types of art!
Primary reception and first grade explored more shapes and colors by reading the book, "There was an Old Monster". Students then made their own monsters by cutting shapes out of colored paper and adding small details with crayons. Students loved coming up with stories about their monsters and especially what their monster can eat! Second grade learnt about Greek art, specifically Greek vases. Students got a chance to dye their paper with tea to make the base colours of the vase. Then students had a look at the different types of activities that Greek people partook in, and thought of the everyday things they do here in Shanghai. Students then chose an activity that they like to do everyday, and drew it in the center of their vase. Finally, students outlined their designs and activities with black markers and got to choose a colour paper for their border. The third graders are learning about Egyptian mummies and got to make their own large sarcophagus. Students learnt about hieroglyphs and made their own secret alphabet just like the Egyptians had. They made a short story that will be put on their sarcophagus when it is finished. Students learnt about the decorations on the front of the sarcophagus including the importance of the head dress, collar, and the animals that Egyptians adored. The fourth grade students are learning about Aboriginal art. They are making dot paintings like the art of central Australia. Students are using the symbols commonly used in Aboriginal art to make their own stories. Students are then painting them using earth colors, and then adding dots just as they have seen in the pictures of Aboriginal art. Fifth graders are learning about Chuck Close and making paintings in the style of Chuck Close. Students had to first make a grid, and then draw their image onto the grid using precision. Now, students are painting their projects in the style of Chuck Close. They are really coming along great! Patience is the key. Sixth graders have just finished up learning about Gothic architecture and gargoyles, corresponding with their English class. Students had to make the shape of their gargoyles out of tissue paper tolls, paper towels, packing tape, and scissors. Then, they paper mached the whole thing, and then painted them in the colours they saw on the tops of the buildings. Will post photos of student work on artsonia and students working on their projects here soon! -Ms. Tory :] |