5th grade Pumpkinscapes

Here is the last autumnal project of the year to post - created by my 5th graders over a three-week span of time. One class had some interruptions due to field trips, so instead of pumpkins, we'll create winter birch trees to glue onto the landscapes!

Day One:

Each student received a piece of 9"x 12" art paper. First, they decided the orientation for the landscape composition - from that point, they needed to set the stage - so they made a decision as to time of day by including a symbol in the sky. The ground space was broken up into 3 or 4 sections and texture rubbed all over the paper using unwrapped crayons. Students used watercolor paints to add color as desired to the landscape. 

Day Two:

Students practiced drawing pumpkins using curved lines. Once their confidence was built up, they worked on small pieces of art paper that I pre-cut to help guide size - they made a small, medium and large pumpkin - filling the space of each pre-cut paper as much as possible.

Day Three:

I showed the kids how to choose three varying shades of orange to fill in the pumpkins from dark to light to achieve form. Then we talked about how the size of objects is affected based on placement in a picture. The kids cut out their pumpkins and placed them according to this principle. Before gluing them down, they added small ovals of black paper for the cast shadow to give the ultimate 3-D effect!!