A Room 4 Art - Website for Art Classes with Miss K. at Arnold Mireles Academy, Chicago Public Schools

- 2nd to 3rd Grade Gallery -

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Second Grade - Auto Designs

Our second lesson on things artists make that we use and our first group project, each artist began by sketching many ideas for brand-new car designs. After forming groups, they looked over and discussed each other’s drawings until one was chosen to build.

The basic form was made by taping, then hot gluing "clean garbage" and painting the body with acrylic paint. Now we are adding all of the details and preparing a short commercial to present each design to the class!

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Second Grade - Playground / Park Designs

From using colláge as a frame, we next learned how to alter paper to make a 3-D sculpture. After practicing the: Arch - Zigzag - Curl - Fringe techniques, the students created their own tricks and added details to create a space for play.

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Second Grade - Rousseau Rainforests

We learned about the French artist, Henri Rousseau - who never went to an actual jungle, but painted many pictures of them! We began our own by making sketches from rainforest resources/photos.

These were used to make a large drawing on light blue paper, which we painted first with Tints and Shades of green and brown. Next, we added additional colors then built a frame for them - decorated with colláge and drawn elements.

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Second Grade - All About TREES

We began by making a small, simple sketchbook, then used it to do some drawings of trees, outdoors. We picked a favorite to enlarge on gray paper using a China Marking Pencil [which makes very dark lines - no eraser!].

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Then we learned a new process: Monoprinting. Looking at their drawings, students painted into a marked-off area of the tabletop, then drew into it. Then, they pressed another sheet of paper on top, transferring the paint onto it.

Chalks were used to add UNreal colors - and we learned the difference between Warm and Cool colors.

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Third Grade - Clay Pendants

Next we sketched ideas for a usable artwork - a necklace - after discussing what symbols were. I asked each artist to either use a symbol, or create their own.

Once they chose a favorite, we practiced using modeling clay: creating the form then either adding more clay or carving into it to make a pattern. Final pieces were made with air-dry clay, and painted with watercolors and white tempera cakes. We are finishing-up and will be taking home our pieces soon!

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Third Grade - Bookcovers : "Tar Beach"

I began this lesson by reading the book, "Tar Beach", which was written by American artist, Faith Ringgold. Using thin cardboard, newsprint papers and yarn, we made a simple notebook with a blank cover. We discussed where we’d fly to, if we could and practiced drawing ourselves flying and a landscape of our destination.

Every artist chose what media to use for colors - colored pencils, chalks, markers, etc. & after adding text to narrate it, our last step was adding fabric pieces. [So our bookcovers look like one of Faith’s "story quilts":

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Third Grade - Finishing DRAGONS

At the end of the last school year [June 2010] we had started a mixed media project - creating out own mythical dragon drawing, in any size. The group voted to continue/finish these when we returned in August:

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• « You can tell from the photos just how BIG some artists chose to go!
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Cross-Categorical Class: Primary - Clay Bead Necklaces

This group has been divided into 2. Our first project in this new class was to create beads - first, using modeling clay and tools for adding patterns/textures, then with air-drying clay. We painted them and combined them with other beads to create a necklace.

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• J. preferred to make a headband!
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Cross-Categorical Class: Primary - Valentine’s Day Cards

For our first 2-D project of the year, we are making cards. We began by practicing how to make stencils from thin cardboard and creating several for everyone to use. After printing the cards and allowing them to dry, we are adding ‘special touches’ with a variety of things: metallic pens, ribbon, etc.

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Cross-Categorical Class: Primary - Chair Designs

For our first group project EVER, we all planned unique ideas for a chair, formed our teams and chose one to build. Miss K. helped each group realize their ideas by recommending processes they could use.

Everyone presented their work to the class and fielded questions from the audience, also:

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Cross-Categorical Class: Primary - Finishing MASKS

Like the 2nd grade class, this group voted to continue something we had begun 2 months before...our masks! After sketching ideas and making the basic shape of a favorite from thin cardboard, we made parts 3-D with newspaper and masking tape and put a layer of plaster strips on top for strength.

After painting them, we added finishing touches with any 3-D media...then got them ready to wear or hang.

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