For grades K-4 - Ezra Jack Keats...small brush This lesson was inspired by a lesson in Arts & Activities magazine article, Kingly Kanines by Laura Lasker. I tore out the page, stuffed
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This lesson was inspired by a lesson in Arts & Activities magazine article, Kingly Kanines by Laura Lasker. I tore out the page, stuffed it in my “idea” file and pulled it out after seeing a fantastic dog pillow in a magazine. The pillow featured an adorable graphic dog stencil that I knew my students would be inspired by.I love giving my students choices, so
Following the steps in the handouts, introduce each dog to the students by drawing the 3 dogs on the whiteboard. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and talk about each dog’s different features as you move through the drawings.Then, erase the drawings and start again with the students. I did directed line drawings of the 3 dogs simultaneously. Draw a rectangle to mimic the paper and draw each step one dog at a time. You can also demonstrate 3 different crowns for each dog.You can pick one dog if you would prefer or you can allow the children to draw on their own with photographs of dogs on the whiteboard and the handouts as guides and/or inspiration.To help with placement, place hand, palm-side down on top edge of paper with pinky touching the top. Spread fingers slightly, and where the thumb rests, draw a dot. Use this as a guide for drawing the band of the crown.Keep the drawings very simple and if a child makes a mistake, encourage him to keep going. There will be lots of opportunities to cover the “mistakes” with paint.The drawing should look like a coloring book at this point.
1/2 parts Brown plus 1/4 part yellow plus 1/4 part white equals cocker spaniel goldenrod
Teachers often ask where I get my paint colors. I buy standard colors but I like to mix them up. Often times, there is no recipe; just mix away and see what happens. You can use clear, pint-size plastic containers with lids for mixing or you can use empty paint bottles. Relabel the jars and you can save the paints for up to a month.
After following a directed line drawing, painting the dog should be as expressive as you can allow. I like to add a palette of “dog” colors, plus
a palette of brighter colors (plus white) for the background. In a separate container, you might consider adding the gold metallic paint or a small cup of gold oil pastels. If you add the metallic paint to a muffin-style palette, the color will get mixed. I don’t mind, but if you do, try to keep the paints separate. I encouraged the students to use one color for the background so that the dog would stand out. Many kids overruled this notion and painted backgrounds of their choice. It was quite fun seeing what they came up with.
To added fun, you can decorate the crown with buttons, rhinestones or even paper scraps. Or, if you like a bit of sparkle, try glue and glitter!
Outlining the painting with black paint may seem like a difficult step, but it truly makes the piece. Using a small brush, children dip brush into the watered down black tempera paint and outline all of the lines they like. So if they made a mistake drawing with oil pastel in step 1, they can avoid these lines if the paint didn’t already cover it up. If you are timid bringing out the black paint (and for Kinders, this is understandable) use black oil pastel over dry paint. The results will be equally as dynamic but with much less mess.I prefer the painterly quality of the brush strokes and it provides great practice for fine-motor skills.