Tuesday, September 30, 2014

5th grade gem stones


Color schemes, color values, and modeling form are part of our 5th grade curriculum and I am always looking for a fresh and fun way to teach these concepts. When I saw these crafty gems on Pinterest, I knew we had to give them a try - the kids get so excited when things look 3-D.

http://truebluemeandyou.tumblr.com/post/44808005531/diy-optical-illusion-wooden-gem-jewelry-tutorial



We began with some observational contour drawing, then the kids selected a color scheme for their gem stones. Using tempera, we mixed tints and shades and watched our jewels pop off the page as they became forms.



What to do with these in a composition? They were kind of floaty and fantasy-like on the white backgrounds, so we went with a simple landscape background for a surreal look. Surrealism shows realistic objects in an impossible setting, as in this Magritte painting, The Castle in the Pyrenees.


Students learned several skills and techniques with this lesson, and also had room for personal choices in colors, settings, and composition. They were encouraged to make personal connections through their creative choices.
We wrote artist statements to wrap up the lesson - get your copy of my artist statement format for free at Teachers pay Teachers: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Knights-Smartest-Artists

 



 

 


 















7 comments:

  1. What a great lesson for tints and shades! They look cool in a surrealistic landscape. Very inventive!

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  2. What a fabulous lesson! How did you explain how to make the value and form for the gemstones that are not like the one in the Pinterest example? It is very handy how that one is "color by number" Did you find an easy way to explain where to put which tints and shades?

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    1. Hey Mollie - I told them to add up how many sections were in the gem - some had 6 and some had like 16! - and about 1/3 of the sections should be the hue, 1/3 tints, and 1/3 shades. I also asked them to mix a different variety of tints and shades (get lighter and lighter, etc). We didn't really focus on a light side and a dark side because in the real gems, the transparency and reflection kind of voids the typical "light on one side, dark on the other" method.

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  3. I love this lesson, Hope! We are diving in very similarly to you.......I like how you asked them to break up the sections into thirds to evenly spread out the lightness and darkness. Very smart!!

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    1. Good luck Laura, can't wait to see! I love all the word based art you've been doing this year. I've been doing a lot of LA connections too - I think it's a knee jerk reaction to the whole STEM thing

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  4. Love this lesson, thanks for sharing!

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