• Subscribe to Blog via Email

    Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Category Archives: third grade

Third Grade Silhouettes

By | |
Leave a comment
Silhouette of a rabbit against a white background with black shapes at the top and bottom edges, ideal for third grade art projects.

We looked at the silhouette portraits of the early Americans as well as the paper cuttings of Hans Christian Anderson.  The students drew with white colored pencil on their black paper, and then cut out their designs.  Then, they flipped these over and glued them onto white paper (thus hiding any remaining white pencil lines.)  This book below is a must-see for this project!  We also looked at a book by Dr. Suess which features awesome silhouettes!!  I happened to … Read more… →

Op Art — 3rd grade

By | |
2 Comments
Abstract black and white striped pattern with various curved shapes intertwined among the stripes, showcasing an Op Art-inspired design.

First, we looked at the art of Bridget Riley and the Op art movement.  We read a Scholastic Art issue which features this style of art.  If you don’t get these magazines, they are a great investment.  Each year, we subscribe for a class set of this magazine.  Then, I save them each year in an envelope labeled with the issue’s title.  After several years, you will have a collection of lots of subjects to choose from.  Both of these … Read more… →

4th/5th Grade Secret Cities– Drawing in 3-d, shading

By | | , ,
Leave a comment
Pencil sketch of abstract stacked shapes, including a heart and a "Hotel Delfino" sign with a small dolphin graphic.

Secret Cities The 4/5s learned  how to draw 3-d forms and include shading and shadows.  They stacked these shapes to make a “secret city”.   I got this idea from a book about drawing by Mark Kistler. This artist had a series of television shows that taught kids how to draw 3-d pictures step-by-step.  Here is a video of a “secret city” mural.

Cross Hatched Animals

By | | , ,
Leave a comment
A pencil sketch of a panda resting its head on a bamboo structure with a few clouds in the background, showcasing cross hatching technique.

@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Hatching and Cross-Hatching  by the 3/4s The 3/4s are learning about hatching and cross-hatching.  They explored this technique in a portrait drawing.  After a quick practice of portrait drawing, the students moved on to a cross hatched animal.  Animal pictures lend themselves better to this technique, because there is a lot of texture on the surface of … Read more… →

Contour Shoes– 3rd grade

By | | ,
2 Comments
A large boot outlined with stick figures dancing, climbing, and parachuting around it on a white background, evoking the creativity of 3rd grade.

Contour Drawings  The students observed the details and lines on their shoes.  They completed a contour line study of their footwear.  Next, they turned these drawings into “miniature playgrounds” for stick people.  Contour drawing helps define and explore edges through line and locates one object in relationship to another. It also establishes an expressive and accurate representation of the subject by the richness of the lines, thick or thin, crisp or soft, and the speed and rhythm with which they … Read more… →

Third/Fourth grade Landscapes

By | | , ,
Leave a comment
Colorful painting of a serene lake surrounded by green and yellow hills under a bright blue sky with fluffy clouds.

 American Landscapes  The 3/4s learned about Colonial times and Westward Expansion.  The students watched a video about American landscape artists during the 19th century and they painted their own landscapes.  One of the goals was to use inspiration from the environment to create a painting.  The students chose a landscape scene from Wisconsin or a state they have visited.   Painting lessons include how to add texture with a fan brush, how to mix colors and how to add shadows … Read more… →

Monochromatic Rhythm Paintings

By | | ,
3 Comments
An abstract painting with wavy, green patterns on a white background, capturing the rhythm of stylized terrain or topography.

Monochromatic Rhythm Painting  The third graders are learning about how rhythm is used in art.  Rhythm is a principle of art that’s difficult to summarize in words. Assuming that you’ve picked up on a rhythm in music before, take what you heard with your ears and try to translate that to something you’d see with your eyes. Rhythm, in art, is a visual beat.  They made a drawing using lines to show rhythm.  Then, they mixed tints and shades of … Read more… →

Pacific Northwest Coast Masks– 3rd grade

By | | ,
1 Comment
Handcrafted animal mask with colorful paint, exaggerated features, and straw whiskers inspired by the Pacific Northwest Coast on a white background.

@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }@font-face { font-family: “Adobe Caslon Pro”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } The 3/4s viewed a video about Pacific Northwest Coast art.  They made a spirit animal mask using similar characteristics.  These are made out of paper mache and are painted with a limited color palette.   

Japanese Scrolls

By | |
Leave a comment
A Japanese wall scroll with artwork of birds and mountains, hanging on a purple wall.

Third Grade Japanese Scrolls We watched a powerpoint about Hokusai, the Japanese printmaker.  The students made styrofoam prints using imagery of nature.  We practiced using calligraphy brushes with India ink.  The students assembled their calligraphy and prints, along with origami paper into a hanging scroll.

Pointillist Trees

By | | , , ,
1 Comment
A pointillist painting of people relaxing on a lawn near a river with trees; there are umbrellas and a black dog.

  The 3/4s painted Pointillist Trees.  They have studied trees in Science.  We learned about the artist Georges Seurat by reading Scholastic Art magazine.  Students identified and described Pointillist paintings.   They created a Pointillist painting of trees showing dimension and form by color mixing.  Tips:  use the back end of the paintbrush, a q-tip or a small brush.  Keep the size of the paper small (9×12″ is plenty).

Native American Pottery, 3rd/4th grade

By | | ,
1 Comment
Black and white image of a circular shield adorned with geometric symbols and icons, including stars and crosses.

Native American Potttery:The 3/4s are learning about Native American pottery, in particular the Mimbres bowls.  Check out the link for more information.  They made their own coil-built pot and used sgraffito techniques to design the inside of the bowl. We used Mayco Stroke and Coat Underglaze and then painted Amaco clear glaze on top.  I love the brilliant colors.  I would never have tried this because it’s more expensive than others, but my colleague WON a whole box of this … Read more… →

  • Banner with colorful artwork promoting an art shop featuring kindness coloring pages, artist activities, and resources for teachers.