Pharaoh Self Portraits

2nd Graders learned all about Ancient Egypt through a short video. They learned about different Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt; like King Tut who was just a little boy when he became ruler. Ramses The Great was one of Egypt’s longest reigning pharaohs and most celebrated. He is known for building massive monuments that were far ahead of their time. There were also women Pharaohs. Hatshepsut was the first woman pharaoh, and is often considered one of the first great women in history.

Students were photographed and then transformed their photographs. Students used oil pastel and Sharpie to turn themselves into Egyptian Pharaohs. Students were required to have a heavy outlined eye, a decorative headpiece, and an Egyptian style necklace or shirt. They also created a cartouche, which is an oval with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. Students looked at an Hieroglyphic alphabet and wrote their name in hieroglyphs on metal foil.

***Lesson Idea seen on Marymaking.blogspot.com

Egyptian Pyramids

5th graders learned about Ancient Egypt through a short video. They learned that when someone passed away in Egyptian culture, they mummified the body by taking out all internal organs except the heart, rubbed the body in natron (a salt), and then wrapped the body in linen. The body was then placed inside a decorative sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was often put in a tomb with various items that were important to that person. When pharaohs were laid to rest, their tombs were filled with priceless treasures.

5th graders created an Egyptian pyramid tomb. They drew a sarcophagus (mummy case), and other Egyptian designs to decorate the walls of the pyramid. Next they added an assortment of treasures to ensure their mummy had a comfortable after life.

Egyptian Landscapes

First graders read the story Bill and Pete Go Down The Nile, by Tomie dePaola to introduce their Ancient Egypt unit.

Students learned many new art words with this project. They learned that a landscape artwork is artwork that shows something outside. They learned that a landscape artwork usually has a horizon line that divides the artwork into sky and ground. Students learned that when an artist want to show that something is far away they make it smaller and place it closer to the horizon line. When artists want to show something that is close up they make it larger and further away from the horizon line. Students also learned that the warm colors are red, yellow, orange, and pink; and that the cool colors are blue, purple, green, and turquoise. They also learned that a tint is a color that has white added to it.

First students painted the sky for their landscape, paying attention to only painting above the horizon line. Next they painted a sheet of paper using brown and a tint of brown. Once dried they ripped this into pieces and glued it below the horizon line on their sky painting. Lastly they made pyramids and camels from construction paper. The larger pyramid was glued towards the bottom of the paper, and the smaller pyramid was glued closer to the horizon line.

***Lesson idea from Cassiestephens.blogspot.com***

Egyptian Cats

4th graders learned about the history of Ancient Egypt through a short video. Students learned that Egyptians cherished animals and even mummified those deemed sacred. The cat portrayed Bastet, the goddess of happiness. In Ancient Egypt, the house cat, led a life that was blessed by Bastet. Egyptian cat owners loved cats so much that when their beloved pet died, the owners often shaved off their eyebrows in mourning!

Students created Egyptian inspired cats. They first drew a cat, then painted it gold. Next they added details using construction paper, oil pastels, and paint. Lastly they used silver paper to add some bling to the these sacred animals.

***Lesson idea from The Elementary Art Room!***

Calder Wire Fish Sculptures

4^th graders learned about the American artist Alexander Calder. Calder was a sculptor who invented the mobile, a type of kinetic sculpture made with delicately balanced or suspended parts which move in response to motor power or wind. Students learned that kinetic art is art that moves.  Calder also produced numerous wire figures, notably for a miniature circus.

4^th graders made fish from wire, using their hands and various wire cutting tools to help manipulate the wire to form the fish shape. Next they added beads, and then designed a patterned background to attach their fish to.

They did a great job!

"I am" Heart Paintings

Third graders reviewed pop artist Jim Dine’s artwork by viewing a slide show. Jim Dine often included hearts in his artwork. Students learned about the cool and warm colors on the color wheel.  Cool colors are blue, green, and purple; and the warm colors are red, yellow, orange, and magenta. Students did expressionist painting using large brushes by painting a heart shape over and over again. Students picked either the warm or cool colors to paint with.

Students then wrote “I am” sentences to describe who they are and their relationships to other people in the world.

Clay Coil Hearts

Heart Paintings

Students reviewed Pop artist Jim Dine and his heartworks. Students were doing two heart projects at once, they were also working on coil clay hearts. The painting was done while we waiting for our clay to dry and me to fire the kiln. Always good to review good craftsmanship with students and get back to the basics of drawing and painting. I had the kids focus on controling where their water color paint was going on their paper, and using proper brushstroke technique. They turned out really beautiful!

Mondrian Hearts