Dragon in a Box/Cave

 What do you do when you have a bunch of boxes that you want to get rid of?? 

Well, I come up with an art project to use them with.

This lesson came together 20 minutes before the class showed up. I knew I wanted to do a lesson from this book I have by Denise M. Logan. Check it out on Amazon here.

 

So naturally I changed it out. I googled how to draw dragons and printed out a few different ones for students to choose from. The history behind dragons is pretty fascinating. Apparently they differ according to country of origin. I also decided we would use the empty boxes I had from the new laptops, which really aren't that new anymore...  AND I had these 3D O's to pop out the dragons with.

 

 

 First they drew their dragons and then they drew the stalactites and stalagmites for 

above and below their cave.

 

Then they cut it all out.

And assembled their project.

I did this with my 4th graders, however I have some second graders begging to make them....
Students had the choice of colored pencils or markers and worked on 12x18" white drawing paper.

 

 

 

LOVE THEM!

Figures, just when you come up with a project you love, to use up all your boxes 

you wish you had more of them!!

(I'm not really worried, I'm connected!)

Leaving in the morning for Seattle to attend the NAEA Conference! 

If you see me please say Hello!

Thanks for Reading!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

The project that inspired this lesson is in the book 25 Terrific Art Projects.  By Karen Backus, Linda Evans & Mary Thompson.

The beginning starts out the same. I started by reading this book to my students.

Then I directed them on making the spider web by modelling and reviewing our vocabulary for the different lines we learned about.

 Draw a diagonal line, make an X by drawing another diagonal line.

 

                                  Add a vertical line.                    Add a horizontal line.

                                   Add some curved lines all around.

I did this with kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades. Now for how I changed it out. Students were instructed to draw where their web was. Was it in front of a house? a garden? a porch chair?

 

 

 

 Depending on time you might be able to draw and paint during one session. We used crayons and watercolor paint on 12" squared manila paper. I saved making the spider for last and I changed that out as well. The book called for using salt dough and I decided to use plastic Dananimal containers.

Here are the steps I took to prepare the bottles.

   

                                  Using a box cutter, cut off the top.   Then cut the bottle in half.

   

      Remove and discard label. Using the point of a compass make 2 holes on each side.

 

          Using a hole-punch make a hole in the bottom and attach about 10-12" of yarn.
                                    (I did have some of the older students attach the yarn.)

When students returned to art, I modeled for them how to make the spider. I demonstrate to them that regular markers will rub off of the plastic, so we will be using Sharpies, because they are permanent. (It's so cute because some of the students tell me they are not allowed to use those markers....)

   

The spider legs are made from pipe cleaners. Two of them will make 8 legs. I show 1st and 2nd grade how to fold the pipe cleaners in half, then place the fold all the way down between the blades of the scissor and to pull on the pipe cleaner as they squeeze the blades of the scissor together. I cut them for kindergarten.

  

Now they have 4 pipe cleaners, one for each hole in the two sides. After inserting the pipe cleaners, they will fold it in half to create 2 legs, then twist them together, close to the body, and bend them to look like spider legs.

Then I stapled them to their beautiful web paintings.

 

 

 

The primary students loved doing these spiders and they were really excited to have donated their Dananimal containers for this project. I do believe the older students were upset not to have made them when they were younger. They don't understand the need we have as art teachers to change it out and perhaps wait a few years to collect what we need for the project.

Now it you have followed this blog recently, you will have read about my storyboards for the students to see step-by-step directions. I didn't do it with this project and I gotta say it needs to happen. Even if I use photographs for the storyboard. Turns out it just goes so much easier. I did have students that completed their spider to help others. That's always a good thing for the early finishers to do.

As a Title One school using recycles is so vital to stretch the budget.

What, if any do you make with recycles??

Thanks for Reading!