Third Grade Art Kits - Juneau School District

Third Grade Art Kits - Descriptions

2 months ago

Ainu Symmetry

Students are given the opportunity to learn about the Ainu culture and find commonalities and differences between the Ainu and our local Northwest Coast Native cultures. In this activity students learn to cut folded paper and spirals to create a symmetrical Ainu style design, with one or two lines of symmetry.

Bionic Bugs

Students learn about the amazing technology developing around live insects with computer chips placed on them. They create their own cyborg insect, in 3-dimensional paper collage, complete with a computer chip illustrated with “micro art.”

Brushstroke Trees: Huna Tribal House

Students watch a brief video of the art specialist “painting” the story of the Huna Tribal House and history in Glacier Bay. They practice different brushstrokes with watercolor, then paint a picture of a Southeast Alaska tree, connecting their tree to the story and the Tlingit value of showing appreciation of the land and resources.

Building Relationships with 3-D Alaskan Animals

Day 1: Students make 3-D Alaskan animals out of tag board.

Day 2: Each table group creates a 3-D environment and arranges their animals in a realistic scene, thinking about animal relationships in the wild. Students also learn about perspective: foreground, middle ground and background. They conclude by making a small scene of their own.

Clay Figures-Art in Public Places

After hearing the story of Leonardo da Vinci’s giant horse sculpture, students will imagine the role of an artist creating a sculpture for a public place, like a park, school or airport. They will learn techniques for hand-building with clay and make a small model of a sculpture they would like to make for the community.

photos of two little clay sculptures, a cat and a person

Clay Pots with Maria Martinez

Students learn about pueblo potter, Maria Martinez. Students make a “pinch pot” and add “coils,” learning proper techniques. Students design a “motif” which represents something from our natural environment and paint it on the pot in a repeating pattern with underglaze. Pots are fired by teacher in a kiln, or with assistance from the art specialist.

Drawing from Observation: Antlers (Sitka Blacktail)
Students observe and draw the shapes and details of individual local deer antlers (class set provided in the kit.) Students use an antler age chart to determine the deer's age.

Drawing from Observation: Jánwu (Mountain Goat)
This drawing lesson uses the mountain goat materials provided by Fish and Game to build curiosity and understanding around the local mountain goat and how it's unique adaptations help it to survive in rugged high ranges in Southeast Alaska.

Faith Ringgold Memory Quilt

This lesson is designed to be taught in two sessions. Students study the work of artist, teacher, author and illustrator Faith Ringgold. They create a story quilt with a well-developed drawing based on a personal memory. Finished work includes a written memory sentence and a colorful pieced border.

Flower Parts

Students are introduced to flower anatomy, after learning about the life and work of botanist Elizabeth Britton. They use oil pastels and shading techniques to create flower parts and assemble these parts to make a flower relief. Includes writing lesson!

partially 3-D paper sculpture of a flower

Lines and Textures of the Sea

Students look at photos of the sea for the lines and textures found in nature. They refer to Dale DeArmond’s prints for inspiration, then create a sea-themed design of lines and textures. This is inscribed into Styrofoam then printed as an edition of three blockprints.

Me in Motion

Students use construction paper and telephone wire to create a balanced mobile that represents themselves and things they like.

Nightscapes Scratch Art

This lesson highlights the art of Caldecott award winning artist, Beth Krommes, the illustrator of The House in the Night. Students create a scratch art card in her style, showing perspective and a focal point. Several copies of each student’s original can be made on the copier, thus creating a set of cards, including an “original” and “reproductions.”

Pendulum Painting

Partner STEAM lesson to Science Kit Prediction Motions. In this lesson the classroom is transformed into a STEAM lab, with pendulum stations for every three students. In a very successfully structured process students each make a pendulum painting, which shows the beautiful patterns of a swinging cup of paint

Poetry Animation: Flip-its!

“Flip-its” are a fun way to learn about the art of animation and how it works. Students create an original character from a shape, giving it personality and movement. Students write a short poem about their flip-it using “opposite” words.

Private Eye: Fingerprint Analogies

Students observe carefully, seeing the patterns and shapes of fingerprints through a magnifying “jewelers loupe,” then draw and paint a colorful large scale version of the fingerprint. They think of “analogies;” what else does their fingerprint remind them of? Creative writing is a natural extension of this lesson. Includes writing lesson!

painting of an engarged fingerprint design

Scientific Drawing: Feathers

Students are inspired by the work of local scientific artist, Kathy Hocker. Using a feather (included) as a model, they create a "scientific notebook page" which includes a detailed drawing, close-up view, and written scientific comments which include observations, inferences and questions about the feather.

Shadow Puppet Workshop

Students create a class collection of a variety of shadow puppet characters that can be adapted for use in dramatizing many stories. This kit uses characters found in the 3rd grade Reading Wonders anthology and can be adapted for use with many stories. Students learn specific skills to create a successful shadow puppet.

Shadow Puppetry (Drama kit)

This drama lesson explores the use of shadow puppets and shadow play to enrich writing literacy and storytelling. In pairs or small groups, students are inspired by shadow puppets to collaboratively write dialogue for the plot of a short scene. Students then present the original drama with the shadow puppets while practicing prosody in dramatic reading and exploring the technical and expressive aspects of puppeteering.

Unity Block Party: Woocheen

This lesson is intended to be done by all the third grade classes in the school (at least 2) Students learn about the concept of "unity" in art and create small paper designs that all join together to make a large paper mural, showing unity in it's many common elements.

Weaving Code

Students explore how writing a pattern for a paper weaving can be like coding. They design their own original pattern and create it with paper weaving.

Weaving Tree

Students learn about the world-wide "fiber art" of weaving. They learn weaving vocabulary and make a weaving sample, with yarn on a paper plate, where the "warp" forms the trunk and branches, and the "weft" are the colors of a tree.

Zoom-in on Southeast Alaska

Students trace portions of Southeast Alaska maps (included), then locate an imaginary “special place” on this map. They name their place with a Tlingit-style place name. A small detailed watercolor painting shows a “zoom-in” view of this special place.

watercolor painting of a bear on a hand drawn map

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