4th Grade Pastel Pumpkins

A Wonderful Still Life Project in the Fall

Materials Needed:

Black Construction paper (I cut them into 17x17" squares)

Chalk and Oil Pastels

White glue

Day One: 

We discussed what a still life is and looked at examples

I demo how to draw a pumpkin that looks more 3D and less flat (they love this part)

Using pencils students draw their pumpkin still life on their black paper. They are urged to draw large and fill up the space.

When done, students use white Elmer's glue to trace over the pencil lines

I show the class how they should not make thin lines of glue, or have dashes in the glue line, 

the lines need to be solid and "plump" without creating puddles or globs.

Lay flat to dry.

Day Two:

I demo how to blend oil pastels and also how to create highlights and shadows on the pumpkins

This year we used oil pastels on the pumpkins and chalk pastels for the sky

but I have done similar projects like this using only chalk pastels as well.

I also demo how to blend colors in the sky using chalk pastels.

Students work independently until finished. And boy are they amazing!

 

6th Grade Still Life Drawings

Another "AH HA!" Moment

I love this lesson for many reasons: It is a great one day lesson. Can be used as a sub plan. Students have fun doing this. No two are alike. It gives the students some control (which they like.)

I came up with this idea because I have around 35-37 students in my 6th grade classes... making a single still life in the center of the room impossible. I have tried setting up a still life on each table as well, but this doesn't work great either. So I came up with this idea.... What if the STUDENTS created their own INDIVIDUAL still lifes?
So I put objects in 7 different bins, one for each table. When students arrived, I numbered them off at each table.
Ever heard of the game Pick Up Sticks? Well... that was my concept. No one could take an object that was under something else, it had to be on top. (This helps in a huge way.. no fighting over objects, no taking too long to decide, no picking the easiest objects to draw.)
Starting with number 1's, I give them 5 seconds to pick an object, then move to the #2's, 3's and so on until everyone has one object. We continued this until everyone had 3 objects. (I allowed students to add a 4th object of their own if they chose... so some added ipods, cell phones, candy bars etc. Made it interesting!)
Students then arranged their objects however they wanted. I told them to push their still life at least arms  length away before starting their drawing. (Many want the objects right next to their paper... not good for viewing correctly.)
Students worked the rest of the hour drawing a contour line drawing of the objects and added shading if they had time. They were very engaged for this drawing and all turned out great!

Some of the objects used

I collect objects at garage sales in the summer! I also use things around the room like scissors, glue etc. 

5th Grade Charcoal Still Life

One Day Lesson: White Charcoal Drawings

Students discussed value and focused on the highlights rather than the shadows for this drawing. 

I also demonstrated how the artist can use negative space to help guide the drawing process. For example, I ask what shape the negative space between the arm and body are creating, when the students see this you hear "aaaaaah..." and you see the light bulbs turning on, hehe. 

We actually went into a pretty in depth discussion/demo of how to draw objects from observation.

Proof is in the pudding.