Archive for the ‘Science related’ Category
Planetary Motion Spinners
Posted on: July 7, 2010
-
- This was one of my best ideas all year – I used mostly junk to teach a great science concept through art. That’s SCRAP at its peak teaching ability.
-
- Students worked to keep the tops on smaller sheets of paper and then took their art home, as well as the spinners, so they could use them again at home.
-
- They used modelling clay to keep the cardboard in place and balance the spinner. We covered the desks with paper and spun the tops to demonstrate rotation and revolution, just like Earth!
-
- Students revitalized dead crummy dollar store markers (donated to SCRAP and weeded out) in liquid watercolors (you could use food coloring).
-
- Add color to the cardboard shape – I had kids use oil pastels since they would show up boldly against the dull grey cardboard. Adding the design is part of the fun, since they can try and predict what it will look like when it spins.
-
- I used the die-cut machine to make the shapes quickly and easily (I needed about 50 stars) but students could easily cut their own.
-
- Cut out shapes (I used stars) and cut an x with a knife in the center to poke your marker through. I used old cardboard from the backs of discarded notepads.
Living Things at Woodstock Library
Posted on: May 11, 2010
Third grade students are learning about plants in art and science. They made plant rubber stamps and printed with them – look for leaves, veggies, fruits, flowers, trees, etc. Some of their tree paintings are also on display; they mixed up custom colors for the background and painted portfolio boxes literally removed from a recycle dumpster. We sketched trees in the school’s courtyard and talked about the parts of trees and how trees really look (not like a cotton ball on a stick), and kids used black, white, blue, yellow and red paint, mixed colors and painted a landscape featuring a tree.
Solar Systems at Sellwood Library
Posted on: May 5, 2010
Puzzle/Tracks at Woodstock Library
Posted on: April 13, 2010
-
- Seeing as we live in Portland, we let the rain wash our art away.
-
- A artist clearly proud of his work of art!
-
- Students work outside on the grass to reduce mess.
-
- Corn packing peanuts stick together when wet to offer interesting sculpture possibilities!
Creative Reuse Lesson Plan Kindergarten: Plants
Written by Keri Piehl for SCRAP /Whitman ES 2009-10
Corn Packing Peanut Sculptures
Cost per student: Potentially nothing, if you can find someone getting rid of a bag. I picked up my 5 foot tall bag next to a dumpster.
Materials: Corn packing peanuts, small bowls for water, water. If working indoors, something for the kids to build on (I used lids from Rubbermaid tubs), some Styrofoam peanuts to show the kids (I just packed a Ziploc bag with them so they didn’t make a mess)
Students will create sculptures using a plant-derived material
Elements of art: form
Vocabulary: biodegradable
-
- Students loved using droppers to give their seeds a drink of water.
-
- Paper towel strips act as “soil” to retain water.
-
- Presoaked beans!
-
- The poster with the assembly information.
-
- The finished product, with the sun shining through.
Creative Reuse Lesson Plan Kindergarten: Plants
Written by Keri Piehl for SCRAP /Whitman ES 2009-10
Seed Envelopes
Cost per student: $.15, but that includes the cost of permanent markers which would last 2-3 years
Materials: Permanent markers, laminate scraps (the laminating machine most schools have create a 6”x18” strip of waste every time they are used; it is built into the design of the machine. The librarian kindly saved the waste strips for me until I had enough), stapler, hole punch, yarn or ribbon scraps, newspaper, water, pipettes or droppers, paper towels, seeds you’ve soaked overnight.
Prep: besides soaking the seeds to give them a jumpstart on life, I made envelopes out of the laminate by folding an 8”x10” piece, in half, then turning in the edges, then stapling each side so it will hold water. See photos for a better idea.
Students will create an arty transparent envelope, used to sprout a seed.
Elements of art: Line, shape, color, form
Vocabulary: sprout, transparent
