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Tag Archives: fifth grade

Faux Stained Glass Paintings on Transparency Sheets

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Faux Stained Glass Paintings on Transparency Sheets

In the “better late than never” category, last Spring we made these super fun faux stained glass paintings in the 5th/6th grade class. For this project, you will need clear transparency sheets, Sharpie markers, Gallery Glass Paint (the kind used to paint suncatchers), regular acrylic paints (optional) and cardstock picture frames (also optional).  I had a bunch of transparency sheets in my classroom already and I got the glass paint FREE from an art re-swap, so I knew I wanted … Read more… →

Egyptian Clay Sarcophagus Art Project for 4th and 5th Graders

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Egyptian Clay Sarcophagus Art Project for 4th and 5th Graders

This is a clay lesson that has been a big hit with my students.  You can see my previous posts about this project here and here.  The 4th/5th grade class studies ancient Egypt in their social studies class and they are excited to learn more about the art and architecture in my class.  I show them a Powerpoint with an overview of Egyptian art and then they work on drawing a sarcophagus design of their own.  I encourage them to … Read more… →

15 Favorite Posts from 2013

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  Another year is rapidly coming to a close, so I thought I would spend some time reviewing my favorite projects and blog posts from this year.  Here are my favorite posts, in no particular order! 15.  How to Paint Gorgeous Clouds with Watercolor 14.  Clay Castles 13.  Postage Stamp Art Project 12.  Heart Photography Project with 3rd Grade 11.  25 Amazing Books for Teaching About Art 10.  Editorial cartoons are a unit I teach every year.  We even were … Read more… →

Poppy Posters for Veteran’s Day

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A collage of kids' drawings featuring poppies, American flags, and messages of thanks and remembrance for Veteran's Day.

Monday, November 11 is Veteran’s Day in America. My 5th and 6th graders had the privilege of a visit from a lady from our local senior center whose husband is a veteran. She talked to the students about the symbolism of the poppy and read to the students the poem “In Flanders Fields.” The students were invited to create a small artwork that honors all of the veterans. They also had the opportunity to write a poem in response to … Read more… →

Building Castles from Clay (5th and 6th grade)

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Building Castles from Clay (5th and 6th grade)

Hi friends.  I have so many projects back-logged to show you.  I did clay with all of my classes during the month of September.  We are building on to our school and because of construction, our kiln will be out of commission at the end of November through the end of the school year, so we have to get all of our clay done now! My 5th/6th grade classes made clay castles.  They will be studying the Medieval period later … Read more… →

Postage Stamp Art Project

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Postage Stamp Art Project

Here are two templates to use for postage stamps:  one full stamp or a sheet of nine. You could also just draw them in boxes and then cut them out with those craft scissors that have the funky edges. My 4th/5th grade class designed their own postage stamps.  I brought in a box of stamps for them to look through and see up close.  I also showed them a short Powerpoint about stamps throughout history. There is information on the … Read more… →

A Visit from an Editorial Cartoonist

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A Visit from an Editorial Cartoonist

I still have some things to share with you from last school year.  Towards the end of the year we had an editorial cartoonist visit our school.  Every year our students draw editorial cartoons as part of the art curriculum.  You can see some of the cartoons my students drew in 2013. When teaching about editorial cartoons, it is very important to show cartoons from both sides (in the U.S.= Republican/Democrat).  It is also essential that you do not tell … Read more… →

Mosaics in the Classroom

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Mosaics in the Classroom

Have you made mosaics with elementary students? We first learned about the mosaics in ancient Greece and Rome.  The student thoroughly enjoyed sifting through my box of mosaic tiles to find the perfect pieces. We used glass bits and bobs, shells, stones, square tiles and stained glass pieces. Some tips: Be sure to cut your pieces inside a plastic bag to avoid flying pieces. Use sanded grout (available at a hardware store) to minimize cracking. Tiles should be placed about … Read more… →

Making Bookmarks with Kids

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Making Bookmarks with Kids

Our local public library partnered with us to have a bookmark contest.  The kids in grades K-5 each designed a bookmark based on a favorite book.  We provided a template for them to compose their drawing. The library will pick a number of winners to print as bookmarks for distribution at the library.  We’ve done this before at school and when the designs were returned to us, we chose other designs and copied them at an office store on card … Read more… →

Clay Castles with 5th and 6th Grade

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Clay Castles with 5th and 6th Grade

The fifth and sixth graders study the Medieval time period in their Language Arts/Social Studies class.  I love teaching this clay castle project because it allows the students to practice important clay building skills (plus it’s just fun!): rolling slabs building with slabs scoring and using slip smoothing adding embellishments glazing We started by drawing some preliminary sketches of Medieval castles.  The students looked at some examples for reference. The Medieval Castle (one example of a resource) They drew their … Read more… →

African Adinkra Carved Stamps & Art for AUCTION– 5th and 6th grade

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A pattern of hand-stamped yellow symbols, including eyes, paws, and triangles arranged on a white background using Carved Stamps.

My 5th and 6th grade students studied Africa and the African Adinkra stamped cloths.  I showed them a slide show of images. Examples of Adinkra symbols were shown for inspiration.  Check out my African Adinkra Pinterest board for handouts of symbols.  The kids could use these ideas and embellish upon them or come up with their own symbol based on some of these ideas. They used linoleum cutters to carve their own rubber stamps on the Dick Blick Art soft carving … Read more… →

Greek Vase Chalk Drawings– 4th and 5th Grade

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Greek Vase Chalk Drawings– 4th and 5th Grade

We are on Spring Break now, so I’m going to use this time to catch up on some blog posts!  I have a lot of projects that are finished that I have started writing posts about.  How about you?  How many blog posts do you currently have in your “draft” folder? Here is a lesson on drawing Greek vases that I teach to my 4th and 5th graders.  We start by reading the Scholastic Art issue about Greek pottery.  It … Read more… →

Editorial Cartoons for 4th, 5th and 6th Grade

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Editorial Cartoons for 4th, 5th and 6th Grade

Teaching about editorial cartoons is a great way to bring current events into the classroom. Every year our students in grades 4th-8th participate in a local editorial cartoon contest.  The students watch a video about editorial cartoons and they discuss, analyze and interpret current editorial cartoons.  Cartoons for the Classroom is an excellent resource for lesson plans about editorial cartoons.  If you are going to teach about editorial cartoons, this website is a must-see.  The cartoon templates we used are … Read more… →

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