Fifth Grade

In their 5th grade year, students continue to develop their artistic and creative skills using a wide variety of materials, ranging from the traditional to the nontraditional. While still focusing on techniques and the elements and principles of art, 5th graders are asked to integrate their own experiences with the art, using the fundamentals of art as tools for personal expression. In their Adinkra Panels, for example, the symbols the students created are based on words they have chosen to describe themselves – agile, strong, creative, etc. Rather than simply creating an interesting design, they have added layers of personal meaning to their art. Students are also introduced to basket-making as 5th graders, where they dye the reed and weave brightly-colored “round to square” baskets. In all that the 5th graders do, they are encouraged to approach their art with a sense of adventure.

Our Curriculum is Inspired by...

Artists and Art History, Past and Present

Figurative Drawing

Gesture Drawings

For this project, students began by making watercolor prints. Using a piece of plexiglass, they applied the paint onto the surface and printed it onto blank paper. After drying, we sat down to begin gesture drawings on top of these prints. Using student models and in some cases a sheet of black fabric, students created quick 5-minute drawings that emphasized the general shape of the model. Not meant to be exact renderings, these drawings highlight movement and energy.

Conte Crayon Portrait Drawing

In these drawings students learned the proportions of the face. After reviewing general rules about where features are located on the face and the general distances between features, students looked in mirrors and balanced these rules with what they saw in the mirror. These drawings highlight line that is more controlled and decisive.

Art from Around the World

Adinkra Panels

The fifth graders began their year with a pattern study based on Adinkra cloth from West Ghana. The patterns on these traditional cloths were made from stamps carved in calabash wood, and oftentimes these symbols carried meaning. For this project, students started by carving small abstract designs in e-z cut foam (an alternative to linoleum) and then combined these designs with found objects to create a larger pattern. These designs were then combined to form a class tapestry, which was then given to their classroom teachers.

Integrating with Classroom Curriculum

Colonial Portraits

Connected to their study of Colonial America in their history class, for this self-portrait project students examined paintings from the Colonial Era. Beginning with a comparison of early American portraits with those created in Europe around the same time, students discussed the differences in style as well as some of the conventions that American painters adopted from their European counterparts. Then, with a photograph of themselves from Colonial Day as a guide, they began a self-portrait painting that incorporated some of the characteristics of the early Colonial paintings we discussed.