Fish from Outer Space

Introduction

This is an art activity that allows students to do a drawing of their own interpretation from a description given by another art class. It gives the students the chance to use their own creativity and experiment with line and color.

Instructional Objectives

Tap into their creativity
Use line to create their fish
Use their knowledge of color to enhance their fish
Increase awareness of other people's vision of art.

Content

Each participating class will submit a description of a fish from another planet. After turning in a description, the class will take another class' description, read it, and have their class draw it on an individual basis. After the drawing is complete, allow the students to use color, throught the media of the instructor's choice. When the entire fish is completed allow students to compare their fish with each other.

Grade Level

This is appropiate for grades 2-5

Activites

Submit a description of your class' fish from another planet.
Choose a description from another school for your class to draw.
Instructor reads the description (peice by piece) to the class and gives them time to draw each addition.
Students compare their drawings
Students now add color with watercolor, oil pastels, chalk, paint, of even dries legumes to add texture.
Compare final product and hang their creations.

Timeline

This timeline will help you plan for the participation in this project. This project can easliy be divided into several days, depending on how much time you want to spend on the line drawing or the coloring of the fish. Here is how I would do it:

Day 1

Get supplies ready; get description from another school and read it to the class slowly (allow students to draw each piece before moving on to the next piece of the description).
Compare and discuss finished drawings.
Give students time to think about what their final project will look like when finished. What colors will they use to bring it to live.

This is a good place to stop for day one, but if you still have time then get students started on the color portion.

Day 2

Students work on adding color or texture to their fish
Discuss how different the fish look with color and look at the differences in the fish.

Assesment

Does the student's fish have all the components from the description of the fish? Did they use the medium (for the final touches) correctly?

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This pape was created by Wendy Isham, Elementary Art Teacher, Bryan ISD.

Last updated 8/3/99