Patterned Elephant

After giving mid year assessments to my students, I realized that I needed to review some concepts that didn't take hold the first time. I also figured out that some of my questions were setting me up for failure.
One of the questions on my exam was: How do we make patterns?
                                              a-with lines and shapes  b-with lines
                                              c-with shapes or  d-with crayons

Lots of students make patterns with crayons.............. Silly me!!

My patterned elephant lesson would not only review patterns but also include values of gray.

   

 The Elmer book above is a perfect story for this lesson. I modeled how to draw an elephant using the steps from the drawing sheet above. Which is from the book Little Kids Draw. We talked about what happens when you mix white to a color and how we can make the color grey by adding a little black to the color white. And depending on our recipe of how much black and white we used we could get different values or shades of that color.  One routine that I practice when we paint is that they don't get a paintbrush until I see their name on the paper. We have also practiced lining up and placing wet art in the drying racks.

My kindergarten and 1st graders drew, mixed their color and painted their elephants and with clean up we were done with part one of this lesson.

I managed to do this lesson and paint with my students on Wednesday to Friday before I went on medical leave. So directions for my Monday & Tuesday students were different. I really don't want a sub painting with students when I'm out. They traced an elephant onto gray paper, divided their elephants into 5-7 sections and started to add patterns to their sections. They had the sheet below to inspire their designs. I made several of those collages using an assortment of wallpapers.

 Week 2 students on Wednesday-Friday heard another Elmer story (there is a whole series of them). They were to divide their elephant into sections and make a different pattern in each section. They used the sheet above to inspire their designs on their painted elephants.

 

 

The above elephants were done years ago-as I'm not there to take photos. I also forgot to get photos of my samples. Sorry. When students finished their patterns, they were encouraged to create a background for their elephant. Monday and Tuesday students also had a story read to them and were instructed to do a background on a separate piece of paper, then cut out and glue their elephant to it.

Gotta say I'm home exactly one week and I'm going crazy....... Missing my students and my art room......... No ones gets how to teach art and subs don't understand how to follow directions........
Sigh........

BY THE WAY THIS IS MY 100th POST!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading!