Sample of 4th Grade Lessons
Student Work (student loved dragons)
Contemporary Art
Students are thrown into the wonderful world of art and learn that they too are artists. We discuss that contemporary artists usually have a deeper meaning to their artwork. They must fill out a Google Form with inspirational photos, reasoning for their choices, and a list of materials they would like to use in this completely choice based project. They then must present their ideas to me and are allowed to create an original piece that is inspired by something they love.
Pop Art
Students are first introduced to the Pop Art movement through a documentary “Brillo Box 3 cents off.” We then discuss what they learned about art and how Andy Warhol challenged the art world with his ideals that art is everywhere and everything can be art. Students then learn how printmaking works and create their own print plate out of foam and create a variety of prints on a paper that will later be turned into a box similar to Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box.
Frescos
Inspired by Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and the Frescos of Pompei students learn how frescos were traditionally made and are shown virtual tours of the frescos and Sistine Chapel. We take a modern twist on frescos and create our own versions using plaster wrap and watercolor colored pencils. Students must first sketch out their ideas on paper, and then in the following class they have 45 minutes to recreate their design using the plaster wrap and watercolor colored pencils before the plaster dries. We then discuss the challenges these past artists would have had and reflect on the difficulty of the time constraints as well as the temperamental nature of frescos and how if done correctly, they can last hundreds of years.