Artwork Information:

During our Illustrator Study, the 2nd and 3rd grade classes studied Leo Lionni! We read Lionni's book Swimmy, talked about what materials he might have used, and watched a video of him teaching students how to print using paint and plastic plates.

The goal of this project was to challenge students to work through a multi-day project, something they were not used to, and to collaborate on a final collaged aquatic landscape piece. Students were studying the water cycle in science, so I collaborated with the 2nd and 3rd grade teachers to make the project match their other studies.

On the first day of the project, students used Lionni's paint printing technique to create magical printed papers. We talked about how we could use certain colors and patterns for different aquatic flora and fauna. 

On the second day, students got to collect their pieces of paint printed paper and gathered into groups of 4 to 5. They talked about what they wanted to add to their piece and how they could use collaged paper and paint to make it happen.

For the next week, students worked on their collaborative projects, adding paper first and then tempera paint. I was proud of how students were able to understand their group's timeline and independently problem solve amongst their peers!

At the end of the project, I took pictures of the masterpieces and turned them into waterproof stickers. Students got to take home a bundle of them to share with their family. ​