Weeks of 11/10/25 and 12/1/25 - 3rd rotation with 2nd and 3rd grades

 This week 2nd and 3rd graders returned for their 3rd art rotation.

2nd graders worked on their printmaking lesson! Students cut self-adhesive foam into a variety of organic and geometric shapes, arranged them and stuck them on green circle lids I had received as a donation. They also painted inside boxes that I had pre-drawn on a 9" x 12" watercolor paper using a complementary color combination with watercolors. During the next class, students painted their foam shapes with black acrylic paint and pressed them into each box to create prints.

2nd graders also worked on an assemblage lesson inspired by the artist Loiuse Nevelson. During the first class, we had a class discussion while looking at her work. Each student received a 9"x12" cardboard and variety of small cardboard pieces, plastic lids, wooden pieces and popsicle sticks. I showed students how to peel one layer of the cardboard to reveal the bumps inside. They arranged and glued their objects using white school glue. During the next class, they painted their work using a monochromatic color to finish their work.

3rd graders worked on their weaving and motif making lesson! We looked at fabric using a magnifying glass and discussed how it is made from yarn by a weaving technique. We practiced drawing a variety of lines and shapes and combined at least two of each to design motifs. Each student designed four motifs and selected two to use in their final work.

During the next class, students cut lines on a folded 12"x18" construction paper on which I had drawn lines two inches apart. They used 6 2"x12" paper strips in a single color to go over and under and weave. Once done, they added their motifs. One motif on one color square and the other on the second color square. They also took a photo of their art and uploaded it on Google classroom.

Weeks of 10/27/25 and 11/3/25 - Second rotation with UTK, Kinders and 1st grade

 UTK, kinders and 1st graders returned for their 2nd 2-week rotation! It is always lovely to see the UTK students and some of the kinders getting more familiar with the classroom, asking me questions and engaging more readily by this time if they are new to Zamorano! It is also lovely to see kinder students and 1st grade students that have been in the school the previous year start taking more responsibility of the classroom and guiding the new students.

UTK students and 1st graders created art with clay. 

I read the story "The Big Orange Splot" by Daniel Manus Pinkwater to UTK students - this is one of my favorite books! I gave each student a clay slab and showed them how to slice the top corners off like a triangle using a plastic knife. Once done, they drew a horizontal line to create the roof and door. They used the slip and score technique to add the triangles they cut off to create windows and added a variety of textures to complete their work.

1st graders created owls after we read the story "Little Owl's night" by Divya Srinivasan. Each table received 2 owl templates, and each student received a clay slab. They used the template to cut an outline of an owl. They then used a wooden pencil tool to draw curved lines for wings, added textures and a slip and score technique to add large eyes and a nose to complete their work.

Kinder students created a printmaking artwork! Each student received a 9"X12 " watercolor paper. They used a variety of objects such as legos, forks and cups and that they dipped in black acrylic paint to create prints and then used glitter watercolors to paint the areas between the prints. 

The following week, all grades engaged in a color mixing lesson. I gave each student plastic shapes in primary colors that we held two at a time to see how they change into a secondary color! I love how excited students get when we do this :)

I read the story "Mouse paint" by Ellen Stoll Walsh to UTK students after which I gave each student a 9" X 12" watercolor paper. We drew five curved lines, numbered the areas using a pencil and after which we started adding painting the 3 primary colors in. I then gave students additional primary colors they could mix to create secondary colors and add them into the remaining areas to finish their rainbows.

Kinder students created a variety of horizontal and vertical lines on their paper along with circles, outlined them with a black Sharpie marker and painted primary colors first. They followed the same steps as the UTK students mixing 2 primary colors to create secondary colors and painted them in the spaces on their paper.

I read the story "The Cat and the Bird - A children's book inspired by Paul Klee" by Geraldine Elschner to first grade students. I love this book for its sweet story and how shapes are stacked up to create the buildings. Once finished, students used the plastic shapes to stack them up, draw the outline with pencil and create buildings in three different sizes - tall, medium and short. Students traced the shapes using a black oil pastel and painted primary colors in some of the shapes. They then mixed them to create secondary colors and painted them in the remaining shapes to complete their work.

Weeks of 10/13/25 and 10/20/25 - Second rotation with 4th and 5th grades

 4th graders returned to create prints. Students used warm and cool color neon oil pastels on a 12" square white cardstock with cool and warm color neon oil pastels. during the first one hour 20-minute class incorporating symmetry.

During the next class, they created a design using self-adhesive form on cardboard and incorporated rotational symmetry for the print!

Fifth graders started designing their Chess piece on Tinkercad. I gave each student their class code and student code, we practiced how to log on to the website and used several tools together. Students created a sketch using up to four geometric shapes on their paper and created their piece using forms on Tinkercad. 

During the next class, we created buildings using one point perspective. Students first created a vanishing point on a 11" X 14" card stock and drew six shapes using a pencil. We then used a ruler to connect the corners to the vanishing point to make it appear three dimensional. Students used color pencils to color their buildings, add line patterns to the top and also add streets if they wished to.

5th grade students also created a marigold artwork for Zamorano's Dia De Los Muertos display at Old Town! Students used neon oil pastels for their works, and 40 student works have been on display for two weeks with a black light so they could "glow"!

Our school was featured in the Sunday newspaper as well :)

Here is the link - https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/10/25/san-diego-unified-student-artists-honor-the-dead-grandparents-pets-and-freddie-mercury/

Weeks of 9/29/25 and 10/6/25 - Second rotation with 2nd and 3rd grades

 2nd and 3rd graders returned for 2 weeks of rotation with me.

2nd graders worked on a tint-shade lesson inspired by the book Monochromatic Dan. I wanted students to use a ruler for this lesson. They first wrote their name and room # on a 11" X 14" posterboard using a pencil. They then used a ruler to create 6 lines. I showed them how the lines needed to go from one side of the paper to the other and how they needed to hold the paper so the ruler wouldn't move while they drew lines. 

Students then created an organic or geometric shape of their choice on the blank side of the paper and also created 6-7 lines using a pencil such that it divided their space into smaller shapes. Students traced all pencil lines using a black Sharpie.

Each student selected a cool color of their choice in tempera paint a few shapes inside their organic/ geometric shape. I gave them white paint to mix in to create their first tint, paint a few more shapes and then finally white paint once more to paint the remaining shapes.

Students returned next class and selected a warm color of their choice to paint the shapes outside. I gave them black paint two times to create two different shades to finish painting their shapes to complete their work. This lesson took two classes to complete.

Students also worked on a castle lesson. We looked at castles from around the world to see how they were similar/ different. Students practiced drawing and combining a variety of lines and shapes that they could use in their final work. 

During the next class, students cut, arranged and organize sparkly scrapbooking paper (that I received as donation) to create their castle inspired by the one they saw and chose from the previous week. They used metallic markers to add details and complete their work!

3rd graders returned to create postage stamps. Each student selected a country, currency and value for their stamp. They searched on Google for famous landmarks from the country of their choice and created 4 sketches on their planning sheet. They selected one sketch to use in their final artwork. They used color pencils to color their landmark and the colors of the flag of that country for the background using watercolors. This took us three one-hour classes to complete.

Students also painted their donuts that I fired! We used acrylic paint in a variety of colors in the style of the artist Jae Young Kim. I love how these turned out!!!

Weeks of 9/15/25 and 9/22/25 - First rotation with UTK, Kinders and 1st grade

 It was so wonderful to see the littles for art five weeks after school started! We typically wait for a few weeks to have them come for art, so they have the time to get settled at school. I like to take my time introducing myself, sharing class expectations and how to take turns/ sharing supplies provided.

I read the book Art by Patrick McDonnell - this is a great book to read to four-year-olds during the first class. It has vocabulary that introduces students to line names, what art looks like to a young child and how the mom validates the main character's art making process by hanging up works on the refrigerator.

Students used paint sticks to create marks on watercolor paper and added watercolor to complete their works.

I read the story Lines That Wiggle by Candace Whitman to kinders and 1st graders. We practiced naming and drawing several lines with pencil. Once done, kinders created lines on watercolor paper using pencil first, outlining them with a chisel tip black Sharpie marker and used watercolors in the background to complete their work.

1st graders also worked on a similar process as kinders but also focused on the thickness of lines. They repeated certain lines to make them thick and extra thick to learn how varying the thickness can make their work look unique and add interest.

During week 2, UTK students created works inspired by the book, I'm NOT just a scribble by Diane Albers. We practiced and created a variety of lines as a border, created a scribble and added eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth and ears to complete our work.

Inspired by the book, Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley, kinders practiced combining a variety of lines to create patterns and used them to create monsters.

1st graders created silly self-portraits by combining shapes in neon colors and adding line patterns. This was inspired by the book It's OK to be different by Todd Parr.

Weeks of 9/1/25 and 9/8/25 - First rotation with 4th and 5th grades

 

4th and 5th graders had their first rotation!

4th grade students created Cubism inspired self-portraits.

We looked at the below artworks and students engaged in a partner talk followed by a class discussion about Picasso’s art. We discussed how different each self portrait of the artist was, and students shared how work #3 was created using "several shapes", "it looks creepy" and "there are too many eyes" among other things. We talked about Cubism and how this style of creating art does not show people or objects in a realistic way. Instead, the subjects are broken apart into several flat shapes such that several sides of the same subject are shown at once. 

Students used a template for the head shape, sketched how their features would look on paper with examples provided during the first class.

They used cardboard, paint sticks and markers to complete their work during the second class. We used 2 1 hour 20-minute classes for this lesson.

5th graders created their "All about Me" explosion books! Students first created a mind map based on the prompts I gave them such as favorite food, sport, hobby, favorite places, people etc. They then created illustration for some of those prompts and created an explosion book with warm and cool color 6-inch paper squares during the first class.

During the second class, they added illustrations and text in different fonts for the prompts from their mind map into boxes as shown below. 

They also and cut and glued the different boxes into their explosion book to complete their work. This lesson took students 2 one hour 20-minute classes and one 45-minute class.

5th graders also created mugs on black card stock with white prismacolor pencils. Students learned how to use 3 different techniques - hatching, cross hatching and scribble. They selected one technique of their choice to use in their final artwork. We looked at how to change a shape into a form by seeing where light falls and by creating shadows.