Carolyn Braden: 3rd Grade, More Narrative Rizzi Birds!

Here are more of my students James Rizzi inspired paintings. Their birds are narrative art. (Purposes of art: Narrative, Functional, Artistic Expression, Ceremonial). What stories do these birds tell?

Carolyn Braden: Second Grade Field Trip, Courtesy of @Target Field Trip Grants

I recently received a Target Field Trip Grant. I wrote the grant in order to be able to take my second graders to the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. Students will go on the trip in March. Students will be able to tour the museum and create art in their art classroom. I chose to have the students create folk art wooden toys based on the ideas of Louisville artist Marvin Finn. I loved doing the project with my second graders at my previous school and know my students this year will love it too. More info to come! A BIG thank you to Target. Their grant programs are wonderful. Having art on a cart doesn't allow me to do some 3-D projects I love. Being able to go to the museum allows my wonderful Schaffner Traditional students a chance to work in a real art classroom and create an amazing 3-D project.

Kindergarten knows their lines!

My kindergarteners know the five types of lines; Carrie Curvy, Harriet Horizontal, Dottie Diagonal, Victor Vertical and Zhyan Zigzag. We read a story about the three little kittens who lost their mittens. Students then used lines to design brightly colored gloves that the kittens would be able to find easily.

Third Grade Rizzi Birds

My third graders have certainly impressed me with their James Rizzi inspired bird paintings. The students became cartoonists for this project. Their bird had to tell a story like it was a cartoon character. Here is one that I had to share because it made me laugh. It's so cute!

Fifth Grade Symmetrical Quilled Snowflakes

My fifth graders are currently working on symmetrical quilled snowflakes. This was my first time teaching this lesson and based on my students enthusiasm and dedication, I know it's a great project!

Fourth Grade Native American Myth Shields

Here is the start of our Narrative shields project. Students had to develop a myth that explains why something in the world is the way it is. (ex. Why Polar Bears Are White) Then they created a shield based on their ideas.

Art Trading Cards!

While students wait for their turn to visit my art store this week, they are working on trading cards. Artists often make these mini works of art and pass them out to get their name in the public eye. Students are creating one pastiche card (a copy of a famous work of art) and 2 or more cards with their own original art. They have the option of trading their cards with their classmates. So many cards have turned out beautifully! More designs coming soon!






















































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Be Creative Center Day!

If my classes earn 6 crayons (they get one crayon per week based on good behavior) they get to have a Be Creative Center Day. Students have the entire class time to do various activities such as finger weaving, straw construction, play balancing games, Lego architecture and more. Here are some of the super creative things grades K-5 made over the past couple of weeks.


Is this students a future Frank Lloyd Wright?






Great balancing!



A creative way to learn spelling words?


















Carolyn J. Braden
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Upcoming Projects: Fall 2011

Currently all my students are working diligently on projects that will soon be finished. Here's what each grade level is working on:

4th and 5th Grade:
PTA Reflections Contest. The theme this year is "Diversity means....." Students in these grades are truly making their ideas of what diversity means to them translate into picture form amazingly. I will be picking some student work to represent our school in the PTA Reflections Contest. Judging of the entries takes place in October.

3rd Grade: 
Georgia O'Keeffe Beautiful Flowers. I do a guided drawing of an O'Keeffe flower and students have the choice of creating an organic/realistic or a geometric/abstract flower. If you see your student drawing a flower, this is where they got the idea. Some students told me they have been drawing the flower on their own all week. That is so wonderful to hear!

2nd Grade:
When Pigasso Met Mootisse is a book we read in order to understand abstract and realistic portraits. Students are drawing their choice of either Pigasso in abstract style or Mootisse in realistic style. Students are also learning about the friendship between Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, color groups, shape and line types, background, foreground, middle ground and so much more!

1st Grade:
The Rainbow Fish. By reading this book, students learned the concept of sharing and making friends. We are learning to make our own fish friends through a guided drawing. The fish are looking truly beautiful!

Kindergarten:
Students are creating shape mosaics. We are learning how to collage, glue and trace. We are also learning about the vocabulary terms negative space, overlap, outline, tint, shade, dark, light, shape and line.

Next Steps: Upcoming Projects
Like a student, I often get bored if I am not challenged. While it takes a little extra time and work to develop new projects to try with students, sometimes we all need a good change. I recently researched some brand new ideas to add to my portfolio of projects I want to try with my students.

NEW*****
5th Grade: Leapin' Lizards! Chalk Pastel Drawings. I plan to relate the ideas of patterns and shapes in African art to patterns on snake and lizard skins. Students will learn to draw a large lizard and design geometric patterns for the skin. They will learn all about chalk pastel techniques and how to use the color groups to enhance their pattern design. (Idea adapted from www.deepspacesparkle.com)

4th Grade: Pablo Picasso Crazy Self-Portraits. While some students know how to draw their face in realistic style, many aren't aware that they can add interest by mixing it up a bit. Students will use many lines, shapes and patterns to create a crazy mixed-up, abstract self-portrait. Pablo Picasso looked to African art for inspiration and we will do the same. (Idea adapted from a 7th grade unit I did when I taught middle school).

Kindergarten: Bright Lights, Big City. Students will look to the ideas of Vincent VanGogh to create a water color curvy, swirly sky. Then students will create a dark cityscape with lit windows in the foreground of their paintings. They will collage it all together for a spectacular skyline. (Idea adapted from www.deepspacesparkle.com).

Oldies But Goodies
These are projects I've done in the past, but they have a beautiful result so I thought I'd keep them going.

1st Grade: 
African Magical Masks. Students will draw one half of an African style mask that contains geometric shapes and many line types. Students will say a magic spell to have their mask jump from one side of the paper to the other in order to make it symmetrical.

2nd Grade:
Fish and Butterfly Weavings. Students will learn the concept of how colonial artists had to make many things by hand due to not having stores all around as we do today. Students will create paper weavings and turn them into beautiful butterflies or fish.


3rd Grade: 
Rainforest Mixed Media. Students will create a textured background by painting with watercolor tissue paper. The background will serve as a scene for their textured trees and creepy crawly critters. They will learn how important the rainforests are to the world and how African patterns show up in many rainforest creatures skin.

Second Grade: Practice Sketches of Pigasso and Mootisse

These are great for just being practice sketches! We read the book When Pigasso Met Mootisse, based on Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Through our drawings, we are learning about portraits, geometric and organic shapes, abstract and realistic art, color groups and line types. I can't wait to see the final drawings!


























Carolyn J. Braden
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