2nd & 3rd Grade

Ms. Paquin and Mrs. Sargent

The ArtWorks! theme for 2nd and 3rd grade was Maintaining.

Maintaining can take many different forms, including preserving relationships, the environment, and one’s personal memories. Maintaining relationships and memories allows individuals to gain fulfillment and build positive relationships with themselves and their communities. This practice results in both gratitude and contentment, two valuable sentiments for children at all ages.

In addition to building students’ personal connection with the world and themselves, this unit aimed to develop students’ sophistication with art skills, techniques, and history. Students learned such skills as watercolor painting, molding clay, representation, and how to maintain their supplies. They developed their overall artistic understanding by studying various artworks with a focus on modern and historical contexts.

The second and third graders in the ArtWorks program engaged in the two different lessons: “A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words” and “In Our Memory”.

Lesson One:

A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words

In “A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words,” students learned how to realistically depict natural objects such as flowers, gourds, and autumn leaves. They did this by first creating a blind contour drawing and then by relying on direct observation to both draw and watercolor paint their objects. Their careful observation and practice with watercolor painting techniques resulted in a colorful watercolor card that could be given to a loved one in order to maintain a positive relationship.

Everett

Eloise

Nya

Tyler

Nora

Aria

Aubree

Mia

Loic

Sophia

Adeline

Evie

Alex

Willow

Alexis

Maggie

Zoe

Ella

Nyx

Lesson Two:

"In Our Memory"

The “In Our Memory” lesson consisted of creating relief tiles that illustrated a fond memory the student had. First, the class discussed the importance of remembering positive events in their lives. Then, each student picked a memory they valued and sketched it out on paper. The sketches were transferred onto clay tiles, in which they used their newly learned additive techniques (attaching coils and small slabs) to make their memory come to life. After firing, the clay tiles were ready to paint using colors custom-mixed by the children. In the end, students were able to take home a tangible, visual representation of their memory, which can facilitate positive thoughts and emotions for years to come!