Thursday, March 7, 2013

wacky birds


My Third graders have been working on some awesome glue-resist birds this week that I really wanted to share! First off, I pinned this free downloadable printable on Pinterest. I admit that I love those sort of handouts because they give students choices and inspiration and save tears and frustration. 

The students drew their birds in pencil on a black 12x12" sheet of paper and then traced their birds in white glue. This took an entire class period and we allowed the projects to dry.

 The next week we talked about how the state of the glue had changed: from white, wet, and sticky to clear, dry, and hard. We used chalk pastels to color the birds in. This was their first time learning to blend colors and shades, and to work with chalk in general. It was a bit of a messy experience, but they loved it!
 At the end of the project, I had them use oil pastels to create shapes or designs in the background for a little more visual interest. 


 So far they have turned out amazingly well! The kids love them, too...even though we've sprayed them, I sure hope they make it home intact :) How do you send home oil pastel drawings or chalk drawings?
Happy day, happy art.

7 comments:

  1. I love how your Wacky Birds turned out! It's great to see so many ways the Wacky Birds can be turned into art. Thanks for posting the pictures and linking to Expressive Monkey's website!

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    1. great! love your printables...i printed them for our second grade team as they are working on an audubon unit right now :)

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  2. I found this on Expressive Monkey, too! (Love their printout) I am using the handout with 1st graders to create a cooperative mural based on a stock art I found of a tree full of birds. It's great how we take the same handout and can take them in different directions. I'll be posting the murals in the next few weeks on my blog Art on my hands. Love your 3rd grade works and the idea to use glue and chalk.

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  3. Loved these birds. When I hang soft pastel artwork at school (in the hallways) I laminate it to keep the artwork and the halls neat. Otherwise, I roll it up in a piece of newsprint 18 x 24 that they have used as a placemat so they can transport it home. Love soft pastel but it is such a big mess. A few of my kids hate the chalky feel, not sure how to handle this still. Besides kleenex and paper towels so they do not have to touch it.

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    1. great idea with the newsprint! i will do that!!!

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  4. You mentioned you used chalk pastels for the birds and background and then used oil pastels for the extra "bling" in the background. Those are two different types of pastels, right? I believe I just have oil pastels but have done something similar with tulips and it seemed to work fine so I'm thinking it should be okay to just use one color tool. Definitely messy! :)

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