2nd/3rd Grades--Greek Collage

2nd and 3rd Grades: Greek Collage


Okay, so we have been having problems with our internet provider....computer issues--gotta love them.  Anyhow, this caused a huge pause in my blog posting.

I am going to do my best to catch up on our first quarter lessons for this year.

Second and third grades learned many things about ancient Greece during our first quarter.  This collage took quite a bit of time and energy, but most were able to finish the entire assignment.

The first part of this collage was the scratch art Greek vases.  I got this idea from Art Lessons for Kids. http://artlessonsforkids.me/2011/04/24/papier-mache-greek-vases-in-grade-seven/

The students took a look at pictures of ancient red-figure and black-figure amphoras and kraters.  We discussed how important these artists were to the ancient Greek culture, also how these beautiful "vases" were really functional pieces of art used to hold wine, grain, olive oil, and many other things.  The children first drew there own version of an amphora or krater on paper, then plunged into their "real thing" on the scratch art paper.  They had a blast seeing what color emerged from beneath the black scratch paper.  Each vase received a unique geometric design reminiscent of early ancient Greek design.

The next part was taking a look at ancient golden death masks.  I know what you're thinking...how morbid!  But who isn't fascinated by King Tut's gorgeous gold and gem-encrusted mask:  http://wysinger.homestead.com/files/54_tut.jpg

We looked at the so-called "Mask of Agamemnon" after discussing the story of the Trojan Horse, which really fascinated the kids.

So we used cardboard from recycled cereal boxes to cut out ovals.  The kids drew a symmetrical face.  I demonstrated on the white board how to draw an accurate face.  They then traced their drawings with glue.  These were left to dry and then brushed over with a couple layers of gold acrylic paint which gave a raised effect.  We also made Greek coins in this fashion.

Finally, the last step was an in-depth look at the Greek column orders:  Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.
The kids really took to this, which is amazing--I didn't even learn about this until college!  I let them decide which one they could handle.  They practiced drawing one of these orders on newsprint.  We then took our stylus and pressed through the newsprint onto foam.  (I reuse the veggie trays from the grocery store.)  We printed these onto our 12x18" paper in white paint.  Most of these turned out pretty well.  It can be difficult if the design is not pressed deeply into the foam.

The amphoras, coins, and masks were then collaged onto the large paper.