2nd Grade Printmaking Unit: Introduction to Printmaking

My second graders have just finished up their printmaking unit and I've finally gotten around to photographing, grading and uploading all of their artwork to Artsonia!

To kick off the unit, we did a one day project that involved stamping with Legos (I've seen multiple variations of this on Pinterest...).  I took this opportunity to talk to the students about the Principles of Art.  We've talked about them here and there, one at a time, but I felt like this quick project was a great way to get students to think about the principles all together.  We talked about patterns, having balance (symmetrical and asymmetrical), movement, unity, contrast, rhythm, and emphasis.  Now, a lot of these are a little over some of the 2nd graders heads, but none the less, I think some of them really thought more about their composition.

I showed students these simple visual rubrics I made for the project and we talked about each one.  "Is it interesting to look at?  Why or why not?"

This one would be worth 3 points...

This one would be worth 2 points...

This one would be worth 1 point...

 I posted these on the bulletin board int he front of the classroom and gave the students their instructions.  Keeping in mind the principles of art, they had to create an interesting design using different sized and shaped Legos.  They would only get one color, so that had to use placement of their stamps to create an interesting factor to look at.  I gave each table a small plate of finger paint and a small variety of Legos and let them go to town!

Now, even though we spent about 15 minutes going over what makes a good composition, it seemed as if the combination of using Legos and finger paint made all the other points mute.  The outcome of this project was NOT what I had expected!  I had some students smearing their designs together after they finished with their fingers, some only used one Lego for the entire print, and many tried to make actual, representational pictures instead of non-representational like I asked for.  Next time I think I may have to tweak my instructions a bit!

Burton Morris Pop Art Hearts

This project is a direct steal from We Heart Art!  I saw this project and knew I had to do it.  It was a really great project for me to do with my 2nd graders, as I didn't really have anything planned to do before this February break.  This was also an opportunity for me to learn about an artist I hadn't known about!

On the first day, I showed the students a power point of Burton Morris, and we looked at all of his advertising designs for popular companies...Coca-Cola, Perrier, the Academy Awards, the MLB All-Star Game...the students really responded to his work with comments like, "He really stayed inside the lines!" and "He has great craftsmanship!".  Thus my idea for a Burton Morris unit was born.  I then asked students to do a drawing with the characteristics of Burton Morris in the last 20 minutes of class.

It took us two days to do these collages.  The only thing I did differently from Joannas on We Heart Art is I had my students add those black lines that Burton Morris has in all of his artworks.  This project, like any heart project, was a great way to focus on symmetry and having a balanced composition.  Even though we finished these up on Valentine's Day, I didn't push the students to use pinks and purples for their collage.

This one is my version that I did step-by-step with the students...

I have one more class of Morris collages to add to these, but they are currently on my drying rack at school.  I add them to this post once school starts back up!

For the final project in the Burton Morris unit, students will choose a food item to draw like Burton Morris, and then we will paint the item using good painting craftsmanship.