Silhouette Cut-Outs--4th/5th grades

Sometimes while teaching art, I need a quick filler lesson.  This was one such lesson!  I have this cool silhouette of my son's head from when he was in kindergarten, and I thought that this could be a cool thing to do with other things!

First, I checked out several books, mostly on wild birds, from the public library.  I brought these into class for my 4th and 5th graders to peruse at each table.  My older students are well-acquainted with contour drawing and what I expect of them with this, namely, drawing while looking more at the object rather than from what they perceive in their heads!  We discussed this briefly, while I showed them my example.

The students were given 9 x 12" pieces of black construction paper.  I use Tru-Ray brand, as it is a much deeper shade of black than some cheaper brands.  They found an animal they admired in the books and took off drawing what they saw.  While they draw, I walk around making certain they are indeed drawing what they see.  It's fairly easy to tell when they are hurrying and drawing from their heads.

After drawing the animal, they cut out the forms very carefully.  Some were more detailed than others.  I then told them to flip the black paper over to glue the drawn side down to get rid of pencil marks.  The students glued their silhouettes to brightly shaded paper in different sizes.  This is a good way to conserve paper, especially at the end of the year and supplies are diminishing!

I think these look especially nice in a grouping and would be lovely framed!