Japanese culture study

for my second grade classes, we are doing a culture study with Japan. they will be creating a koi fish mobile and a haiku.

First, the will learn to draw a simple fish shape. i made some templates for them so that they can follow size requirements better ( i don't want any minnows in my koi school), but they are all expected to make and cut out their own fish. for CDC students, you could make the templates for them so that they only have to color them.
next, the students will attach tissue paper to make the fins and tail.
after that, we are going to talk about syllables  and practice writing haikus. then they can write one of their own, or use the one we write as a class to attach to the bottom of their fish mobile.
the fish will all be hung together in a "school".

and yes, this lesson is cat approved.

and here are some student examples. there are a few eels among the koi, love that Modrian-esque fish.

cheap and simple, but very versatile

i was thinking about color lessons today.....and made this!
black foam core:$1.99
velcro:$1.49
construction paper and lamination: free from my wonderful host teacher.

very handy because the kids can pull off any colors and stick them back easily. can be used as a kind of formative assessment (ask them to pull off primary colors, complements, etc.), plus it looks cool on the wall!

Kindergarten: Cave Paintings

For our kindergarten and pre-k classes, we are making "cave paintings". This is an environmentally and budget friendly project that any teacher can appreciate!

 Start with brown paper bags! Ours are cut down to 16"x8". 
After a brief explanation of what cave paintings are and the history of ancient art, the students can sketch out animal and human forms on their bags with oil pastels.


After that, they used tempura paints as a resist over the pastels.

To display the pieces, we string them together and run them down the hallway!here are some student examples: