The 4/5s learned how to draw 3-d forms and include shading and shadows. They stacked these shapes to make a “secret city”. I got this idea from way back when I was “interning/volunteering” at a middle school when I was in college. The teacher there taught this lesson to her students. She was a great teacher and I had so much fun learning from her. The “internship” was something I set up with my adviser where I went into the classroom once per week for an hour (I think it was an hour or maybe two) for the entire semester and helped out in whatever way she wanted. I wrote reflections and kept a notebook of all the lessons we did and ended up earning a college credit for the internship. It was super valuable at the time because it helped me to see what teaching would be like before I went into student teaching. Plus it was something I could put on my resume when I was fresh out of college and had no actual paid teaching experience. . I ended up student teaching at that school later with a different teacher.
Wow, I forgot all about that interning experience! I was trying to recall where I learned about this project and then these memories started flooding back. I have a hard time with memory.. does anyone else? Everything from the past keeps getting fuzzier and fuzzier as I get older. Ok, and I’m not that old, I’m only 32!
So, this lesson is based on Mark Kistler’s drawing books. This artist had a series of television shows that taught kids how to draw 3-d pictures step-by-step. Here is a video of his old program. The kids love his fashion sense.
If you are going to buy any of his books, I recommend this one. I made photocopies of some of the techniques to pass out to the kids while working on this project. It’s also a nice book to have around the art room when the kids have extra time.
Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.
These are awesome!