For our third Wonderlab lesson, the students arrived to class to find a mad scientist! This mad scientist implored the students to help her create the perfect pet by combining at least three animals together- and not just the animals, but the elements of the animals. Students suggested combining a cat with a snake and a gecko, with the teacher speaking aloud different ideas of the combinations. The mad scientist reminded the students to use tissue paper to flesh out their colors and textures for the animals.
Students were tasked with using tissue paper, leading them to reference their previous class' experimentation with the medium. They had available markers, pencils, tissue paper and glue to elaborate their ideas, as well as laminated prints of animals to reference - the teachers reminded the students of the glue rules, informing them to keep their materials separate and use their paintbrushes in a certain way with the glue. They seemed interested in exploring the animals and monsters of the world when they were experimenting last class, so with this creative challenge some of them combined the minimum of three while others created combinations of more than eight animals. Some students leaned towards using the more familiar materials (pencils, markers) but incorporated tissue paper for the environment of the creatures, while others jumped into using the tissue paper, actively referencing the tissue paper application techniques they used from last class.
Students were given an opportunity to share out what their perfect pets were made of and why that made them perfect at the end of the lesson, allowing them to correlate their doing with their ideas. Some of the animals combined into different textures and patterns, while others combined into different elements pasted on a "base animal" body.
Students were tasked with using tissue paper, leading them to reference their previous class' experimentation with the medium. They had available markers, pencils, tissue paper and glue to elaborate their ideas, as well as laminated prints of animals to reference - the teachers reminded the students of the glue rules, informing them to keep their materials separate and use their paintbrushes in a certain way with the glue. They seemed interested in exploring the animals and monsters of the world when they were experimenting last class, so with this creative challenge some of them combined the minimum of three while others created combinations of more than eight animals. Some students leaned towards using the more familiar materials (pencils, markers) but incorporated tissue paper for the environment of the creatures, while others jumped into using the tissue paper, actively referencing the tissue paper application techniques they used from last class.
Students were given an opportunity to share out what their perfect pets were made of and why that made them perfect at the end of the lesson, allowing them to correlate their doing with their ideas. Some of the animals combined into different textures and patterns, while others combined into different elements pasted on a "base animal" body.
Inquiry/Learning Target:
Key Concepts:
Essential Understandings:Artists and designers create their own vision of the world by reimagining what already exists
Skills:
- The learning target for this class was for students to explore to create blended 3 animals together in their sketchbooks using
tissue paper, markers, and crayons to create the perfect pet.
Key Concepts:
- Utilizing other materials creates new possibilities for making
- Sketchbooks can be used for more than sketching
- Sketchbooks are a way to contain a collection of art
Essential Understandings:Artists and designers create their own vision of the world by reimagining what already exists
Skills:
- Listening to instructions
- Sharing
- Creative problem solving
- Respecting others
- Cleaning materials
- Taking care of materials
- Keeping items separate from each other
- Keeping area clean
- Taking risks
- Remaining on task
To create their perfect pet, this student chose to mix a cat and a whale. When asked what these two animals had that make the perfect pet the student said, "it can go under water" and the other half was a cat because, "It's the snuggly part". The student to show the snuggly trait of the cat they would, "add tissue paper" making the connection between the texture of the tissue and a soft cat.
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This student made a similar connection with the materials, "The blue is bluebird feathers... the tissue is 3-D and soft".
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"It's the body of a cat, the wings of a hummingbird and the head of an owl. I wanted a flying cat so I gave it the hummingbird body and ears of a cat. I used tissue to make it soft, it's really soft. I picked an owl head so it can see in the dark. It's the most colorful animal that lived... that comes from the hummingbird". This student made a strong connection between every animal part they chose to re-imagine and the traits it acquired through that animal.
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This student made the connection that a re-imagined animal didn't have to be from parts of only animals that exist in the real world by introducing part of, "a character from a show" into their perfect pet. They also connected their animal to a habitat, "Those are mountains where it lives".
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This student not only re-imagined and created her own llama-bird hybrid pet, they also created their own narrative around it, taking their vision of the perfect pet a step further. "This is a very famous animal in Llama Town because of it's colors and wings. They have this big building for the llama, it's always sunny and there are stars. It has it's own theater with balloons!"
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