Third Grade Projects From My Long-Term Sub Gig

Here are some of the projects from my long-term sub gig that appear in the collage here so that you had a bit more info on them...ENJOY!! For the background about where I've been/what I've been doing lately, scroll to the end of the post...

"I am flying over the Eiffel Tower. I had a dream to go near. I am so happy."
Check out the post about this project below...

Third Grade Projects From My Long-Term Sub Gig:

Week 1: Snowglobes (1 day)

A getting-to-know-you project.

Students used construction paper and construction paper crayons to create 3D snowglobes with winter scenes in them. You could use oil pastels for more vibrant colors. The blue background paper is double-thickness so it stands up better and doesn't curl. The pieces could also stand up due to a ringed base. Glittery “snow” was added for sparkle! This one is a keeper in my opinion!

Since I did this project in one day with the students (and they took them with them),
it was a whirlwind and I didn't get any photos of student projects :-(

Week 2 and 3: Jasper Johns Numbers (2 days) 

A continuation of a project started prior to my arrival

Students used pencil and Sharpie to create numbers within a folded grid. Once inked, students could use crayons and paint to add color to the negative spaces within their work.

Jasper Johns, Numbers in Color (1958-59)  

Sorry, I don't have pictures of this, 

but the project was similar to this one, but numbers-only.

Week 5 and 6: Faith Ringgold Story Quilt A similar project can be found here.

Inspired by the book, “Tar Beach,” by Faith Ringgold

I feel that this project is sort of my go-to project with all students--I just love it and it so adaptable. I saw the write-up of a version on scholastic and decided to do that the time. Scholastic has a TON of related activities--check out this wonderful link.

For this version of the project, students looked at the book, “Tar Beach” by Faith Ringgold and used drawing and collage to create storytelling quilts about flying away to someplace special. Students then wrote a description of their piece to be displayed with the work. Individual student work was mounted together to create a whole-class composition displayed in the hallway. Note: the glare on the photos below are due to the glitter glue "stars" we added. Everything is betta with glitta!

The finished quilt--beautiful! 

A quote from the book, "I have told him it's very easy,

anyone can fly. All you need is somewhere to go that you can't get to

any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying among the stars."

The little white pieces below each square are the students' write-ups about

what is going on in their work. 

"Hi. I am Liz and I'm in New York where there's cars and good food
and on the 4th of July we put fireworks up in the sky but right now
I'm flying. Do you want to fly with me?"

"I am the fastest superhero and I like basketball and soccer.
I am speedy."

Week 7: Kandinsky group mural Check out the original post here.

Inspired by Kandinsky’s color studies

Students used paint to create a composition of concentric rings based on the color studies by Kandinsky. Individual student work was displayed with other grade levels to create a multi-age group mural for the hallway.

A close-up of the individual 6" squares all glued together
onto the larger roll of paper using Elmer's glue (a dot in each corner).

The finished mural. Beautiful!!

One day printmaking project: Winter Prints

I used this as an attention-getting 1-day project with the fifth graders at a school I am temporarily working at--I thought they would appreciate a hands-on project as we got to know each other the first day. 

Yeah, I know, first day printmaking-I'm a little crazy...

We used foam trays from the supermarket as their printmaking plate and they "carved" the plate with a pencil to make a relief. I didn't have them sketch their ideas out first--just grab a pencil and go (I know, super-risky, but it worked)! I had originally intended to have them create just snowmen, but a few branched out and did other winter-themed artwork (snowflakes, hot cups of cocoa, gingerbread houses and more). I'm fine with giving them creative choices and they were able to make a print (white ink on black paper) by the end of the class. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and they loved their prints!

P.S. I know that foam plates are not eco-friendly, but I had them already and I wanted to show the students they could create art with supplies they could find in their homes. Next week I'm going to show them how they can use washable markers to hand color a foam plate and make a monoprint like I described in this post.

Mini Craft (Popsicle) Stick Snowman

Snowman's Valentine

by Leland B. Jacobs

I have a jolly snowman,

The best I've ever had.

I'm giving him a valentine

that ought to make him glad.

For though he's very handsome

and sound in every part,

I noticed only yesterday

he hasn't any heart.

So quickly with my scissors

and paper red and fine

I made a fancy little heart;

my snowman's valentine!

(Poem reprinted from Miss Brown's webpage)

Left: Back of piece
Middle: Front of snowman, partway through project.
Right: Completed snowman project

This is a nice little craft that uses supplies you may already have on hand. I sent this craft in for my son's 2nd grade class to do at their Holiday Party, but it is a cute craft to do on a snowy day or decorate your snowman with a heart, attach the above poem, and give it out for St. Valentine's Day!

Popsicle Stick Snowman

Supplies Needed:

• Four craft/popsicle sticks
• Glue (I like using a glue gun, but tacky glue is probably better for little ones)
• White tempera or acrylic paint
• Markers (we used black and orange)
• Felt scraps, assorted colors. You'll need a 3.5" x 4.5" rectangle for a hat and a 9" x 1" rectangle for a scarf
• One to two 6" pieces of yarn
• Sticky-backed felt shapes or paper to make a heart, optional

Directions:

1. Line up three of the popsicle sticks next to each other with their long sides touching. Cut the remaining popsicle stick into 1" sections. Glue two of the small sections onto the back of the larger popsicle sticks for support, using tacky glue or hot glue. This is your snowman's body. Let dry.

2. Flip the popsicles sticks over and paint the front of the snowman white. Let dry.

3. Fold one of the long edges of the 3.5" x 4.5" rectangle to make a hat brim. Using the photo as a guide, attach the hat to the snowman (you'll need to glue it to the front of the snowman and the back). Then, use a piece of yarn to gather the hat and give it some shape. Knot the yarn and trim excess. If you are making the snowman an ornament, make a loop with the second piece of yarn and attach it to the back of the piece.

4. Using the markers, draw features on your snowman such as eyes, carrot nose, mouth and buttons.

5. Cut 1/2" long slits for fringe at either end of the piece of felt you will be using for a scarf. Tie the scarf around the snowman and secure with a dot of glue. 

6. Add a paper heart if you are sticking with the poem above.

You're done! Enjoy your little snowman!

Snowman & Bird Mosaic for PTA Auction

I am so thrilled with this craft! This past Friday, I went into my oldest son's fourth grade class to help the students create a piece to be auctioned off by the Amherst PTA this fall in their online fundraiser. Since the auction will be ending November 22nd or so, we couldn't create anything that had a Halloween theme. I chose an image that would be great to display through the winter: a Snowman and Bird (this image came from a magazine, it was intended to be a pillow).

The image was divided into 24 sections and each child was responsible for one section, or 100 tiles! It sounds like a lot, but it really wasn't all that bad once we divided it up! The children were amazed that the image was made from over 2400 little paper tiles! This was a great way for the students to recharge after a long week of standardized testing and learn something new! The lesson has a bit of math thrown in and next week the students will be learning about maps, so working with the grids was a nice tie-in.

The tiles are scrap booking paper and the final piece was mounted on canvas and framed so it is ready-to-hang. I think that will make the piece more marketable-it certainly looks good to me!

Here are some pictures documenting the process. I will be posting a tutorial for a similar project as soon as I can. Thank you so much to Mrs. Nagy for letting me come in and do this craft with her students and thank you to all of the boys and girls who worked so hard on this piece. It truly came out fantastic! ENJOY!

This board shows the entire piece on the grid, how the sections are divided and the steps to create the piece.

Each student was given a 10x10 block section of the piece. Students then copied the diagram with 1/4" squares cut from scrap booking paper.

The finished colors were much more vibrant than the original diagram.

This picture shows the piece in progress. Each section is attached to the canvas using Modge Podge. It's fun to see the image magically come together!