For the last lesson we created another Mother's Day inspired artwork.  The first thing we did was cut out a heart and wrote why we love our mother on it.  Next we cut up magazines and rolled them into different shapes of beads.  We slid the beads onto the string and created patters through the color or shape of the beads.

As an extension activity, I could create this lesson for an introduction.  Students create friendship or respect bracelets for each other.  I could use this as a way to show students that everyone is equal and that it isn't polite to treat others with disrespect.  Also it could be a way to show students that there's not reason to treat those with disabilities differently. 

Charlie and Shannon presented a lesson on clay masks.  We cut the clay out in a weird pattern for the face because it is an example of modernism.  After cutting out the mask and the shapes for the eyes, nose, and mouth, we created different textures on the face.  We split the mask into four sections and then painted the mask using four different colors.

As an extension activity, I could use this in a social studies class when studying cultures.  Maybe the Incas or Mayas used masks.  I would have to do some research, but this is something the students can do as a final project of some sort.  I could also maybe make this into a science lesson or anatomy lesson by talking about the eyes and other facial features of humans.  

This was a lesson on the seasons and we created trees found in the fall and winter.  To create the tree we traced our hand and a part of our arms.  We cut out the trunk and glued it onto a background.  My background is blue because I chose to create a winter tree.  We used tissue paper or cotton balls to create the leaves.  I used the tissue paper for the leaves and used the cotton balls for the clouds.  After we had applied the leaves, we had the chance to add details or texture to the picture.  Glitter was available so I used gold to create the sun and silver to fill in the snow at the bottom of the tree trunk.  I also added silver glitter to the tree trunk to show that snow was sticking to the trunk like it does after a storm.

As an extension activity, I could use this lesson as a science lesson on the process a tree goes through from season to season.  The students would be studying the leaves in the process, how they lose their color during the fall, become brown and orange and red, before dying and falling to the ground.  This project can show step by step the process and students would write a short summary of what the leaves are going through during each stage.

This lesson was about diversity.  So for this project, we had to make sure we had a picture of ourselves on the crayon.  I drew myself with a NSU basketball jersey on and a basketball to the side because basketball is my job right now.  I also colored the crayon with a few of my favorite colors.  The bottom has orange and blue which are the colors of the Oklahoma City Thunder professional basketball team.  Also the top is just a mixture of colors that appeal to me. 

I think I could use this as an introductory lesson.  I could use this as a way to get to know my students because I would ask the students to draw their favorite things in the crayon.  It would be their way of introducing themselves to me.  I could also use this lesson as a way to show students how different cultures can be similar and different at the same time and show students we cannot be discriminatory or prejudice to others. 

This is a Mother's Day card for the next project.  First we colored a piece of paper with crayons.  We had to make sure it was completely covered and the color was pretty dark.  Next we painted over the picture with a mixture of black paint and soap.  We set that aside to let it dry.  After we created a picture to form the front and back of the card.  We traced over the image onto the painted construction paper.  After we scraped off the paint with a large version of a toothpick.  This produced our design we created using the crayons and brought out those colors again.  

As an extension activity, I think this would be a great activity to reproduce for holidays or special occasions.  Students and create snowflakes or leaves using these procedures and can be hung in the classroom to motivate students and improve students' self-esteem. 

Our next lesson was on printmaking.  This was a very fun lesson.  We created designs first on a piece of paper to practice.  Next we used that picture to cut out the design on the printmaking mat.  We had to have three pictures and one had to be a holiday.  The picture above is a heart to symbolize Valentine's Day.  After our print was ready, we rolled paint over the mat and pressed down on construction paper.  We could make multiple pictures using different construction paper or different colored paint. 

As an extension activity, I think this would be a great activity to do when studying ancient cultures that used hieroglyphics.   I think this would be really fun to have students either recreate the hieroglyphics used by the cultures to create their own story, to make up their own hieroglyphics to create a story.

This was a project for a lesson on diversity.  I cut out holes for the eyes of the mask and then painted the paper plate.  Next I worked on the hair.  We had the opportunity to use construction paper, yarn, or even pipe cleaners.  I decided to use red and blue construction paper for most of the hair but for the bangs I used a few pipe cleaners.  After that we made the nose.  Again I used construction paper and formed a triangle with little tabs that I used to glue the nose onto the paper plate.  After that I had the opportunity to use glitter and stickers to decorate the mask. 

As an extension activity, I would use this as a social studies lesson.  If the students are studying cultures, I would find different cultures that use masks and assign students those cultures.  The students would then recreate a similar mask based on that culture and the students would then present their culture they were assigned based on their mask they create.