The Scholastic Book Fair is a big deal at the school I was working in, and the theme for the fair was Dinosaurs. So, naturally, I decided to throw in a Dino-themed lesson that borders the 2D-3D line. In 1st grade, we learned about dinosaurs--how they look, what they ate, where they lived. We also talked about relief sculptures and how they differ from regular sculpted work. The students were then introduced to design planning, because they would have to design the postcard before they modeled their dinosaurs.
We built the dinosaurs together so they would all be done around the same time, that way every student is on the same page of the lesson. It was easy to get absent students caught up, by the way, but it was important that the majority of students built theirs together because this stuff dries incredibly fast. Model magic is the key ingredient to this lesson... if done correctly, the material will stick and dry to the postcard without needing glue. If not done correctly, it's still an easy fix.
We added texture with various clay tools and materials and painted them with bingo daubers. Bingo daubers were an interesting choice of materials to paint these with, but it was ultimately an exercise in following directions. The students at this age loved to use markers, and while these are really similar, the application is not. I wanted to see if they could follow directions and respect materials. Plus, you get cool color effects when layered correctly. The students showed great restraint and respect for the art materials, and these are fun to use!
The result is a postcard with a relief sculpture of a dinosaur--his habitat in the background. The students had a blast making this project and it can easily translate to any animal or theme, as well as to any grade level. I practiced this with my own 4-year-old child, as well as his 2nd and 3rd grade siblings. I wanted to see how students younger, the same age, and older coped with this lesson and everyone did great!
Materials: Recycled cardboard, markers, colored pencils, crayons, bingo daubers, clay tools, textured materials (netting for fruits like oranges and lemons worked the best for texture), Model Magic, scissors.
Not only did they have to plan their postcard design, but the students had to plan their color scheme for the dinosaurs. Light colors had to be used before dark, so they had to think about what colors they wanted to use in total, and plan the application accordingly.
Top dinosaur was modeled by my 4-year-old, bottom dinosaur by my 7-year-old. I used these as examples for my students, because at the start of the lesson, some students said they couldn't do it, without even trying. I showed them what a preschooler could do as well as their peer (my son is a younger 2nd-grader and as such, was the same age as a lot of these 1st graders). That seemed to alleviate some of their worries. At least, I hope it did.