6th Grade Radial Designs

Radial symmetry is such a beautiful and simple design principle from a daisy or sun to a very complex design. Students created these designs without bothering with compasses or protractors in order to improve their skills at "eyeballing" the symmetry of the details.
Students watched a great video about radial symmetry on the SMART Board before we began. These students learned radial symmetry using sticky squares when they were younger so they had prior knowledge of the concept. (See Animoto below)

Tessellation Transformation

As part of our math concept integration in art class, 4th graders explored tessellations. We looked at Tessellation Exploration by Tom Snyder and they looked at a few samples by M.C. Escher. They learned about adjacent sides, slide translations, and transformation. After creating a slide translation template, students were to sketch a few ideas in their sketchbooks that would transform the slide into something imaginative. After tracing their template to cover a piece of paper, they were to add all the details and color in a checkerboard pattern. Coloring was to include one of the neon colors and students were to use good craftsmanship in their work. (See Animoto below)

Fractions, Percentages, & Degrees, Oh My!

Fourth graders learned something about radial symmetry along with degrees, percentages, and fractions while creating designs that were one quarter of a circle. In an effort to recycle, the circles were CD labels that were of no further use. They also learned how to use a protractor during this activity.

Circles inside Circles inside Circles

Due to the generosity of some very kind people, I now have replacements for the books that were damaged and back on track for primary literacy integrated into my art lessons. First Grade students read along with the book, The Dot by Peter Reynolds which I scanned into SMART Notebook so everyone could see. The story supports the idea of art making as well as the art element of shape. There is also a language arts connection when I ask the children to tell me how the main character feels, what might happen next, who the main character is and to identify the setting of the story.
We then looked at Kandinsky's Concentric Circles. The concept of concentric circles will come in handy later in math so it is a great integrated curriculum connection. At this age the kids soak up quite a bit so I throw a lot at them and see what sticks.

As a pre-painting activity, I had the kids draw concentric circles using markers. I would have used individual whiteboards but I did not get mine until Friday. During their next art class, they used watercolors to paint their circles. These are the more successful ones. Many of the children simply need more experience with painting since there is a lot to remember about the amount of water and paint to use, what happens when you lift up your paper vertically, what happens when you spill all the water in your rinse container, etc. The children are also not all at the same developmental level in art and may not yet be capable of doing what others can do. We will do this same activity again during our next class just to get more practice being around and interacting with the materials.

Math & Art: It adds up to fun!

Students in Kindergarten used clay to create 2D shapes as part of their math curriculum, and the 1st and 2nd graders used Tux Paint stamps to create 10 sets of 10 in order to celebrate the 100th day of the school year. (See video below)