Grades 5 & Up

Lessons for 5th through 8th graders

For the 2020-2021 school year, our lessons will all be accessible through the Buzz platform. Please check there for your lessons!

Choose from any of the activities below, or do them all! Keep in mind that these optional lessons are for enrichment only and will not be graded. Use any materials that you have at home.

Once you complete your artwork, feel free to share it on our class bulletin board, Flipgrid or email it to me.

If you have any questions, please email me at jenni.feidler + @gilbertschools.net

Last Week 2019-2020

May 18 - 22, 2020

Can you believe it's already the last week of school? This has definitely been an interesting year, and I miss you all so much. I hope you continue to make art at home, and please feel free to email me over the summer. I will continue to post videos on YouTube for you all summer, so make sure to check back!

For our last lessons, I am going to show you how to paint with markers, then send you off for the summer with a fun book. Watch the videos below, then get out some materials and start making art!

Painting with Markers

Did you know that you can PAINT with markers? Watch the video to see how, then get yours out and give it a try!

Color Diffusion with Coffee Filters

All you need is a coffee filter or paper towel, some washable markers, and water! Watch how the colors blend together in this fun art process.

The Rules of Summer

Read this book with me to start thinking about summer. Shaun Tan's beautiful paintings are strange and mysterious, and definitely get your imagination going. What will your imagination come up with this summer?

After you finish reading, draw a picture of something you would like to do this summer, or better yet, draw your own Rules of Summer!

Have a great summer!

Week 7

May 11 - 15, 2020

This is our last full week of classes! I miss seeing your faces so much, and hope you are still making art at home. Try out some of these fun lessons to keep your mind creating as we come to the end of the school year. Don't forget that you can send my pictures of your work!

Roll up a Rose

Do you have playdoh or clay at home? Grab it and make a rose along with this video!

Don't have any? Check out this recipe to make your own play dough!

Ninja Turtles Art History

Ready for a little art history from some pizza-loving turtles with ninja skills? Your mind will be blown when you find out the secret truth about Mikey, Donny, Raf and Leo and where they got their names! Then, you get to draw your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Fingerprint Figures

Read this silly book about Henry Finch with me. Did you notice how the birds are all made out of fingerprints?

Try making a figure of your own with your own fingerprint! Color your finger tip with marker, dip it in paint, press it on an ink pad, or drip food coloring on it to make some fingerprints. Then when they dry, draw on and around them to turn them into fun animals or people!

Mother's Day Projects

Pick one or make them all, your mom deserves something really special, made by you!

Mother's Day Coupon Book

Make a coupon book for Mom using one sheet of paper and a few markers. Then fill the book with good deeds that you can do for your mom!

Mother's Day Bouquet Art

Trace your hand and then use it as a 3D flower bouquet holder in this fun and simple work of art!

Mother's Day 3D Heart Card

Using strips of paper, create 3D hearts and add them to a beautiful card for your mom or grandmother.

Week 6

May 4 - 8, 2020

This week we will focus on some really important concepts in drawing. First, we will revisit how to draw 3-dimensional shapes, then learn how to shade them in. Your 3D shapes will really come to life, using only pencil!

Next, we will practice drawing characters that show expression or emotion, and I encourage you to create your own character, and draw it using several different emotions.

Part 1: Drawing & Shading 3D shapes

How to draw 3D shapes

Use this video to review how to draw 3-D shapes, then watch the next video to see how to shade them in.

How to shade 3D shapes

Learn how to use light and dark values to shade your 3D shapes using pencil.

Part 2: Facial Expressions

Drawing Characters with Expressions

Follow along with the video to practice drawing faces that show different types of expressions or emotions. We take a close look at some familiar characters as our models, then try out our own expressions.

Week 5

April 27 - May 1, 2020

Design your own Board Game!

Watch the video to see the steps on how to design your own board game at home, then create your own!

Here are some things to think about:

1. What will be the theme or concept?

2. How will you play the game?

3. What will the board look like? How will you move?

4. Will you use dice, cards, spinner, or something else to move?

5. What will you use as game pieces?

6. How do you win and finish the game?

Observational Drawing

Vincent Van Gogh loved to paint the beautiful and interesting things in the world around him.

What is something in your surroundings that is interesting to you? Draw what you see... shapes, colors, shadows, texture and more. Draw it as close to real life as you can. This is called a "still life drawing." Show me what you draw!

Week 4

April 20 - 24, 2020

Earth Day is this week!

Let's show how we can make a difference by being Earth-friendly with our art projects this week. You will be "upcyling" and reusing recyclable materials for your Makerspace art projects.

Make your own Makerspace

This week, I challenge you to use any materials you have at home, be as creative as possible, and build something new! Here are some tips to get started.

Step 1: Watch this video to understand what Makerspace is all about.

Step 2: Materials

Gather materials, as many as you can find! Here are some examples: scissors, glue, cardboard, paper, crayons, markers, paint, recycled materials

Step 3: Ideas

Think of different things you can make with the materials you have. You can use an idea from the video or come up with your own new idea.

Step 4: Design

Start designing! Use recycled materials as base, cut and glue pieces together, then add some color and details. Voila! You have just created something out of nothing!

Don't forget, you can share your project with me on our Google Classroom, class bulletin board, Flipgrid or email it to me at jenni.feidler + @gilbertschools.net

Week 3

April 13 - 17, 2020

Chalk Challenge

Let's spread some hope and love through chalk drawings!

One of my favorite outdoor activities is drawing with chalk, and what a better way to connect with your neighbors than to write positive messages for them to see?

Check out my video to see how my family and I are spreading kind words, and then make your own chalk drawings at home.

Learn, Explore, Draw!

Choose from one of the following lessons, or try them all! Each how-to-draw video lesson is paired with a field trip or book to learn more about what we are drawing.

Dinosaurs

Explore the museum, Pangea: Land of the Dinosaurs, then draw your own Brontosaurus dinosaur.

Zoo Babies

Read the book, Look at the Zoo Babies, then draw your own cute baby panda, bunny, or chick.

Week 2

April 6 - 10, 2020

I have designed and chosen 2 main lessons for this week: Explore & Draw, and Disney Imagineering.

You may choose one of them, or complete both. The second lesson, a Disney lesson from Khan Academy, has many parts. You may choose to complete part of the project or the entire design, your choice!

Lesson 1: Explore & Draw

For this lesson, you will travel to a destination of your choice and draw what you see. You can choose from one of the locations below and travel through it as a virtual field trip. When you find a location that interests you, grab some paper and a pencil, and make a sketch. Once you are happy with your sketch, add some outlines and/or color to complete it!

You can use the 1-point and 2-point perspective videos to guide you in drawing your space correctly.

Canals of Venice, Italy

Taj Mahal in Agra, India

Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt

Colosseum in Rome, Italy

How to draw in 1-point perspective

How to draw in 2-point perspective

Lesson 2: Disney Imagineering - Create your own Fantasy World

In this lesson, you will learn how Disney worlds are created, then create your own! While viewing incredible behind-the-scenes videos from real Disney Imagineers, you will learn the steps to designing your own magical land.

To see the source lesson, click on the Khan Academy icon.

After viewing: Imagineering In a Box | Creating Worlds | Lesson 1.0 - Introduction

Begin to think of what sort of world you would create. Would it be realistic, spooky, fantastical, colorful, or magical? What would be in it? Who would live there?

After viewing: Imagineering In a Box | Creating Worlds | Lesson 1.1 - Story

Your own land

Imagine you are asked to design and build a land of your own. You could create a place you’ve dreamed of visiting (like a distant planet), a fictional place you imagined (like a cartoon land) or a story you want to bring to life (could be from your favorite movie or book).

Question 1: What kind of land will you create?

You can come up with many ideas and pick your favorite later.
What is the name of the land?

Question 2: What is a story that takes place in this world?

What do you imagine happening in this world?
How do you want this world to make people feel?

After viewing: Imagineering In a Box | Creating Worlds | Lesson 1.2 - Theme

Theme

What do you imagine it feels like to be in your land?
What do you imagine people might learn when visiting your land?
What do you want them to think about after leaving your land?

After viewing: Imagineering In a Box | Creating Worlds | Lesson 1.3 - Layout

Layout

Activity: Start a rough draft of a map for your own land. Don’t worry if you don’t have the whole land planned out yet. You can leave a lot of blanks for future ideas. Focus more on the style of your map, what it looks and feels like.

After viewing: Imagineering In a Box | Creating Worlds | Lesson 1.4 - Buildings

Building design

Activity: Find or take some reference images which look similar to the buildings you imagine in your own land (you can also sketch designs if you can’t find references.)

After viewing: Imagineering In a Box | Creating Worlds | Lesson 1.5 - Landscape

Landscape and plant life design

Question: What does the plant life tell you about the land and how does it make you feel?

Activity: Find one or more reference images for both the plant life and landscape of your land.

How do these images reflect the theme and story of your land?
If you’d like to create new plants, which don’t exist on earth, provide a sketch!

You can go ahead and view these videos, though we won't be doing exercises for them. They go on to show more of the magic of Disney!

After viewing: Imagineering In a Box | Creating Worlds | Lesson 1.10 - Mood Board

Mood board

Activity 1: Create a mood board for your land by assembling all the references you’ve collected thus far (materials, buildings, colors...etc). Feel free to add additional images that help you visualize and feel the mood of your land. There are no “rules” to follow except the more references you can find the better. You can do this physically or virtually.

Alternative Final Project: You can also choose to do a final scene drawing of your new world that you have intricately designed. Make sure to include the elements that you have been sketching and researching, such as buildings and landscapes. Add some color and details to your final drawing, and share it with us when you are done!

Week 1

March 30 - April 3, 2020

Museum I Spy

Let's visit a museum across the globe and play a game of I Spy!

How exactly will we do that? Follow these directions:

Click the link to the Van Gogh Museum
Scroll down until you see the images like these:

Decide which floor you want to start on, click it, and start to explore!
As you move through the museum, you can also click the images at the bottom to move to those artworks.

Ready to play? Ok, here's what you are looking for!

I spy, with my little eye....

a pillow

a crow

blue flowers

a self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh

a candle

a pear

a straw hat

a sailboat

mountains

a farm house

a book

a sunflower

a green dress

an orchard

Japanese characters

How many did you find? You can leave me a note on the sharing board to let me know!

Kindness Cards

You've all seen my video on The Art of Kindness by now. Here's just one way your can be kind at home.

Make a Kindness Card for some one special, or to brighten some one's day! You can start with the story, The Kindness Quilt, and then watch the instructions on how to make your own cards. You can make these cards for anyone, using any materials you have at home!

You could also make a Kindness Quilt piece, just like Minna does in the story! As you are working, think of ways you can BE KIND to your family at home.