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Winter Cardinals -4th grade and Superhero Masks – 2nd grade!

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This will be my last winter art post for the season (Woo-Hoo! that’s a good thing!) Spring is just around the corner -thank god!! I’ll be posting a collection of “Springtime Art lessons” in a few days—so be on the look out for that! But in the meantime, I wanted to share some cardinals that recently wrapped up last week, and some fun superhero masks by my 2nd graders! —-I also have 4 NEW PDF hand drawn mask templates you can download and print out now in my TpT store too (more on that below).

One out of my (5) 4th grade classes finished painting their cardinals…the rest will finish up this coming week, and I’ll add more here after (as well as within the “4th grade art lessons” page).




This lesson took (4) 40 minute art classes to complete.

DAY 1: I demonstrated under the doc camera how to draw the cardinals on a sheet of 9×12” 80# white drawing paper. Students drew along with me as I drew starting with the cardinal, then the branch and snow, and then the tail feathers.
Once all of that was drawn, students added texture on the branch and then went over all their lines in sharpie.

DAY 2:

On day 2, I showed students how to color in their bird, branch and snow. We used colored pencils to color in, and I explained to press down hard while coloring in their bird red to make the color pop. For coloring in around the eye, I explained to press a little lighter, so the black wouldn’t completely blend in with the detail of the eye. They colored the beak orange, feet black, and branch with colored pencils and then added just a little bit of blue along the bottom of their snow along the branch. I explained to press hard with a blue colored pencil right where the snow meets the branch, and then gradually get lighter and lighter as you move up the snow, only to about 1/2 way. For some reason it’s not really showing in the photo in the artwork above.

DAY 3: On day 3, I demonstrated how to add shading using a black colored pencil within the bird, making sure to press harder along the edges and gradually pressing lighter and lighter, as it moves away from the edges. I also explained it’s important to overlap your lines as you do that step.

Then we outlined the bird, branch and snow with a black crayon (while pressing down hard). Doing this step helps create a barrier so that the watercolor paint won’t seep into those areas. Having pointier crayon tips (or sharpening them beforehand with a crayon sharpener) is helpful for this step as well.
Then we added some snow falling using a white crayon —making sure to press really hard as well. I reminded students even though you can’t see white on white paper – sometimes the way you hold your paper (if you tilt it just right) you can see the shiny parts from where you drew snow from the wax of the crayon on your paper. We talked about how this eventually would create a crayon-wax resist technique, (watercolors and wax don’t mix, and the paint won’t cover up the areas where you draw with crayon) when we paint the sky blue in the following art class.

DAY 4: Students used turquoise liquid watercolors (that was watered down a little) to paint their sky, revealing their snowflakes on the final day of the lesson. I like using Sax brand liquid watercolors for this lesson.

LEARNING GOALS: 

Students can create, identify and define a crayon wax-resist painting technique

Students can create value changes in their bird with shading 

Students can define the element of art “value”

Students can create, identify and define texture within their artwork 


I’ll add more student artwork here later this week once they’ve finished!

2nd Grade Superhero Masks

Link to my TpT store to download a PDF of 4 different hand drawn masks is below – $3.99 for all 4 masks

This lesson is a fun project for ALL ages! 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/art-with-mrs-filmore

This was a super fun one day lesson!! (40 minute class) *Some classes needed a day 2 to complete 

I drew four different mask shapes, each on a sheet of 9 x 12” super heavy weight tag board paper and then ran each one through the copy machine. I recommend printing these out on “super heavyweight tagboard” (or thick cardstock)

Students could design their mask anyway they wanted with pencil first and then colored in with markers, crayons or colored pencils. Once finished they cut out their mask and then folded a little bit where the eyes were and then cut a tiny slice so they could get their scissors inside and then cut out the eyes. 

Some students even decided to draw above the mask line to add other details as seen in the photos above like rabbit ears and additional details above their mask design. They were extremely creative!

To fit their mask to their face I had straps that I cut from the same super heavy weight tag board paper into 9“ x 2“ strips. Each mask got 2 strips. I helped them staple each strip end to each side of their mask first, then put the mask against their face to measure out where the straps should meet/ overlap and then stapled at that area, so it would fit snug on their head, but be able to come off easily at the same time.

Students LOOVED this fun and engaging lesson and wore them immediately after they were finished being sized. I had students asking me in the hall “Are we making masks tomorrow in Art?!!” They heard from their friends that’s what they did in art and were SO excited to make one too!

This lesson coincided with reading the book “Almost Super” within their classroom, at one of my schools. 

After students finish their masks, you could have students draw their own superheroes too, or have them write about what their superhero name would be, what powers they have, what greater good are they fighting for, where does their superhero live etc. to connect to literacy!

LEARNING GOALS 

  • Students continue to enhance their cutting skills 
  • Students can use a variety of line, shape, color, texture, and pattern to design their own unique mask 
  • Students understand that art can connect/ relate with other subjects 

Link to my TpT store to download a PDF of 4 different hand drawn masks is below – $3.99 for all 4 masks

This lesson can be a fun project for ALL ages!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/art-with-mrs-filmore

——-Next, I’ll be adding a new blog post on a collection of various springtime art lessons, as well as 5th graders “Blackout Poetry” with their blackout poetry artwork!

——I also just added more photos to my “about me /Q+A” page (under my drop down menu on the main page at the top) and a funny little story (that I just remembered) involving making music video’s with a cam corder, when I was a teenager from back in the 90’s

——Would you be interested in a YouTube video that shows how to create my “April Showers brings May Flowers” 2nd grade art lesson below? If so, please let me know by replying “YES” in the form below!
I can post my hand drawn umbrella PDF template on TpT for FREE to use for the lesson too!

Also— please let me know any other art video tutorial you’d like me to make! You can fill out the form below. The forms will not get published by the way— it’s for my eyes only. I’d love to hear from you -Thank you!

****UPDATE: Unfortunately I had to delete the forms because I’ve been getting hit with 100’s of responses a day from somebody (cyber bully??) who is only submitting random responses (basically spamming / blog spam/ web bot)

And last but not least—if you’d like to check out my art lessons on Instagram—follow along on my Instagram account at @mammalovespeaches

Thank you so much for visiting my website today!❤️ Hope you’re having a great weekend (or weekday, depending on when you’re reading this 🙂

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“Dotted Leaf Paintings” -4th Grade

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I have FREE Leaf templates/Tracers of these exact leaves (3 leaves total) for this lesson in my TpT store HERE

Details on this lesson below the photos

This is my third year teaching this lesson and it’s one of my favorites for fall. I love the contrast of the bright colors against the black paper background. 

This lesson took 6 to 7 (40 minute) art classes to complete. 

On the first day of the lesson students looked at artwork by contemporary artist Brandon Rollin as well as some Aboriginal dot paintings for inspiration. 


Students each got an 11×11” sheet of black construction paper. They then chose one of three leaf templates to trace on their black paper with pencil and then drew the leaves veins. 


From there, students used the END of a paintbrush to dip into paint starting with white all along the outside lines of their leaf then added white dots all along the inside for the leaf’s veins.

Once the white was complete, they used only warm colors to paint dots inside of the leaf. 

In between each color change, students used a wet wipe to clean the end of their paintbrush so paint colors wouldn’t mix in the tray or on their art. 

Once the inside of the leaf was finished with warm colors, they used only cool colors to dot the paint in the background starting at the edge of their leaf.

If students dripped paint where they didn’t want it, we’d wait until the next art and they could hide it by going over the dot with black sharpie. 

I love the variety on these. Some students created their designs with patterns…some color blocked sections of their leaves…some color blocked sections in their background…Beautiful results all around! 

They really enjoyed this painting process, took their time with this, and I’m very proud of their hard work and creativity! 

Btw- I bought the ice cube trays below a few years ago from Amazon and love how they have lids to keep the liquid tempera paint from drying out, and are stackable-—-A total game changer for any lessons that require paint when you’re teaching art off a cart! 


I have Leaf templates/Tracers for this lesson in my TpT store HERE

I was planning on adding a new blog post tonight on K and 1st graders new “Pumpkin’s Starry Night” paintings, but unfortunately I can’t. I was scheduled to see my students today to have them finish, but there was a special author/illustrator presentation for grades K-2 during our art times 🙁

All my other K and 1st grade classes are starting on painting tomorrow and next Monday….BUT- I will definitely post them here after they finish next Thursday 11/6/25!

Also I was going to post “1 Point Perspective Cityscapes” by 5th grade tonight, but I am honestly too wiped out. I am so excited to share these though, and will do so either tomorrow evening 10/31/25 or Saturday morning 11/1/25- So please stay tuned! Thank you for visiting my site!

Please scroll down to check out my previous post on “Mixed-Media Leaf Impressions” for 5th grade 🙂

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VICTORIAN HOUSES – 4TH GRADE

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To find out more about this lesson, and view photos of students creating their own Victorian homes, read below students finished artwork!

Please visit my TpT store for a 12 page hand drawn resource to download for using with this lesson in your classroom! Link is here

This lesson took about (6) 40 minute art classes to complete. I think absolutely worth every class though! Students took their time to carefully craft their unique house!

4th Graders learned what architecture is, learned about some of the common characteristics found within the Victorian architectural style (Gables, bay windows, fish-scale shingles, turrets, towers, front porches, gingerbread details, multiple chimneys to name a few), and then created a drawing of their own Victorian style house that included some of those elements!

We also reviewed the Elements of Art and how students would be utilizing 6 out of the 7 elements of art to draw their homes; Line, Shape, Color, Space, Texture, and Value.

Students also made the connection between art and math since we talked about acute and obtuse angles for the gables, as well as using rulers to draw any straight lines.

Please visit my TpT store for a 12 page hand drawn resource to download for using with this lesson in your classroom! Link is here

DAY 1

On the first day, I showed students a PowerPoint with photos of various Victorian homes, which pointed out these particular common elements.

Here are some of the slides I show my students from my Powerpoint.

Then I ask students to raise their hand and share what similarities they see that these two Victorian houses have.

Then I showed students a variety of Victorian house drawings students created from previous years, as well as my own examples. We also talked about how many of us noticed Victorian houses in the North Attleboro area, and how some students live in one or have relatives that do!

I asked students if they had any architects in their family, or if they knew of anyone who was one. Many students did, and it was great to hear so many fun stories about the connections they already have with architecture!

After that I demonstrated under the doc camera how to draw some of the Victorian elements. I showed them how to draw a bay window, fish scale shingles, turrets and towers, 3-D steps that lead to the front door, gables, and bricks (for chimneys or on the house).

Students then practiced drawing these elements on a double-sided worksheet. Students each received a “step-by-step” how to draw Victorian elements packet that I created to help them if needed.

DAY 2

First, I showed them what they needed to include in their drawing, and went over each item.

Then I showed them my Victorian handouts (with the descriptors) that they could use while drawing (as a reference)

and that they could use the same step-by-step how to draw sheets that they used when they did the practice sheets. I explained to not “copy” but to look at the various images for inspiration to create their own unique Victorian house and to be creative!

Then I did a demonstration drawing a Victorian house under the doc camera. I explained they could hold their paper vertically (explaining their house would be taller and less wide if they did), or horizontally (their house would be wider and less tall). I explained their house needed to be almost as large as their paper but leaving room around the edges and especially near the bottom to include the 3-D steps that would lead to their front door. I suggested to start drawing the gables first, drawing the rooflines working their way down.

I posted the goals for the drawing on the board again, and students passed out handouts, rulers and 9×12″ 80# paper and began drawing their own unique homes!

DAYS 3 – 6

Once students finished drawing their houses, they carefully colored them in using colored pencils with any colors they wanted.

I demonstrated how to color in the chimney’s bricks (or other brick details within the house) using a variety of reds, browns, white, tans, and pinks and suggested to stagger the same color just like in real chimneys. And to color any stones with neutral colors; browns, black, greys, tans and white.

CLICK Here to a link to download my FREE PRINTABLE step-by-step Victorian details drawing handouts on my Teachers Pay Teachers page as well as my own Victorian Architecture PowerPoint (which can also be printed out for students to use for reference in your classroom).

To view additional Victorian house drawings by 4th grade from previous years, click on “4th Grade Art Lessons” and scroll down.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I will be blogging about NEW art lessons later this week and next! Be sure to pop on by again real soon to check it out!

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VICTORIAN HOUSES- 4TH GRADE!

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CHECK OUT THESE AMAAAAAZING VICTORIAN HOMES!!!!

SO PROUD OF THEIR HARD WORK AND CREATIVITY!!!

Please visit my TpT store for a 12 page hand drawn PDF printable resource (added Oct. 2025) to download for using with this lesson in your classroom! Link is here

I loove how all these houses are all so unique and students really put their effort into creating them with lots of detail!!

MORE AMAZING HOUSES —STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION!……. 🙂

4th graders did such a wonderful job creating these Victorian houses! They worked so hard coming up with their own individual, unique style Victorian house!

This lesson took  (6 ) 40 minute art classes to complete. I think absolutely worth every class though! Students took their time carefully crafting their beloved houses and I wanted to give them the time!

I love incorporating a unit on Architecture!

Some of my students share that their parents work in the architecture field and I hope many of my students are inspired from this lesson and discuss their knowledge on architecture when they get home.

I wouldn’t doubt that I have a bunch of students that will someday be an architect themselves, designing amazing buildings in their future!!

 

DAY 1:

Students learned about Victorian Architecture and learned about some of the common characteristics found within the Victorian architectural style, (i.e., gables, turrets, towers, bay windows, fish-scale shingles, brick and stone details, decorative wood carved “gingerbread” details etc.) and were challenged to envision and create a drawing of their own Victorian style house that included some of these elements.

I showed students a powerpoint of various Victorian homes which pointed out these particular elements. I also showed students a variety of Victorian house drawings students created from previous years, as well as my own examples, to view for inspiration.

Students then were asked to share what similarities they noticed in a side by side viewing of two different Victorian homes on the whiteboard. These images did not include the arrows with descriptions on each house as previous slides depicted.

I wanted to see how much they remembered from viewing the previous slides and through discussion. Students always impress me when they raise their hands to share what they saw, noticed and recalled!! There’s a ton of slides (about 15??) that I go through and discuss before this point. It makes me so happy to see students so engaged!!

Students then practiced drawing these various Victorian elements on a worksheet after doing a demonstration on each.

We also reviewed the Elements of Art and how students would be utilizing 6 out of the 7 elements of art to draw their homes. Line, Shape, Color, Space, Texture, and Value!

Each student received a “step-by-step” how to draw packet (that I created) to look at, if they needed to refer to while drawing.

DAYS 2-3:

I demonstrated to students under the document camera how to begin drawing their homes. FROM THE ROOF DOWN– Starting with the rooflines for the gables. I also demonstrated again how to draw details step-by-step like the bay window, 3D stairs, fish scale shingles, bricks, stone work, gables, and turrets and towers.

I explained (as well as posted on the whiteboard) what Victorian elements/details were needed to be included in their home, but besides that, they had free rein to create their homes any way they wanted!

Students began drawing their Victorian homes on a sheet of 9×12″ 80# drawing paper.

As mentioned above, I had handouts to refer to with photos of various victorian style homes (not to copy exactly!! but to use as reference and be creative!! ), as well as step-by-step drawing packets to use as reference while they drew.

These handouts are print outs from my powerpoint I previously showed them in the last class. ****TEACHERS— I HAVE A FREE DOWNLOAD OF THIS FURTHER DOWN IN THIS BLOG POST!!! BOTH MY STEP-BY-STEP DRAWING HANDOUTS, AS WELL AS THE POWERPOINT, (WHICH ALSO CAN BE PRINTED AND STAPLED TO MAKE PACKETS)*****

Students were instructed to use a ruler to draw any straight lines (just like an architect!) within their work.

DAYS 4-6

Once finished drawing their houses, students carefully colored in their unique Victorian homes using colored pencils.

I demonstrated how to color in the chimney’s bricks (or other brick details within the house) using a variety of reds, browns, tans, and pinks and suggested to stagger the same color. Just like in real chimneys!

I also reviewed/ demonstrated that they could alter the value of the color by pressing lighter or harder (students did this in a previous lesson in the beginning of the year).

Students were also shown how to color in areas showing any stone detail. Neutral colors like: Greys, tans, dark browns, black, white, cream colors were staggered within those areas.

Students could color in the rest of their houses any way they wanted! In previous years I asked them to use a Monochromatic color scheme. BUT—since we already learned about that with their “mini- monochromatic self-portraits” (you can find that one through search section of my blog) they had the freedom to color them they way they pleased! Students were quite happy with that!!!

Students did such an incredible job creating these drawings! They worked very hard and I’m very impressed!

Teachers / educators and anyone really! CLICK Here to a link to download my own drawn FREE step-by-step Victorian detail drawing handouts on my Teachers Pay Teachers page as well as my own Victorian Architecture Powerpoint (which can be printed out to use as a packet for reference!) YAY!

I hope you find them useful and enjoy using them!!! If you choose to download and use them….. I’d love to hear from you and learn how it worked for you in your classroom!

Thank you for stopping by!! Check back VERY soon for a new blog post on…….

…..sorry…….. YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE!!! : )

 

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ANIMAL DRAWINGS – 4TH GRADE

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I had JUUuuust enough time to squeeze in one more art lesson before the last day of art for 4th graders at Roosevelt—–so they created these wonderful animal drawings!! Students at Roosevelt had 4 (40 minute) art classes to work on them.

The goal for this lesson was to draw at least 1 animal within it’s natural habitat (kids could choose their own animal to draw), and draw them either in the foreground or middle ground, with objects drawn in all 3 areas- showing an understanding of the elements of art –space, and value, as well as foreground, middle ground and background. 

I had a variety of “step-by-step” how to draw handouts on various animals (deer, sloths, pigs, horses, rabbits, foxes, owls, among others etc. ) for students to refer to, as well as packets of images of animals to refer to when drawing.

Students drew on 12×18″ drawing paper, and could draw on it vertically or horizontally.

I showed them my examples as well as students drawings from previous years on a powerpoint, and we reviewed foreground, middle ground and background. We discussed how objects in the foreground appear to be the largest, and are drawn large and along the bottom of the paper, things in the middle ground appear a bit smaller to show they are further away, and are drawn smaller and near the middle of the paper, and things in the background are the smallest to show they are the furthest away and are drawn smallest near the top of the paper—which creates the illusion of space!

After students finished drawing, they began coloring in everything with colored pencils.

Before coloring though, I went over the element of art VALUE and we talked about how when we see things in real life, objects that are CLOSEST to us, tend to look darker and have more detail and contrast than objects that are further away. Particularly things that are very far away. Those objects tend to look lighter in value, have very little detail, and appear blurry.

The goal for coloring their drawings was to color in the foreground with darker values, and show detail and texture, and students colored in the middle ground and background the colors should be lighter in value. 

I showed them photos of animals in their habitat that depicted this to help them understand better, then we reviewed how we could change the value within artwork using colored pencils. In a previous lesson on Victorian Architecture (these can be viewed under “4th grade art lessons” under the drop down menu) students learned about “value” and created a monochromatic house with colored pencils. We reviewed how to change the value by simply pressing hard while coloring the color would appear darker in value. By pressing with a lighter touch while coloring- the color would be lighter in value. Another way to change the value is to select a variety of shades of one color (say dark forest green, a medium green, and lighter lime colored green).

Students did a great job! Take a look below!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post! Check back again very soon for 5th grade Grid drawings, 2nd grade “thinking of summer” drawings, and 1st grade “dream houses”!! Plus more!!….

Thanks for checking out my blog!

 

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NEON POP OUT SELF-PORTRAITS – 4TH GRADE!

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They’re done!! (Well… most of my classes anyhow!)  I LOVE them so much! It’s a new lesson I started this year and I think it’s a keeper! Read below the pics to see how these were created!

This lesson took (4) 40 minute art classes to finish.

This lesson focuses on The Elements Of Art: (Line, Shape, and Color) and the Principles of Design: (Balance, Emphasis, Variety, Movement, Contrast and Pattern) as well as enhancing knowledge on drawing facial details and proportion.

I don’t think this self-portrait would be the same without the POP OUT 3D element! It makes it SO much more fun!

Plus, If you’ve been following my blog or Instagram account this year, you’ve probably noticed a lot more 3D artwork in the mix. I’ve made it a goal to incorporate more 3D elements in different art lessons for each grade level, since we don’t have a kiln for firing clay pieces at either school I teach in. This was definitely a fun lesson to teach and students seemed to really enjoy it!!

DAY 1:

On the first day of the lesson students drew their self-portrait large on a sheet of 12×18″ neon construction paper. Students had a choice of pink, lime, orange, yellow, or green.

I demonstrated under the document camera to start drawing the head a little bit more than halfway up the paper, and we reviewed ways to draw facial features. I also said they could draw their eyes closed or open, or winking! They were also encouraged to draw a pattern on their shirt for added detail.

Once drawn in pencil, they went over all their lines with a black sharpie to define them and make them stand out.

I absolutely LOVE the texture and movement of this student’s hair!

Check out the pattern on this student’s shirt!  Loving the detail!!!

 

DAY 2 – 3

The following art class students finished drawing and outlining if needed, then carefully cut out their self-portrait leaving a little neon color all the way around the edges.

They then traced their cut out self-portrait along the bottom of a piece of 12×18″ black construction paper, vertically with a pencil.

After that- they set the cut out one aside, and wrote positive attributes in pencil all around their traced self-portrait. We talked about VARIETY and BALANCE and to write some words larger than others and some diagonally, sideways, and straight across.

I had a printed list of adjectives that each student could refer to for suggestions if they needed it. Kids could write other things as well of course if it wasn’t on the list, as long as it was positive.

Then they went over their words with a white colored pencil, making sure to make some brighter and more bold than others. The bright white lettering adds CONTRAST against the black paper.

 

DAY 4:

On the final day, students then traced a variety of colored chalk pastels all along the traced outline on the black paper. We went over the color wheel beforehand and reviewed primary, secondary, warm, cool, complementary, and analogous.

They applied the chalk pastels in short, thick lines and then using their finger- smudged the chalk going outward and away from their outlined self-portrait to create a glowing affect.

Students washed their hands (or used baby wipes) after using the chalk pastels, then took their neon cut out self-portrait again and traced it once more but this time, onto a sheet of 12×18″ white 80# drawing paper. Then went over those pencil lines with black sharpie.

Then carefully cut that one out –leaving a bit of white paper showing all around the edges. Then glued it into place on the black paper using a glue stick.

Then later on I attached their NEON cut out to go over the white one. I originally thought it would be a good idea to hot glue strips of cut cardboard to mount between the two in order for the neon one to pop out.

HAha…. That proved to be waaaay to time consuming cutting cardboard into strips. Plus I’d have to layer more than two strips to achieve the thickness I wanted.

SOOOoooo…. scrap THAT idea!

Then I tried bending strips of cardboard (from the neon paper packaging) into an accordian fold and hot-gluing those in between the two. Like so…

That DID work….however….. it too was VERY very time consuming (and kinda hurt my hands after awhile folding back the cardboard over and over and over).

I knew it wasn’t a very good method, but went on with it anyways. I wanted to get what I could done, since I planned on working on them that afternoon, and only had those materials on hand to make the pop out portion work. I think I got through 20 pieces of artwork.

THEN…. had the idea of using SPONGES!!! I went to Dollar Tree the next day and basically bought out the store of ALL of their sponges!! They sold them in packs of two, for just a buck and I only needed 1 sponge per students art.

I also cut each one up into smaller pieces to help spread and distribute the needed pop out support. Cutting them with scissors was super easy, thank goodness!!! It went SUPER quick and worked out perfectly with the hot glue!

YAY! (insert happy dance)

TA-DA!!!

Would LOVE to hear what you all think! I hung up a bunch so far at both schools, (I have a total of (5) 4th grade classes doing this project) and will be adding everyone else’s SOON!! 🙂

To view other artwork by 4th grade from this year (and previous years) click on “4TH GRADE ART LESSONS” under the drop down menu!

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my blog! Join/Subscribe to my blog and submit your email to get up to date notifications!

Be sure to check back SOON for more amazing artwork! Take care and be kind everybody! 🙂

 

 

 

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CURRENT ART LESSONS UNDERWAY!! 1ST–5TH!

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Here’s what students are currently working on in Art class!

1st Grade: HOT AIR BALLOON COLLAGES

Students are using the Elements Of Art LINE and SHAPE to create these fun collages! These photos of student art are from last year. To learn how we are creating them and what the learning goals are click HERE. 

 

2nd Grade: BIRCH TREE LANDSCAPES

2nd Graders are learning about foreground, middle ground and background and how to create a sense of space in art for this lesson. The photos above are of student artwork from last year. Some students are finishing up their Love Monsters this Thursday and will begin this lesson after. To learn more about this lesson and how students will create this, click HERE and scroll down! 

 

*****I will be creating a YouTube video tutorial on the Birch Tree Landscape lesson soon, as well as a few “How to draw animals” videos for the lesson! Stay tuned!!!***** 

 

 

 

3rd Grade: COMPLEMENTARY CREATURE PRINTS

3rd graders will start this lesson soon once the 3D Winter Mugs are finished. To learn more on how these prints were created and what the learning goals are for the lesson, click HERE and scroll down! 

I have a YouTube tutorial on this lesson as well! Click under the main menu on “YouTube Tutorials” and view my video there! 

 

4th Grade: ENLARGED FLOWER DRAWINGS 

4th graders are currently working on this lesson inspired by the artist Georgia O’Keeffe! Photos above are by 4th graders from last year. Students enlarge a section of a flower while observing photos, using oil pastels. I LOVE this lesson and how we abstract the flower by zooming in and cropping just a section of a flower! 

To learn more about this lesson and learn how students will create these beauties, click HERE and scroll down! 

 

5th Grade: FALLING FOR FORESHORTENING 

5th Graders are currently working on these fun perspective drawings! These photos above are by 5th graders from last year and previous years. They learn about the type of perspective “foreshortening”, and draw the person’s expression to match what they are falling into, add details to the hands and feet and create a background using colored pencils. To learn more on this lesson, and view additional drawings click HERE and scroll down! 

 

SPECIAL EDUCATION: MIXED MEDIA FLOWER AND BUGS 

Students created these adorable flowers and bugs using cut paper and cupcake liners! Kids glued green construction paper for the grass and flowers stem and leaves, then painted ovals and/or circles on separate paper with tempera paint to create the bugs. Then they painted a cut paper plate for the large flower head with liquid tempera paint.

On day 2, they glued on their paper plate flower head, then a cupcake liner for the center. They then drew legs for their bugs with marker, cut out the bugs and added them to their flower picture with google eyes!

Once finished, I showed them how to draw flowers in grass and they colored in crayon!

Be sure to check out the previous post on “PULLED STRING ART” my special education classes created below!! They came out so beautiful!! 

To view additional artwork by my special education classes, click HERE! 

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AMAZING ART IN THE WORKS! Series #2!

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Parents and Students-

To give you a sneak peek into what kids will be creating in art, after returning from winter break, here it is! …

 

Everyone at ROOSEVELT Elementary will finish up their previous lesson before the break, (if needed), then start the Square 1 Art fundraiser drawings!

Then will continue onto the following lessons as AMVET  (read below).

 

BTW–I have only received the Square 1 Art box for Roosevelt so far.  Amvet Elementary will start on them once they arrive! 

 

For students at AMVET ELEMENTARY….

 

1st Grade:

Mixing Primary colors to create Secondary colors 

 

This is a 1 day lesson. Then in the following class, students will be creating “Mondrian Collages” using primary colors.

 

 

2nd Grade:

Finish Monet Inspired 3-D Water Lilies (2M and 2D) 

 

If finished- “Catching Snowflakes” portraits are up next!

 

 

3rd Grade: 

Finish “Self-Portraits with Personal Symbols” oil pastel drawings

 

 

THEN….. Create a “3-D Winter Mug”!!

(**PHOTO CREDIT OF 3-D WINTER MUGS ABOVE AND BELOW FROM MELANIE LABONTE-POIRER —VIA PINTEREST**)

This will be a new art lesson I’m trying out this year! I don’t have a teacher example of my own or students art to post yet– I’m super excited to try it though, and can’t wait to show my 3rd graders!!!! So fun!

 

 

4th Grade:

Finish “Victorian Houses” 

 

 

Then, create “Wayne Thiebaud inspired Mixed-Media Donuts!”

Donuts Inspired by the amazingly talented Mrs. Cassie Stephens! Thanks Cassie! 

Did I mention the sprinkles are created using three-dimensional puffy paint!?! This is one of my favorite lessons!!

 

 

5th Grade:

5th Graders will finish their “3-D OP Art Cone Drawings” if needed

Then….

Will start “Falling For Foreshortening” drawings!

 

 

 

Special Education will start a fun “Mixed-Media Sheep collage”

(photo above by “blps_art” via Instagram) 

*This will be a new lesson I’m incorporating, and do not have a teacher example or students examples yet– Can’t wait to try it out!!  How adorable are these bubble wrap sheep!! 

 

To view more art lessons by grade level, click on the grade level under the drop down menu! 

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

 

 

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VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE DRAWINGS! 4TH GRADE

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4th Graders learned what architecture is, learned about some of the common characteristics found within the Victorian architectural style, and then created a drawing of their own Victorian style house that included those elements!

Students did a great job creating their own houses and I LOVE how unique each one is!

Visit my TpT store HEREHERE to download my 12 page hand drawn resource packet on this lesson to use in your classroom or at home! 

 

 

 

This student just needs to finish coloring in 1 chimney!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearly finished and doing an amazing job!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Learn more about this lesson, lesson’s goals and see additional Victorian houses, Click HERE! 

Also—ART EDUCATORS— FREE powerpoint lesson and step-by-step drawing sheets for this lesson, available to download and print HERE 

 

 

 

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AMAZING ART IN THE WORKS!! Series #1!

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Since ALL my students are currently working on their next lesson– and– it will be a few weeks until I post any new finished artwork, I thought I’d share what kids are all currently working on!! Starting with 5th….

 

5th Grade– 3D OP ART paper cone drawings!  

(The pic above is my teacher example)

5th graders are currently learning about OP Art and looked at artwork by OP artists Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley. They are drawing 3D paper cones using black sharpie, then will learn about the element of art value, and will add white colored pencil for highlights and black colored pencil for shading.

This lesson is going to be a great introduction to creating subtle value changes and will scaffold nicely into their grid drawing lesson later on in the year (see under 5th grade art lessons in the menu to check their AHH-maaazing grid drawings!!!!!)

I’m SOO excited about this lesson, and can’t wait to see their finished masterpieces!

I will be adding a step by step video tutorial on this process when they complete this lesson!  Stay tuned!…

Here’s some pics of my 5th graders working hard on their drawings!

 

 

 

 

 

 

4th Grade– Victorian Architecture! 

(artwork below by my 4th grade students from previous years)

 

 

 

 

Students are currently learning about architecture and the key elements that create Victorian style architecture! Students are also incorporating they’re math skills using rulers to create acute or obtuse angles for their gables, and various geometric shapes for their house! Students will learn about monochromatic color schemes and color in their Victorian homes with colored pencils.

I can’t wait to see all the amazing houses students will create!

To learn more about this lesson and view students Victorian house drawings from previous years- click on the main menu and select 4th grade art lessons and scroll down! 

 

3rd Grade– Self-portraits with personal symbols! 

(artwork below by my 3rd grade students from previous years)

 

 

Students learn about the artist Frida Kahlo, her self-portrait paintings, and what a symbol means. They’ll also learn how to draw facial features and learn blending techniques using oil pastels to create and blend colors together that best match their unique skin tone!

To view students artwork from previous years and learn more about this lesson, click on 3rd grade art lessons under the main menu and scroll down! 

 

2nd Grade– 3D Water Lily inspired by Claude Monet!

 

 

 

(Photos above are of my teacher examples)

Students are currently learning about the artist Claude Monet and Impressionism. Students will learn the term mixed-media and create a 3D flower out of painted paper, felt, tagboard, and tissue paper!

I’m super excited about this new lesson I’m integrating into 2nd grade!!  Kids have begun the painting process for this lesson at Amvet and will create the lily pad next! I can’t wait to see their beautiful results!!

I will be creating a step-by-step video tutorial on this lesson after they finish and will post it on my blog soon! Stay tuned!!….

 

1st Grade– Not So Scary Scarecrow Collage! 

(artwork below is by students from previous years)

 

 

 

Students are learning what a landscape is and looked at landscape paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Grant Wood, and David Hockney for inspiration. Students used a variety of line to create details in their own landscapes and learn what the term collage is when they add their scarecrows!

(To view Not so scary scarecrow collages from previous years and learn more about this lesson, click on 1st Grade art lessons under the menu and scroll down!)

Thank you for visiting my blog!! I’d love to hear any feedback you might have!

Best,

Mollie

 

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