Second Grade Aztec Suns

Continuing with our Latin American projects, second grade did suns inspired by the artwork of the Aztecs.

Everyone began the project by drawing their idea for a sun in their sketchbook. They had to make sure that their drawing was large (one of my focuses for my 2nd graders this year- they love drawing everything tiny!), that it had a variety of patterns and that it used 1 color scheme (they chose from warm, cool or complementary colors.

Once they had finished their preliminary sketch, they chose which project they wanted to work on.

Their first choice was an aluminum bas relief. They drew their sun on a piece of manila that was cut to the size of the aluminum (5 x 5). Then they taped the manila onto the foil and traced the design. They were told to do the tracing while the aluminum was sitting on top of their sketchbook, so that it would leave a nice impression. After tracing, they removed the manila and used their pencil to color in certain sections of their design, creating the bas relief. Color was added with Sharpie markers and then the aluminum was stapled to a piece of black construction paper to create a matt.

The second choice was a printing project. The students drew their design on a piece of 5 x 5 manila paper. They taped this onto a piece of styrofoam that had been cut to the same size. Once the design had been traced, they removed the manila and used their pencil to color in certain sections. They chose pieces of construction paper that fit their color scheme and printed their design onto the paper. The prints were glued onto black construction paper to create a matt.

The third choice was a sculpture project. The students used recycled materials to create a sculpture of the sun that they had drawn in their sketchbooks. I have a variety of boxes outside of the artroom where the faculty can drop off their recycling. I have egg cartons, boxes, newspaper, bottle caps, lids, containers, cardboard rolls, magazines, etc. The students have gotten used to going to these bins anytime they are in need of materials. 

The students collected the materials that they wanted for their sun and stored them in a zip-lock bag. They were glued onto a piece of cardboard (saved from packs of construction paper that the teachers get with the students school supplies at the beginning of the school year) with craft glue (Elmer's is not strong enough for this project). When everything had been glued in place and was dry, they used markers and tempera to color it in their color scheme. The last step was to add details by gluing sequins onto the sculpture.

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Third Grade Maori "Tattoos"

As part of third grades study of Australia, they learned a little bit about the Maori people of New Zealand. I showed them a PowerPoint that I had put together:



Then I passed out copies of different Maori designs that I had printed out from Google. The students used these as their inspiration. They created 2 different designs in their sketchbook. The students had a lot of fun with this project. They all know someone with a tattoo and this was a harmless way for the students to create their own.

For their project, I gave them 2 choices (trying to keep with the choice-based outcomes):
1. printmaking
2. aluminum bas relief

As the students finished up their sketchbooks, they picked up a piece of white paper (9 x 12) and drew their favorite design onto this paper, making sure to fill their space.

While they were working on this, I used this time to meet with my 2 groups to demonstrate the steps for each project.

For the printmaking:
The students taped their paper onto a piece of styrofoam and traced their design with their pencil. After that, they removed the paper, traced one more time and then used their pencil to color in the positive space.

For the aluminum:
The students taped their paper onto a piece of pre-cut aluminum (I buy it in rolls and cut to whatever size I need). They placed this on top of their sketchbook so that they had a fairly soft surface and traced their design. Then the paper was removed and they used their pencils to color in the positive space.

I then set up stations in the back of the room for each project.

Printmaking:
White ink and brayers- they students rolled the white ink onto their styrofoam and then placed the styrofoam onto a piece of black construction paper. Using a clean brayer, they rolled it onto the back of the black paper, helping to transfer the ink. Once they were finished, they washed their styrofoam.

Aluminum:
Black india ink and brushes- the students painted the aluminum with black ink. Then using paper towel, they wiped as much of it off as they could, leaving ink in the crevasses made by coloring in the positive space.

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