In Progress: 3rd Grade Birch Trees

The next few posts will be about what we've started and finished this short week after break.  Just before break, my 3rd graders began their second birch tree painting.  This time, we are doing winter birch trees.  On the first day, we reviewed how to create depth using this power point. In the same class, students taped out their birch trees.  

During the second class, which was also before break, they drew in their details and horizon line.

 For the first class back from break, I created a power point about how to paint a winter scene. It encourages students to look beyond the white snow and to "see" the other colors snow can look like from shadows and the reflection of light.  One class really seems to understand, the other not quite as much, so they will take a little more work.

I don't have photographs of their artwork yet to share, but this was my demonstration piece that I did to show students how to blend colors in the sky (to make a Northern Lights sky at night) and how to water down the black and blue paints to create the shadows on the snow.  I did a day sky demo for the other class but forgot to take a picture of it.

I plan on giving them two more class periods for this.  Most students only got the sky painted, if that because they needed to finish their details.  We need to pull the tape off our trees next class and add the birch tree lines, and then paint the shadows on the trees themselves.