Patterned owls

The first class that I taught in Ms. Goff's classroom was about drawing patterns on owls. Since Ms. Goff had a substitute, we decided it would be easier if the children used simple materials instead of pulling out all the art supplies.

The materials we used were:

• Colored Pencils
• Crayons
• Markers
• White Yardstick
• Black paper
• Scissors 

The Objective was to color in and draw the wings and face on the owl, using patterns. I integrated this lesson into Ms. Goff's curriculum for the week by reading Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, at the beginning of my lesson. Since Ms. Goff was teaching the idea of a beginning, middle, and end of a story, we discussed which parts of the book fit into these categories.

The lesson plan went like this:

1. Read picture book (9:50-10:00)
2. Ask what the climax and end of the story was
3. Show and tell directions-Describe and show different types of lines (10:00-10:10)
4. Pass out owl materials
5. Give them  time to create  (10:10-10:35)
6. Pass out black paper and glue for background- have them draw stars, a moon, branch (10:35-10:40)
7. Clean-up time

The lesson went very well. These students are very respectful and good at staying still and listening to instructions. Many of the students knew what patterns were and were able to easily follow my examples and come up with their own patterns.

My favorite part is how their little personalities show through their art. Some students fly through the projects and others spend the whole hour making meticulous marks on their paper. I love this class and had a blast with this first project!