Owls at night: elementary.

Significant Problem

As a part of third grade study, incorporate students' knowledge of owls into an art lesson. With the combination of printmaking, drawing, and collage, students can create owls in a nighttime setting.

Essential Concepts

1. Drawing an owl with simple contour lines.

2. Using Styrofoam to create at least two successful block prints.

3. Creating a background environment for presentation of prints.

Materials

For owls: 6 x 9" (15 x 23 cm) white copy paper, 6 x 9" (15 x 23 cm) Styrofoam tray, pencils, tape, printing inks, brayers, 6 x 9" (15 x 23 cm) black construction paper, scissors, glue

For background: 12 x 18" (31 x 46 cm) black construction paper, 12 x 18" (31 x 46 cm) brown construction paper, oil pastels, scissors, glue, small cardboard pieces

Guiding Practice

Review students' knowledge of owls. Provide books with pictures of owls so students can get ideas for simple line drawings. Tape drawings onto Styrofoam sheet and trace to make an impression. Remove paper and retrace lines. incising them deep enough for a recognizable image. Make sure students' names are on the back of their Styrofoam plate, as well as on the back of the paper they will be printing on. Set up stations for rolling out the ink, inking the plate, and pulling the print. Designate a drying area. When the prints are dry, students can cut around the shape of the owl for their collage. Cut a tree with braches from brown construction paper and glue it onto black paper to create a background for the owl prints. Use oil pastels to make a pattern of bark on the tree. Place owls in the tree and adhere with cardboard pieces for a three-dimensional effect.

Assessing Learning

Were students successful in making a simple line drawing of an owl? Did they use tools and materials properly? Did they create successful block prints to use in their final work? Were they attentive to detail in creating a background environment for their owls?

ClipCard submitted by Gina Brent, an elementary art teacher at The Country School in Easton, Maryland.

Article Details

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Publication:	School Arts
Geographic Code:	1USA
Date:	Oct 1, 2003
Words:	351
Previous Article:	Bottle gourd birdhouses: high school.
Next Article:	Symmetrical butterflies: middle school.
Topics:	Art education Owls Study and teaching

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