Mummies

Students at El Sol eagerly anticipate reaching 5th grade simply so they can make these clay mummies. 5th grade students learn about Ancient Egypt through discussion and reading books about the Ancient Egyptians. Then they create a mummy sarcophagus from clay using many clay techniques learned over the years. They must first roll a slab to create the top and bottom of the mummy sarcophagus. They use the score and slip technique to attach the sides of the sarcophagus and any 3-D embellishments. They write on their sarcophagus with hieroglyphics carved into the clay. Finally, after the clay has been fired in the kiln, they paint their sarcophagus.

 

 
 

Dia de los Muertos

4th grade students looked at artwork created for the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos. The artwork created for this holiday has vibrant colors, and features skulls and skeletons. Though Dia de los Muertos is celebrated near Halloween, the skulls and skeletons aren't meant to be scary. In fact, Dia de los Muertos is a holiday to celebrate and remember the lives of loved ones who have passed away. Students created their own calavera (skull) from a paper plate and decorated in the traditional style of Dia de los Muertos artwork.

How do artists show relationships?

Fourth grade students looked at and discussed artwork by Diego Rivera and Carmen Lomas Garza. They found that these artists showed relationships between people. Rivera sometimes showed relationships between family members, but many times he showed the relationship the people of Mexico had with the government. Similarly, Lomas Garza showed relationships in her extended family, especially from personal memories. Students drew relationships, either from memories they had, or from their imagination, and chose the medium with which to color them. Finally, they wrote about the relationship portrayed in their artwork.

Emotion Monsters

First grade students learned how faces can show emotion. They discovered eyebrows play an important part of showing emotion. They chose an emotion for their monster, and created a cut paper collage to show this emotion on their monster’s face.

 

Tree Weavings

Third Grade students created these woven trees on plates painted with landscapes. Students prepped their loom (the plate) by string on the warp strings (the strings we weave through) and then used the weft strings (the strings we weave with) as leaves on the tree.

 

Rural Landscapes

 

2^nd grade students learned to differentiate between rural, suburban and urban landscapes. They drew and painted rural landscapes with characteristics often found in rural landscapes, such as farms, barns, and crops. They looked at artwork by Grant Wood. They learned that Grant Wood liked to paint scenes of farmland because he was born in a rural area of Iowa.

Polka Dot Pumpkins

Kindergarten students practiced their cutting, gluing and painting skills while learning about Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who is known for covering everything she paints, with dots. Students learned how to draw through observation. They looked at a real pumpkin and drew what they saw. Then they painted their pumpkin with dots, practicing good craftsmanship. 

Seascapes

First Grade students looked at artwork by Winslow Homer. Like many artists, he painted what was around him. He lived near the ocean so he painted many seascapes. Students drew and painted their own seascape that includes a horizon line and a sailboat.

Textured Chameleons

Kindergarten students learned that we use the word texture when we’re describing how something feels. Students created texture rubbings with texture plates. Students saw a video clip of a chameleon changing color, and read A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni. Then they traced chameleons, cut them out and glued them to the habitat they painted for their chameleon.

Los estudiantes de kinder aprendieron que usamos la palabra textura cuando describimos como se siente la superficie de algún objeto. Los estudiantes crearon calcos de texturas usando láminas texturizadas. Los estudiantes vieron un video-clip de un camaleón cambiando de color, y leyeron Su Propio Color por Leo Lionni. Luego ellos crearon camaleones siguiendo las instrucciones para un dibujo dirigido. Finalmente, ellos recortaron sus camaleones y los pegaron sobre un hábitat que pintaron para su camaleón.