Third Grade
The third grade art curriculum is based upon careful observation of ourselves, our environment, and the long history of the handmade. Third Graders explore process, through drawing, painting, clay, sculpture and textiles. There is particular emphasis on our environment, whether it be through connecting to the colors in a leaf found in Bay Area Nature, reusing materials in imaginative dexterity, or how to dye fabrics with plants and vegetables, as an alternative method of learning about color. We study the essence of form and function, in correlation to classroom studies on traditional Japanese culture. In the spring, visual influences from various regions of Africa are emphasized whether it be through woven colors, painting with wax resist, or looking closely at African artifacts built in clay. In the third grade students are encouraged to build upon visual vocabulary, environmental awareness, and how to use art as an ample tool for self-expression and cultural observation.
Our Curriculum is Inspired by...
Printmaking: From Traditional Techniques To Modern Artwork
The Third Grade studies printmaking as an entrance into both technique and art history. In conjunction with our study on Japan, we explore printmaking both in the observance of Japanese printmakers, as well as invention that has followed suit in modern art history. These prints were inspired by “gyo-taku” Japanese fish printing that were printed from actual fish caught through fishermen, as a long Japanese artistic tradition. Our project incorporated the essence of relief printing by building line quality with basic materials such as twine and tape, and then choosing vibrant colors to block onto our collagraph plates. After the plates are inked, the students roll them through our printmaking press, creating art that is both historical in reference and modern in interpretation.
African Animal Appliqués
Creative resourcefulness is at the root of the Third Grade Art Curriculum. In our study of the arts and crafts of Africa we look at traditional textiles of the people of the Ivory Coast. Fabric and embroidery is often used as means of expression, recycling and invention is encouraged through the inventive reuse of materials. Their Animal Appliqués are also wonderful examples of each Third Grader’s refined handwork skills. Their imaginative translation of an African animal is intricately linked to the animals they study in their spring course work on Africa. We first draw animal patterns and then trace them again onto scraps of colored fabric. The final details emerge through embroidery as a way to draw further expressiveness and emphasize line quality. Attention to detail, as well as simple forms and shapes, balance both playfulness and striking beauty.
Japanese Zen Garden
The Third Grade curriculum study of Japan allows us a window into the exceptional breadth of art, craft and design in Japanese culture. From the creation of indigo dyed textiles, to sumi ink painting, and making ceremonial Japanese tea sets, there are many ways in which the third grade art curriculum integrates what happens in the classroom and deepens awareness of art and cultural context. A wonderful example of a collaborative project between art studies and classroom curriculum is the creation of their own Japanese Zen Rock Garden. The students research traditional Japanese landscape design, and artistic layouts of Zen gardens. With group partners, students create pagodas, buddhas, and Japanese inspired bridges and other architectural elements in clay. After the sculptures are fired and glazed, the garden is installed allowing both form and function to emerge in environmental and artistic contemplation.
