I have done this project with my 2nd grade students for a number of years but felt I wasn't making the strong Math connections that I wanted. I was motivated to create a template for the project where students could more closely be involved in the measuring of the clay to make clearer connections. Here is the template I created. I made enough copies so each child would have their own and ran them through the laminator. It can be used like a place mat to actually do the work on.
First I measured out the red, yellow and blue model magic clay for each student.
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| I use scissors to cut the individual pieces. |
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| Measure off pieces and mark in the clay |
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| Use a ruler to connect the marks |
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| I used the side of the ruler to connect the dots and mark the cutting lines |
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| Blue pieces are much smaller |
I began by handing out the three colors of clay that were needed:
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The place mat ready to begin
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First step, mix red and yellow 1" pieces together. Add in an extra piece
of red that measured 3/4" x 1/4". This gave a red-orange
color for the pumpkin. |
I conducted this project as a directed activity, walking them through each step, one step at a time.
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Next the brown for the stem was formed by mixing the very small
pieces of yellow, red, and brown. 1/4" x 1/4" The 3/4" by 1/4"
yellow and blue were mixed to make the leaves.
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Placed on a tray with student's names until they are dry
enough to write on the bottom with a sharpie |
After taking an AOE Studio Drawing course this past summer, I have rethought my process for observational drawings. This year I have decided to truly involve students in the still life process by allowing them to touch the items and put together the components of their own still life rather than being limited to what I might assemble for them. The focus for the assignment is to demonstrate an understanding of Space in art by using overlap, placement, and linear perspective. Students in 4th grade are drawing Pez dispensers. Part of the fun is truly examining the dispensers and choosing which ones are most personally appealing. Here are some photos of the process as students are spending week two on building their still life compositions.
