Chinese Landscape Scroll Paintings for 3rd Grade

This 3rd grade lesson was related to the Chinese scroll paintings.  I have taught this lovely project for several years and I know I saw a version of it online when I first started teaching it.  I did some internet digging and this awesome scroll project from Oodles of Art looks like it might have been where I saw it.

The students studied Asia in their classroom and we learned a little about Chinese art through a video:  Oriental Art- Chinese Paintings and Art of Japan.

Break the project up into steps for clearer understanding. Demonstrate one step and then let the kids do that step.

I tend to pace my classes so I demonstrate one portion and then let the kids go to work.  When several kids finish that step, I call everyone back to the demonstration table to show them one or two more steps.  Everyone has their own way of teaching, of course, but that is what works best for me.

1.  I led the students through steps for how to set up a landscape painting.  We drew our images lightly with pencil first.

2. Then, I showed them how to create shadows on mountains.

3.  The next step was to paint the sky.  Don’t be afraid to use colors like purple or pink!  I showed them a shorter version of my cloud painting demo. 

4.  I then demonstrated the grass, trees and water.  Fan brushes are a must!  They are excellent for creating texture in the clouds, grass and trees.  Flowers can be added too.

When the painting is dry it is time to assemble the scroll.

Dowel rods were hot glued to paper and rolled up.  (This was a great task for my older student helpers.)  Paper should be pre-cut to a long rectangular size.  The watercolor paper should be the same shape, but slightly smaller.  Pre-cut origami paper for the borders.

Glue the origami paper down first and then glue your picture on top.  If edges of your watercolor paper peel up, use double-stick tape to hold them down.