Help me give my students the resources needed to create an abstract illusion of the solar system: oil pastels, compasses, and construction paper, as well as a few items to clean up our work stations.
Paul Ostergard of Citicorp said, "A broad education in the arts helps give children a better understanding of their world. We need students who are culturally literate as well as math and science literate." My desire is to foster this way of thinking in my classroom.
I have a diverse classroom full of fun loving fifth graders who enjoy creating art in a variety of ways.They represent 9 countries, 7 languages and a variety of cultures.
At recess I marvel at the singing and dancing from around the world. My students love creating art, on rainy days we create origami animals or make popup cards for our friends and family.
My Project
These materials will provide a fun science and art integration solar system project including space, shadow, and illusion of form. We will start by comparing and contrasting an image of a circle and a sphere and talked about what attributes make the sphere look 3D compared to the circle. Using compasses, students draw 8-9 circles on a sheet of white paper for each of the planets - they tried to size them relative to one another.
Then using oil pastels, they color in the planets trying to use the correct colors for each planet and add white pastel to create highlights and black pastels on the opposite side to create shadows.
Finally, students cut out their planets and glue them to a piece of black construction paper. Then using construction paper, students add a sun (the light source for the highlights) and any other details (planet rings, stars, etc.).
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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