Laboratory for Creativity: Lesson Plans for STEAM Learning

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Laboratory for Creativity Created by Haitham Almayman from the Noun Project

LESSON PLANS FOR STEAM LEARNING

STEM Concepts through Art Practices: Design Thinking in Action

STEM Concepts through Art Practices Design Thinking in Action Innovation is our future. A workforce trained well in the skills of innovation is essential to developing new ideas that will drive our economy for generations to come. Research shows that the outcome of an arts-based education—critical thinking, problem solving, resiliency, communication skills, and teamwork—are core skills that set the stage for innovation. With the development of these core skills in mind, the Lawrence Arts Center’s STEAM curriculum connects the key principles of art with a scientific concept, placed within the context of a cultural theme relevant to young people, using lessons built around the framework of Design Thinking. In this inspired learning environment, students are encouraged to try new things, test the limits of their imaginations, practice innovation, and build creative connections. Through these creative concepts students develop the habits of mind that are essential to long-term success.

Lawrence Arts Center’s STEAM Curriculum is guided by these beliefs:

• • • • •

Innovation takes practice Exploration leads to innovation People need tolerance and encouragement in order to explore The intellectual framework for innovation is Design Thinking Practicing the framework for innovation is a lifelong process

Lawrence Arts Center’s STEAM Curriculum encourages students to:

• • • • •

Explore and learn Dawdle and daydream Socialize and interact with others Feel accepted and included Develop understanding of STEAM concepts

The goals of Lawrence Arts Center’s STEAM Curriculum are for students to:

• • • •

Develop Design Thinking as a habit Exercise creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving abilities Improve communication skills, flexibility, and adaptability Practice initiative and self-direction

ART IS FOR EVERYONE

STEAM Curriculum Innovation Team Katie Alldritt

Lead Youth Art Education, Instructor, Lawrence Arts Center

Neal Barbour

Director of Youth Education, Lawrence Arts Center

Ashely Boyack

Dance Educator, University of Utah

Amanda Clark

Performing Arts Teaching Artist, Lawrence Arts Center

Jessica Conner

Art Educator, Shawnee Mission Public Schools

Joshua Conner

Science Teacher, Olathe Public Schools

Ann Foster

Science Teacher, Lawrence Public Schools

Ellie Goudie-Averill

Assistant Director of Dance, Lawrence Arts Center

Hannah Hurst

Art Educator, Lawrence Public Schools

Rob Johnson

Science Teachers, Lawrence Public Schools

Kevin Loos

Chemical Engineer, Israel Chemicals Limited

Laurie McLane Higginson

Education Curator, Lawrence Arts Center

Larry Mitchell

Teaching Artist, Actor and Playwright

Grace Peterson

Teaching Artist, Sculptor

Amanda Pintore

Associate Director of Performing Arts & Education, Lawrence Arts Center

Mariah Seifert

Youth Education Coordinator, Lawrence Arts Center

Chloe Sotomayor

Americorps VISTA, Lawrence Arts Center

Kyla Strid

Director of Residencies & Adult Education, Lawrence Arts Center

Elizabeth Sullivan

Lawrence Arts Center’s STEAM Curriculum Champions Tradewind Energy Enel Green Power Black Hills Energy Evergy Hill’s Pet Nutrition Jedel Family Foundation Target Terracon The Hearst Foundation Bartlett & West The Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission National Endowment for the Arts Marilyn Johnson

Artistic Director of Performing Arts, Lawrence Arts Center

Leah Towle

Performing Arts Teaching Artist, Lawrence Arts Center

Margaret Weisbrod Morris

Chief Executive Officer, Lawrence Arts Center Edited by

Andrea Albright Mariah Seifert

Photography by

The Lawrence Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) organization that provides contemporary exhibitions, performances, and arts education for individuals of all ages and backgrounds.

Standard Abbreviations & Meanings

NGSS: Next Generation Science Standards CCSS.MATH: Common Core State Standards for Mathematics NCAS: National Core Arts Standards SEL: Social and Emotional Learning SDG: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Table of Contents 4 Calder Continuous Line 6 Camouflage Collage 8 Forest Fungi Toadstools 10 Frank Stella and Hyperbolic Space 12 Modernist Tree Sculpture 14 Molecule Starbursts 16 Organic Cyanotype 18 Perfect Plate 20 Watercolor Leaves 22 Wooden Sculpture in the Round

Calder Continuous Line

Supplies

How do lines make shapes?

• sketchbook • extra fine Sharpie • wire • wooden cube • scissors • glue

STEAM Concept

made a shape. Drawing a circle is a good example of starting at a point, drawing a line, and then turning that line into a shape by returning to where you started.

What exactly are dimensions? Scientists use different dimensions to measure the physical qualities of an object-whether that is time, space, mass, or something else. In math, dimensions are used mostly for measuring length.

A line exists in one dimension; it may have length, but no height. Shapes exist in two dimensions; they have both length and height, but no width. Forms are objects that take up three dimensions; length, height, and width. They have a thickness or depth to them that pushes them into the third dimension.

Two artists who worked with the idea of how lines can form shapes and images were Alexander Calder and Pablo Picasso. These artists were active from the early 1900s through the 1960s. Although there isn’t a single school of art that can contain all of their work, both artists would be considered part of the Modern Art period.

Picasso used continuous line drawings to make illustrations on paper and light drawing in photographs. He would start with his marker at one point and try to draw an image without ever lifting the marker off the page. Calder liked this playful and loose approach to making art. He applied this to the medium of wire, twisting and bending one long wire into a sculpture. We’re going to try to do both!

In math, a line is the connection of any two points. Points don’t have any dimensions--they are just a marker of one place in space!! When you connect two points and make a line, you have a start point and an endpoint. As soon as your line closes in on itself or returns to its original shape you have

Standards

Learning Objective

NCAS: Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

SEL: Self Management and Responsible Decision-Making CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1-3.G.A.1-3: Reason with shapes and their attributes.

Distinguish the dimensions of a point and a line. Practice different types of line. Examine how Alexander Calder and Pablo Picasso used line.

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Instructions

Created by Haitham Almayman from the Noun Project

Take out your sketchbook, extra fine Sharpie, and resource page with both the Picasso and Calder continuous line work on it. Think about some simple objects you might draw: a face, an animal, or something from your house. Put your Sharpie down on one point of your sketchbook page. Try to draw that object without lifting your marker a single time. How will you get from point A to point B? Did your line cross itself to make any shapes? Try a few different continuous line drawings with different methods. Try going over lines or making areas stand out by doing lots of lines in one place.

Take out your wire and wooden block. You are going to freely form one long piece of wire into a sculpture. This will be one long continuous line that turns into a sculpture that can be placed into your cube in order to stand. Think about the object you are going to create and what you learned from drawing with a continuous line. Cut the wire to the length you want to sculpt with--maybe about 24 to 30 inches. Leave about an inch as your starting point (this will fit into one of the holes in the cube) and then begin to twist, bend, and shape your wire forming your object. How can you use the third dimension of depth? Once you finish, make sure you leave about a one inch end section. Cut off any extra wire.

Place a tiny drop of glue into each of the cube holes if the wire doesn’t fit snugly.

Take your straight beginning and end sections and place them into the two holes of the cube.

DID YOU KNOW?

Although Picasso and Calder lived in Paris at the same time, they were not friends because they spoke different languages.

Camouflage Collage

Supplies • Elmer’s Glue or glue sticks • color scrap paper and magazines • scissors • brushes, pencils and markers • one cardstock backing sheet and one small cardstock sheet for drawing animal per student

What are the different purposes of camouflage?

STEAM Concept Camouflage helps animals remain hidden from predators who use their vision to hunt. Certain animals are born with skin that blends into their natural environments. For example, walking sticks have dark, skinny bodies and limbs that resemble the twigs and sticks around them. Some animals are able to shift their appearance as their surroundings change. An octopus will transform the color and texture of its skin very rapidly in order to blend into the ocean floor. When winter comes, arctic foxes shed the brown summer coats that help them blend in with the trees and grow a white coat that helps them stay hidden in the snow.

yellow, or navy when they are angry. Other animals such as zebras have stripes in order to confuse their predators into thinking there is a large herd, not individual animals.

Still other animals use mimicry, or copying other animals, to appear dangerous. Some non-poisonous snakes and types of caterpillars appear similar to rattlesnakes in order to intimidate their predators. Certain butterflies have large dots on their wings in order to appear as if they have the large eyes of a bigger, more dangerous animal.

Whatever type of camouflage an animal uses they all have the same purposes: to help the animal survive predators and to conceal themselves as they stalk their prey.

There are other types of camouflage as well. Chameleons change their colors to express their moods, turning black,

Learning Objective

Standards NGSS: 1-4-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes NGSS: 3-LS3-2 Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits NCAS: Anchor Standard #10. Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

NCAS: Anchor Standard #11. Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding SEL: Responsible Decision Making *Use recycled materials to meet SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Learners will research different animals that use camouflage to remain safe from predators. Learners will be able to distinguish between different types of camouflage. Learners will apply patterns to paper using different mediums (collage and markers). Learners will compose an art piece for function as well as aesthetics.

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Instructions After learning about different animals that use camouflage to help them remain safe, learners will choose one animal to draw on their paper using markers to create the colors and patterns of that animal’s skin. Using magazines and color paper, learners will create a collage of similar coloring and patterning on another sheet of paper. They will cut out their animal and then try and find the place in the collage where it most blends into its surroundings. Once they have that place identified they can glue it down or they can leave them as two separate pieces. If they glue it down they can clear coat over the top of the collage. A clear coat can be created by watering down Elmer’s Glue (1:1). Just mix the water and glue and brush it evenly over the surface.

DID YOU KNOW?

Warning coloration (aposematism) is how animals let other animals know that they are poisonous or dangerous. It is the exact opposite of camouflage.

Forest Fungi Toadstools

Supplies • air-dry clay (two colors) • wood cross section • moss • glue

How do mushrooms grow?

STEAM Concept Mushrooms are neither plants nor vegetables. They’re another form of life called fungus. Fungi do not produce chlorophyll, and they have cell walls made of chitin rather than cellulose. They do not have roots, stems or leaves.

Mushrooms might actually have more in common with people than they do with plants. They don’t need sunlight to make food, and they use chemicals called enzymes within their body. They can be composed of up to 90% water. They even have their own immune system.

is believed to be a colony of Honey Mushrooms in Oregon.

They are almost 2,400 years old and cover five square miles of forest.

Mushrooms also multiply by dropping spores, which are microscopic reproductive bodies, from their gills.

Mushrooms have three protective parts: 1) Cap: a rounded dome that shields the gills 2) Ring: a remnant of a membrane at the top of the stem that protects the gills as they grow 3) Volva: a shield at the base of the stem that protects the young mushroom as it grows As a mushroom grows up from the mycelium, it first breaks through the volva and then breaks the membrane around the gills as the cap gets large enough.

When you see a mushroom in nature, it is the fruiting body of a larger fungus under the ground. Mushrooms use vegetative reproduction to multiply; they grow more mushrooms from other parts of a larger, parent plant called a mycelium. One of the oldest living organisms in the world

Standards

Learning Objective

NGSS: K-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes NGSS: K-ESS2-2 Earth’s Systems NCAS Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

SEL: Responsible Decision Making

Name the parts of a mushroom. Examine the qualities of fungus.

Sculpt a mushroom.

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CLICK FOR DEMO Created by Haitham Almayman from the Noun Project

Instructions Let’s make mushrooms! Get your air dry clay out and examine the two colors. Mix a third color from those two. You will use the three contrasting colors to make the sculpture of a mushroom. Think about which colors you want for the parts of the mushroom. Your stem will need one color, while the volva that surrounds the bottom and the ring that surrounds the top will need to be a different color in order to stand out. Your cap will need to be a different color than the gills underneath it and the spots on top of it. Plan out your colors.

Start by sculpting the cap and the stem, but do not attach them yet. Make sure the stem is thick enough, short enough, and strong enough to hold up the cap.

Add the volva and the ring to the stem, then add the gills and the spots to the cap. When they are all sculpted to your liking, attach the stem to the cap with a little bit of tacky glue and press them together lightly for 30 seconds.

Put some glue onto the center of your wood cross section and hold the mushroom onto it for 30 seconds. Smear glue across the surface of the cross section. Open your moss and spread it onto the glue, bringing it up to the edges of your mushroom stem. Repeat until you’re satisfied with the ground cover. If you have extra air dry clay you can make smaller mushrooms to place next to your larger one, or a body of mycelium that can be glued to the underside of your cross section.

DID YOU KNOW?

Mushrooms do not require sunlight to make energy for themselves.

Frank Stella & Hyperbolic Space

Supplies • cardstock paper of various sizes • tempera paint • brushes • palettes • hot glue and hot glue guns • visuals of Frank Stella’s work

Where on your sculpture do Euclidean and Non-Euclidean rules apply?

STEAM Concept In Euclidean geometry, the inner angles of a square always add up to 360 degrees and the inner angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees. This is dealing with two dimensional shapes, but when certain three dimensional shapes are encountered this is not always true. Hyperbolic geometry is used to describe what happens when these types of shapes are encountered.

Frank Stella was an artist who pushed the boundaries of what a canvas could be. He did not rely on the traditional square or rectangular canvas shape, but rather framed canvases in new and interesting ways. He explored Hyperbolic space in the forms he painted on and the installations he created later in life.

Standards

Learning Objective

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.2: Reason with Shapes and Their Attributes NCAS Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.

NCAS Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

SEL: Relationship Skills and Responsible Decision Making *Use recycled materials to meet SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Learners will manipulate two-dimensional objects to create threedimensional objects. Learners will create patterns. Learners will apply composition to divide space. Learners will explore forms in Non-Euclidean geometry.

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Instructions

Created by Haitham Almayman from the Noun Project

After showing the learners some examples of Euclidian vs. Non-Euclidean geometry and how Frank Stella’s work fits into these examples, pass out the cardstock and paint on palettes to each learner. Have the learner divide their page into 4 or 5 semi-even areas making sure all the lines intersect at one point near the center. Have them do this on both sides of the paper.

They can begin painting different colors and patterns in their different areas; they should not paint too thick because we want the paint to dry relatively quickly. Once they have completed one side, have them do another sheet of paper in the same manner. By the time they finish the second sheet, the first sheet should be dry. Flip the first sheet over and fill in all the areas with different colors and patterns and then move to the second side of the second sheet.

Once both sides of both sheets have been painted, have that learner go plug in a hot glue gun and retrieve a pair of scissors. They may need five minutes or so at this point for all the paint to be dry before moving on.

Once the paint has fully dried, take the scissors and cut from the outside edge towards the middle of the paper. Do not cut all the way to the middle. Continue cutting a variety of lines (curvy, straight, etc.) toward the middle of the paper, always stopping an inch or two short from the middle of the paper. Do this to both sheets of paper. You will then begin to fold and curve the strips to meet other strips or another part of the paper. Practice twisting and meeting different strips seeing which patterns they reveal. Hot glue the strips to each other or to parts of the paper turning what was once a two dimensional Euclidean shape into a three dimensional Non-Euclidean form. Their two paper sculptures can be hot glued together and the entire class’ sculptures can be combined to create a collaborative project.

DID YOU KNOW?

Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to Alexandrian Greek mathematician Euclid.

Modernist Tree Sculpture

Supplies

What do the different parts of a tree do?

STEAM Concept Although there are thousands of different types of trees, most are made up of the same three parts.

1. Roots: Each tree has its own system of long underground branches that both anchor the tree and absorb minerals from the soil. These roots could extend downward deep into the ground (taproots) or create a system near the surface. These roots branch outward, and sprout even smaller root branches off them and are covered in tiny root hairs that also absorb nutrients.

2. Trunk & Branches: The trunk is the central part of the tree and provides support for the branches, but also houses a

Standards NGSS: K-LS1-1 & 4-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.1-2: Reason with shapes and their attributes.

NCAS: Anchor Standard #9. Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

NCAS: Anchor Standard #11. Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.

NCAS Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

SEL: Responsible Decision Making

• three green papers • cork • skewer • wooden disc • glue • pencil and Sharpie marker • scissors

network of tubes that carry water and minerals from the roots to the leaves and glucose from the leaves back down to the roots. Bark covers the whole tree, the trunk and branches, and acts as a protective layer. Underneath the bark is the phloem which transports sugars throughout the tree and the sapwood, or new growth of the tree, where the tubes carry water and nutrients up from the roots.

3. Leaves: Leaves absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use the sun’s rays to generate a sugar called glucose, through a process known as photosynthesis. All plants have a green chemical called chlorophyll, which absorbs the sunlight and releases oxygen back into the atmosphere.

Learning Objective Name and identify the various parts and functions of a tree. Create a modernist style sculpture that embodies the parts of a tree.

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Instructions

Created by Haitham Almayman from the Noun Project

Trees come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so everyone’s sculpture may look a little different. The first thing you’ll need to do is choose what type of shape you want for each layer to create the form of the tree. If you choose a circle, the tree will look almost the same from anywhere around it. If you choose something angular like a triangle, rectangle, or polyhedron, your tree will have some sharp points and some smooth edges as you look at it from different sides. If you choose a rounded organic shape, your tree will have variety as you look at it from different sides.

Choose what shape you want each layer of your tree’s canopy to be.

Draw a small version of that shape on one of the green papers, less than an inch across. Cut out that shape; this is your template, or the original from which everything will be traced or based. Trace your template onto each of the three green papers. Then trace your template again, but this time a little on the outside of it, creating a slightly larger shape. Keep tracing your template, but getting farther and farther from its edges so that your shapes are getting larger. When you have twenty to thirty shapes ready, cut them out.

Make a decision. Do you want your tree to taper (go from large at the bottom to small at the top) or do you want it to start small, get wide, and then get small again? Push your skewer’s sharp point through the center of the shape you want to be at the top of the tree. Slowly, add more and more larger shapes onto the skewer. Alternate colors or find a pattern that suits you. When you have all your shapes on the skewer stick the pointy end into the cork. Use your glue to attach the cork to the disc and hold it for a minute. Space out your canopy layers so they are equally distant from one another and check out the cool piece of modernist art you made!

DID YOU KNOW?

The modernist movement affected visual art, architecture, poetry and literature, and music.

Molecule Starbursts

What are the positive and negative parts of an atom named?

Supplies • assorted foam spheres • tacky glue • toothpicks • markers

STEAM Concept Scientists have long known the basic building blocks of matter are atoms. All atoms are made of the same three things: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Atoms differ from each other by how many protons, electrons, and neutrons they have, and this is what causes atoms to form different elements. A proton carries a positive charge and is usually in the center, or nucleus of the atom. Electrons carry negative charges and float around the nucleus; neutrons carry no charge. Now, with all these protons, electrons, and neutrons having positive and negative charges (electromagnetism!!), they combine in very interesting ways. When different atoms get together and match up their positive and negative charges, they form a bond and become something else: a molecule. For example, the element hydrogen mixes with the element oxygen to form a molecule-H2O, or water. Our whole universe is made up of these atoms forming bonds with one another in different ways!

Standards NGSS: 5-PS1-1 Matter and Its Interactions NCAS: Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

SEL: Responsible Decision Making and Social Awareness

During the 1900s many scientists started studying what would happen if you took apart atoms. The splitting of atoms is called “fission,” and it can’t be done with many atoms. One type of fission, the splitting of uranium atoms, led scientists to the discovery of something very deadly and catastrophic, the nuclear bomb. By shooting neutrons at uranium atoms, a chain reaction occurs where energy is released in great quantities. This reaction, harnessed by the United States in World War II, was the cause of many deaths in Japan by the dropping of two atomic bombs. After this event, the world was never the same. Many people became fascinated with the science of atoms. A whole movement of design was born from this time, the Atomic Age. Many images of molecules and atoms were incorporated into this art.

Learning Objective Study atomic age art. Define atom and molecule. Build molecular forms in three-dimensional space.

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CLICK FOR DEMO Created by Haitham Almayman from the Noun Project

Instructions Put a quarter-sized dollop of tacky glue onto a scrap piece of cardboard or plastic lid. Take out your toothpicks and foam spheres. Start by dipping your toothpick into the glue to put a little glue onto one tip and then place a tiny foam ball onto this gluey end. Repeat as many times as you like. Dip the other end of the toothpicks into glue and poke them into a large foam sphere. You have made an atom with negatively charged electrons surrounding the positive proton center, or nucleus. Now create some more atoms and then connect those together to form molecules.

DID YOU KNOW?

You have around seven billion billion billion atoms in your body.

Organic Cyanotype

Supplies • “Do Not Open” envelope with cyanotype paper inside • foraged organic objects • pencil • sketchbook

What chemical reaction takes place in a cyanotype?

STEAM Concept Different living things on earth, including plants, are designated as organic. Anything composed of living matter is organic including leaves, seeds, flowers, lichen, moss, trees, etc. Because things such as rocks and concrete are made from minerals, they are not considered organic.

We will be studying organic materials in two ways: by sketching them and by capturing their form on cyanotype paper. Cyanotype is an art form that uses UV light sensitive paper that changes color when exposed. Cyanotype is an old process developed by astronomer John Herschel in 1842. He also coined the terms: photography, positive, negative, and snapshot! He mixed chemicals onto paper

Standards NGSS: 5-PS1-3 Matter and Its Interactions NCAS: Anchor Standard #9. Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

NCAS: Anchor Standard #11. Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.

SEL: Responsible Decision Making

that, when exposed to sunlight, changed to a deep blue.

Wherever shadows blocked the exposure, that area would remain white. One year later, botanist Anna Atkins used this process to take prints of ferns that she published in a book. She was a pioneer in the process of photography and cyanotype and created a mix of art and science.

So, how does it work? The paper is coated with a mixture of iron compounds. As soon as ultraviolet light, aka sunlight, shines on the paper, the iron compounds begin to undergo a chemical reaction. When you add water to that reaction, it stabilizes where the sun hit and oxidizes those areas, turning it a deep blue. Any area where objects blocked the sun, the iron compounds did not change and wash right off the paper, leaving behind white areas.

Learning Objective Examine and collect organic elements of nature. Observe details of organic elements and record through drawing. Arrange elements on ultraviolet (UV) sensitive paper and create a print from the sun.

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CLICK FOR DEMO Created by Haitham Almayman from the Noun Project

Instructions Go outside and find a variety of organic materials: sticks, seeds, flowers, plant parts, moss, lichen, dead bugs. Make sure nothing is larger than four inches so it will fit on your cyanotype paper later. Arrange your organic materials into an arrangement and sketch them in your sketchbook.

Find a place in direct sunlight that is sheltered from the wind. Gather your organic objects and “Do Not Open” envelope in the sunny area. Remember that when an artist arranges shapes and lines in an artwork it is called a composition.

Plan to arrange your objects in a unique design or placement on the paper.

Make sure they are as flat as they can be so their shadows land directly on the cyanotype paper. When you open the envelope you will only have a few moments to arrange your materials on top of it. Go!!

Let the sun expose the paper and watch it turn a slightly bluish white for three to five minutes. A slight color change means the chemical reaction has occurred.

Don’t overexpose it!! Brush the organic material off and bring the paper to your sink. Put the paper on a plate and gently run water over it, washing off all the unexposed areas. It’s okay—one of the reasons people love cyanotypes is because they are eco-friendly! Once you’ve washed your paper, allow it to dry.

The blue and the white areas of the washed paper will switch as they dry, giving you a brilliant cyan color on the areas that were exposed and whitish areas that were not. Flatten your paper in a heavy book and admire the power of the sun!

DID YOU KNOW?

Cyanotype is an eco-friendly photographic process.

Perfect Plate

Supplies • clay • paper plates • rollers and slats • needle tools • knives • food pyramid • paint or glaze • Claes Oldenberg examples

How do you eat healthily?

STEAM Concept Our body needs a balanced diet to remain healthy. The food pyramid breaks food into different categories to illustrate how we can balance our diets on a daily basis.

How food is prepared is just as important as what choices we make on the food pyramid.

Standards NGSS: K-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes NCAS: Anchor Standard #2. Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

NCAS: Anchor Standard #10. Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

NCAS: Anchor Standard #11. Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.

SEL: Responsible Decision Making and Self Management

Simple, unprocessed foods are a better decision because you can control what goes into your body. Pop artists were making a statement about mass marketing and mass production. They knew that flashy advertising was being used to sell food choices, so they highlighted this in their work. One artist who also focused on food was Claes Oldenburg, a sculptor and pop artist.

Learning Objective Learners will compose a balanced meal based on the food pyramid.

Learners will sculpt different forms to represent their meal. Learners will use their knowledge of Claes Oldenberg to make references to his work.

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Instructions Learners will look at some of Claes Oldenberg’s pieces and list adjectives to describe his style. Now it’s time to make your perfect plate. Look at the food pyramid and draw out what would be your dream dinner—the only catch is that it must be a balanced meal containing one of each category on the food pyramid.

Once you have your perfect plate planned out, get your segment of clay. Roll out a slab by putting a flattened hunk of clay between two equally tall slats. Use your roller to balance on the slats and roll out a slab that is even in height. Place this slab on a paper plate and use a fettling knife to cut off the excess edges.

Press into the mold of the plate and decorate and smooth the edges however you would like. Next, use the rest of your clay to begin to form your food choices.

Place each food sculpture on the plate by slipping and scoring it down. Make sure you follow your composition for the meal that you designed so carefully on your paper. Lastly, work any texture onto the surface of your sculpture. Allow the sculptures to dry and then bisque fire them. They can be glazed and re-fired afterward or they can be finished by painting them.

DID YOU KNOW?

There are five major food groups: carbohydrates, protein, milk and dairy, fruits and vegetables, and fats and sugars.

Watercolor Leaves

Supplies • sketchbook • pencil • Sharpie finepoint marker • watercolor paper • watercolors • brushes

What do leaves do for plants?

STEAM Concept All parts of a plant work together to help sustain life, but leaves are especially important. Leaves absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use the sun’s rays to generate a sugar called glucose through a process known as photosynthesis. All plants have a green chemical called chlorophyll, which absorbs the sunlight and releases oxygen back into the atmosphere. Not only can you identify a plant by its leaf, you can determine if it is a monocot or dicot. Most trees are dicots, which means they have a taproot, circular growth within their stalk/trunk, and net-like veins within their leaves.

Standards NGSS: 2-PS1-1 Matter and Its Interactions NGSS: K-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes NCAS Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

NCAS: Anchor Standard #9. Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

SEL: Responsible Decision Making and Relationship Skills

Although leaves of different trees may look different, many have the same qualities. Each leaf has two main parts: a stem called a petiole that attaches it to the stalk/trunk, and the large, veiny flat part called a blade. The way the veins are arranged in the blade indicates whether it is a monocot (parallel veins) or a dicot (net-like veins). Many times the veins center around a midrib, a large central vein. These veins transport sugars from photosynthesis and water to the rest of the tree.

Learning Objective Name and identify the various parts of a leaf. Identify a plant as a monocot or dicot based off its leaf. Observe, illustrate, and paint leaves.

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CLICK FOR DEMO Created by Haitham Almayman from the Noun Project

Instructions Start by going outside to gather a variety of leaves. Look at each one. Do the veins run parallel to one another or do they form a net like pattern? Identify each plant/tree as a dicot or monocot based on their leaf structure and then bring your leaves inside.

Choose one leaf and start by sketching its blade into your sketchbook. Add the midrib and the veins in their correct pattern. Add the petiole and move onto the next leaf.

Get out your piece of watercolor paper and lightly draw three to five different leaves. Try to take up most of the space on the page with very little white space between the leaves and the borders. Add final outlines and veins with the Sharpie marker. Watercolor the base color onto each blade. If you have any areas of yellow, red, or brighter colors, put that color directly onto the white page, not over the top of a green. Since watercolor is transparent, start with the lightest color and gradually add darker colors.

Watercolors are additive; you can continue to add layers of color to get different depths and tones of green on each leaf. Carefully add the veins and midrib onto your blade and blend into the leaf. Add a shadow around one side of your leaf and experiment with adding dimensionality by using darker tones of color.

DID YOU KNOW?

One mature tree can produce enough oxygen for up to 18 people, depending on the size and type of tree.

Wooden Sculpture in the Round

Supplies

Would a building like this stand?

• assorted wood pieces in different forms and colors • small masonite base • washi tape • tacky glue • markers

STEAM Concept Have each student examine the various pieces in their sculpture bag. Explain that these are forms not shapes.

Forms are three dimensional and follow rules of physics and math when we look at them. Although the physical qualities of each form are fixed to a specific length, width and height, it can change its appearance based on the perspective of the viewer. What happens to an object’s appearance when you are far away? Up close? Underneath it? Above it? Even inside versus outside of it?!

In a Sculpture in the Round, the viewer can examine the sculpture from all angles. Not only 360 degrees around the sculpture, but from above, below, near, far, and sometimes even within it. A relief sculpture does have three-

dimensional form, but it usually is placed on a wall and can only be viewed from 180 degrees. Although it sticks out from the wall, it has a fixed location and the view of it does not change much.

Ask a learner to stack simple 3D forms on top of one another trying to build as tall as they can before the structure collapses. Ask learners what they observed: at what point did the structure collapse? What seemed to prevent it from collapsing? What seemed to cause it to collapse?

Why do you think this is? The force of gravity (objects with mass creating attraction to other objects with mass), affects everything in the universe, not just on earth. However, this force of gravity is causing small objects to fall toward the center of mass of the earth, aka toward the ground.

Standards

Learning Objective

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.1-3: Identify and Describe Shapes CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.B.4: Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes.

NGSS: 3-PS2-1 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions NCAS: Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

NCAS: Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

SEL: Responsible Decision Making

Distinguish between relief and sculpture in the round. Create threedimensional sculptures using the force of gravity and the principle of balance as challenge parameters.

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CLICK FOR DEMO Created by Haitham Almayman from the Noun Project

Instructions Students will build their own structure using the items in their sculpture bag. It must stand on its own without toppling over. Bonus points if it is built taller than it is wide. Start by wrapping the base in washi tape. Washi tape is a Japanese paper tape made from the pulp of small shrubs often printed/dyed with traditional Japanese papermaking tactics. This makes it easy to tear, good for the environment, and uniquely beautiful.

Use the forms within your sculpture bag to stack, build, pattern, and grow your sculpture. Use a little bit of tacky glue at a time. Use tension and balance to your advantage to defy the force of gravity. Continue to build, turning the sculpture and examining it from different perspectives. Imagine you were tiny and could walk through your sculpture. How would it appear from different angles?

When finished, examine the structures and ask the learners what buildings they are reminded of. The learners can apply knowledge about structures and how different forces such as gravity, compression, and tension affect their strength.

DID YOU KNOW?

Every object in the universe that has mass exerts a gravitational pull, or force, on every other mass.

ART IS FOR EVERYONE