fifth grade Archives - Page 2 of 8 - Art is Basic

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Whimsical Landscapes (Justin Vining artist study)

A colorful abstract drawing featuring a mix of landscapes, cityscapes, and whimsical elements like waves and a rocket, inspired by Justin Vining's artist study.

I love this lesson! I teach about contemporary artist Justin Vining and the kids explore the qualities of watercolor pencils to create their own whimsical landscapes. You can see artwork from another year at this blog post. You can read my interview with Justin Vining here. I even got this lesson published in a magazine! Here are some of my 4th/5th grade students’ artworks from the end of last year. When teaching this lesson, I show the students some YouTube … Read more… →

Getting to Know You Activity: Art History Folded Petals

By Marcia Beckett | August 22, 2018 - 9:52 am |July 5, 2024 fifth grade, first days of school, fourth grade, third grade

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Flower-shaped activity chart with art tasks, including cartoon, signature design, draw a scene, and recreation of famous works. Great for integrating Art History lessons or as a fun "Getting to Know You" project with its folded petals design.

Art History Folded Petal– Getting to Know You Activity This is a fun and educational “Getting to Know You” activity I did with some classes last year. I have these art history folded petal templates in my shop. On one side are artworks from art history with a little prompt. For example, Dog Lying in the Snow, by Franz Marc. The prompt is “Draw a favorite animal. On the reverse side of the folded petals, the students draw … Read more… →

Children’s Mural at Church about the Beatitudes

By Marcia Beckett | June 18, 2018 - 11:22 am |July 5, 2024 collaborative artwork, fifth grade, fourth grade, mural, painting

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A colorful illustration of people around a campfire with "Pure of Heart, Humble" written at the bottom.

I realized I never posted pictures of our finished mural at church. I’ve been so busy with end-of-the-year stuff for school. I worked on this mural all year with the 4th/5th grade Sunday School class. It is 4 ft x 8ft. These were the best kids to work with! They had great ideas, were mature and got along so well! The process was a long one, with a few mistakes along the way. We started by getting plywood for our … Read more… →

Fairy Houses and Gnome Homes- Drawings & Sculptures

By Marcia Beckett | April 18, 2018 - 8:05 pm |July 5, 2024 drawing, fifth grade, fourth grade, recycled art, sculpture

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Illustrations: 'Fairy Houses' text with a mushroom house, flower tower, and a fairy with long hair and colorful dress.

What could be more fun than fairy houses and gnome homes? I don’t know, but let me know if you find out! I’ve discovered that kids love 1) Open-ended projects 2) Getting to choose from a huge pile of random, colorful materials 3) Miniature things 4) Using their imagination. This project is a winner for all of these reasons. I saw a question on an art teacher Facebook group which reminded me of this project my 4th/5th grade students did … Read more… →

Egyptian Pyramid STEAM Lesson: Art Ed Blogger’s Network

By Marcia Beckett | March 13, 2018 - 6:38 am |July 5, 2024 Art Ed Blogger's Network, clay, fifth grade, fourth grade, sculpture, social studies

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Egyptian Pyramid STEAM Lesson: Art Ed Blogger’s Network

How does ART fit into STEM? STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math This month’s Art Ed Blogger’s Network topic is STEAM. How do art teachers approach STEAM in the classroom? Should art teachers embrace STEAM? There are many different opinions on STEAM. Personally, I like to bring in different subjects to the art room. I think it’s great that so many of our art projects involve other disciplines. However, I also think art for arts sake is important too. … Read more… →

In Case You Missed It: Frank Stella Inspired Children’s Art Project

By Marcia Beckett | January 28, 2018 - 7:56 pm |July 5, 2024 artists, contemporary artists, drawing, fifth grade, fourth grade

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Abstract artwork featuring intertwined red ribbons and geometric shapes on a dark background framed with a colorful border.

Two and a half years ago I posted this lesson about using Frank Stella’s artwork as inspiration for children’s drawings. I love Frank Stella’s work. After visiting an art museum and seeing an exhibit of the progression of his style, I was hooked. It is so fascinating and there is a lot to look at. The sheer size of these prints are stunning. In case you haven’t figure out by now, my favorite style of art is BUSY, abstract, super … Read more… →

All About Me Foldable Explosion Books

By Marcia Beckett | October 17, 2017 - 8:36 pm |July 29, 2024 books, collage, drawing, fifth grade, fourth grade, Teachers Pay Teachers

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Hand holding a colorful, foldable squash book.

One of the first projects my 4th/5th grade students created this year were personal “About Me” folded squash books. The kids were introduced to a simple foldable bookmaking technique and then they personalized them with drawings and collages about themselves. Each section of the book had a prompt to get them started. I showed them a video demonstration of how to assemble the book and I provided square templates printed on card stock. Both the video, templates and instructions are … Read more… →

Toothpaste Batik on Fabric

By Marcia Beckett | September 8, 2017 - 9:38 pm |July 5, 2024 animals, fabric, fifth grade, fourth grade, painting

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A child's drawing of a unicorn with a pink mane and horn stands under a night sky with stars and a crescent moon, capturing the scene with the intricate detail of batik art.

My creative and wonderful blogging friend, Phyl, has posted several times about her toothpaste batik process. I have admired the results for years and decided to try it last year for our Wild about the Arts Fine Arts Night. I was hesitant to try because of the logistics. It was not a quick and easy project, but I loved the process and I loved that it was so “different” than other things my students have experienced. These were made with 4th … Read more… →

Designer Tree Houses

By Marcia Beckett | April 29, 2017 - 10:45 am |July 5, 2024 drawing, fifth grade, fourth grade, substitute lessons, Teachers Pay Teachers, Uncategorized

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Designer treehouse with a small cat looking out of a window, rainbow scales, and a bubblegum pink background.

Hi! One day when I was sick I left a sub lesson plan for my students to design their own tree houses. I printed out examples of tree house drawings for inspiration, like these here and here. There is also this resource by Art Sub Lessons which has many pictures of real tree houses for inspiration. I did not leave a lot of directions or specific requirements, but encouraged creative thinking and unusual designs. Here are some of our whimsical pictures. I think … Read more… →

Medieval Paper Mache Figures

By Marcia Beckett | April 18, 2017 - 11:40 am |July 5, 2024 fifth grade, paper mache, sculpture, sixth grade, social studies

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Two medieval paper mache knights, one on a horse with a spear and shield, the other standing with a sword, facing each other.

This is a project from the archives. I used to teach a combined 5th/6th grade class until this year. Every year, we made medieval paper mache figures. The 5/6s studied the Medieval period in their social studies class. We used newspaper and foil to create the armature of these figures. Then, we applied paper mache over the body. Model magic or air dry clay was used to make the heads. Model magic actually works the best, in my opinion. Clothes, … Read more… →

Mixed Media Collages by Kids – Inspired by Sabrina Ward Harrison

By Marcia Beckett | March 22, 2017 - 10:33 am |July 5, 2024 abstract, artists, collage, fabric, fifth grade, fourth grade, mixed media, third grade

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A pile of colorful tissue papers with a group of people seated at tables in the background.

In my last post, I showed you some of Sabrina Ward Harrison’s artwork and talked about what she shared with us at her artist visit. Her artwork is very inspiring, messy and beautiful. Please check out the other post to learn all about this artist. After the presentation, smaller groups of kids in grades 3-6 had a collage workshop with Sabrina. She demonstrated how to use Mod-Podge to paste down pieces of her pinwheel shape. While she demonstrated the pinwheel … Read more… →

Mixed Media Artist: Sabrina Ward Harrison

By Marcia Beckett | March 19, 2017 - 10:35 am |July 5, 2024 art journaling, collage, contemporary artists, fifth grade, fourth grade, third grade

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Three abstract paintings with text, colorful circular designs, and expressive brushstrokes in various shades by mixed media artist Sabrina Ward Harrison.

We recently had artist Sabrina Ward Harrison visit our school to give an artist talk and workshop with the kids. Today I am going to introduce you to her artwork and life as an artist. In Part Two of this post, I will share with you some of the amazingly diverse mixed media collages that the students made in response to learning about her artwork. All of the artwork on this page was made by Sabrina. Her message to the … Read more… →

4th and 5th Grade Profile Drawings: In the Style of Egyptians, Mixtec Codex and Duncan Tonatiuh

By Marcia Beckett | January 19, 2017 - 9:41 am |July 5, 2024 art history, book review, books, contemporary artists, drawing, fifth grade, fourth grade

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My students were treated to a visit by illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh. He is both Mexican and American. He grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City. His images are inspired by ancient Mexican art, especially the Mixtec codex of the 14th and 15th centuries. Like the people and animals in the codex, the figures in his illustrations are always drawn in profile– their entire bodies are usually shown and their ears … Read more… →

“Emily’s Blue Period” Art Project: Personal Collages

By Marcia Beckett | December 6, 2016 - 10:10 am |July 5, 2024 book review, books, collage, fifth grade, fourth grade

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A colorful personal collage featuring animals, words like "hoping," "joy," and "style," along with various textures and images.

Personal Collages: 4th and 5th Grade We read the book Emily’s Blue Period, which is about a girl whose parents are divorcing and now she has two homes. Emily was learning about Pablo Picasso, his Blue Period and his collages in her art class. She goes through her own “blue period” of sadness. Her art teacher asks the class to make personal collages about their homes. She doesn’t know what to do because she has two homes now. She ends up … Read more… →

All About Me Collaborative Puzzle Pieces

By Marcia Beckett | September 28, 2016 - 8:53 pm |July 5, 2024 bulletin board, character education, collaborative artwork, fifth grade, first days of school, fourth grade, third grade

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Four colorful and uniquely decorated puzzle pieces with various drawings and patterns, perfect for a collaborative project.

You are part of the puzzle! Each student in my older grades (3-5) made a puzzle piece about themselves and their interests. I should have written: You are a PIECE of the puzzle. Or, I could have said: We all fit together. I know, it’s kind of corny, but the puzzle piece making was fun. I bought a set of wooden puzzle pieces (the package came with two pieces) and I traced them onto several pieces of tagboard to make … Read more… →