When I first started teaching my art room had NOTHING in it but a bowling pin, a Leonardo da Vinci board game with the pieces missing, a coffee can of broken crayons and...a TON of modeling clay. I cast the clay aside not thinking I'd ever have use for it. But when my curriculum called for a "clay unit"...and I had no kiln and no budget, this stuff came in super handy. Turns out, my students and I loved it and used it to explore more than just sculpting. It became a vital tool for learning lines, shape, texture and more. Here's how:
I love using modeling clay for early finishers, lesson review, preview to sculpture and more! I created these clay sheets just for you! Please feel free to use them in your art room.
Also, I know a lot of you need to turn in lesson plans. My friends at Prang created one for you! You can download it here!
I use this sheet after introducing line or when I'm doing a line review with my students. Of course, I read my book Larry the Line and this follow-up activity ties in perfectly! You can find my book Larry the Line here.
I'm closing in on nearly 200 five-star reviews of my book Larry the Line! I love to see Larry in your art rooms...thank you so much! Get yourself a copy here.
Once my students learn about lines, we move on to shape...so I created these sheets so students can see how to use lines to create shapes. These sheets can be found here!
Of course, my book Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes is the perfect companion to these shape sheets.
Hey there! Not too long ago I shared that I have been creating art-makin' centers or stations or whatever you wanna call them for my students. So far, we've made it through the Line Stations and have recently been using the papers there to create works of art. Now that we've wrapped up that (and the kids loved it so much I assumed it was a hit), we are ready to move on to shape! Here is a look at what my 2nd through 4th grade stations look like:
These stations are a little longer than the line making ones. So, for my 30 minute classes, students will get to MAYBE two stations before moving on. I'm keeping the format of them changing stations more open: if they are finished, they are to tidy their area, put away their artwork (with name on it, pretty please!) and move on to any station with an open seat.
Just like the papers created with the Line Stations, these are just the starting point of our project. Each grade will create something different with their shape explorations. I've been sharing what my students created with their papers, you can check it out on my Instagram. Details to come, I promise!
In these centers, students will focus on geometric shapes. We will learn more about organic shapes soon. Cardboard printing expanded from line making to creating castles in this station. I can't wait for students to work on these later in class.
Students will explore cutting geometric shapes as well as printing them in this station.
Students learned about radial symmetry in this station. I had foam stars on hand...but may use different shapes with other grades. I'll keep ya posted! I'm excited how these turned out!
I have a ton of bleeding tissue paper shapes that we are creating a design with in this last station. I have plans for these...stay tuned!
Since my kindergarten and first graders are working on something else, I'm glad I have an empty table to pile everything on. It's...a lot to keep up with but the kids are having a blast and that's all that matters.
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