1st Grade - Warm and Cool House Collage

Wrapping up the first grade color unit is this collage project.  We spend a few weeks going back over the color wheel and mixing colors before we divide the colors up a different way:  warm and cool.  We deduce which colors are warm and which are cool, then we use the cool colors to make a background for our warm houses.  Each artwork is made completely out of paper, and the warm colors really pop from the cool background.  Our first graders did an outstanding job.

Kindergarten - Rainbow Collage

I've been tinkering with the approach to this one over the years, but the result has stayed the same.  This project is a good way to wrap up the color mixing we'd been doing the last couple weeks, and a good reminder of the the line vocabulary we'd talked about earlier in the year.  Kindergarteners mix a rainbow using only the primary colors, then cut it into pieces and glue it back together, leaving gaps to make black lines in the rainbow.  Take a look at some of the excellent examples:

2nd Grade - Mood Mask

One of my favorite second grade projects, mood masks have been another staple in my room since the beginning.  The last few years, I've used them as part of the learning process for my SLO, where we learn to interpret line and color as they make sense for mood.

So everyone receives a colored piece of paper and has to decide what "mood" that color represents.  Then, we make a mask collage where the goal is to get the face to look like that particular mood.  Afterwards, we have a class critique where we learn to describe why an the mask looks like it might be feeling that way.  A healthy dose of "because."

On top of it all, the second graders do a really nice job adding details with nothing but cut paper.

1st Grade - Warm/Cool House Collage

This is, I think, generally one of first grade's most successful projects.  Here, we take a break from some of the more conceptual stuff we've been working on and get back to basics:  color.  We spent a few weeks leading up to this project learning about the primary colors and the color wheel, and for this project we break the color wheel down a little bit differently:  warm and cool.  It helped that during the weeks we took to make this project it was like 5 degrees outside, so we used cool colors for the background.  Because, when it's cold outside, we want our houses to be nice and warm, we used warm colors for the houses.  The contrast really helps the houses pop, and first graders this year are really good at cutting.  Check it out:

Kindergarten - Rainbow Collage

Kindergarten has been working on color for a big part of the quarter, and the unit culminates with this project.  Here, we fuse color and line together to make a rainbow collage, where the kids first color a rainbow using only the primary colors, then cut it up with different lines and glue it back together in sort of a puzzle.  It's a really cool effect that the kindergartners are really proud of.  Here are a few excellent examples.

2nd Grade - Mood Masks

Second graders get some practice interpreting with this collage project.  We start with a quick discussion about interpretation with things like language and facial expressions before we move onto the art world.  As a class, we talk about what colors and lines match which emotions, then use that information to make our own "mood masks" with colored construction paper.  The goal is for the students to give clues with shapes, lines, and colors so that others can accurately interpret the mood they chose for their mask.  The cool details really put some of these projects over the top.