3rd grade Klee Symbols

This project was inspired by a beautiful lesson I found on Artsonia. I have always loved Paul Klee's work and I find that my students appreciate his abstract pieces as well. It is fun hearing their thoughts about his artwork. This was a two-day lesson and requires only a few art supplies!

On day one, we viewed a PowerPoint I created about Paul Klee and looked at several of his works that involve symbols. Then we took some time to discuss what things in our own lives could be symbols. I shared a handout with the students of symbols for the solar system. I simply asked them to create at least six symbols on their own paper. Most students did more than six--no problem. These could from the handout or their own creation! To get a variety of sizes, I asked them to paint two small, two medium and two large. I also encouraged them to turn the paper as they worked. As I demonstrated, we talked at length about the importance of symbols in our lives.

On day two, I discussed how to add oil pastels to the composition. I showed students several different techniques including mixing colors and adding white as well as how to get a "glow" simply by overlapping the colors where they start and stop. I asked them to aim for about seven or eight colors just so it wouldn't get too overwhelming for the eye.