Integrating Art with classroom curriculum

I've been collaborating with the third-grade teachers to integrate art into a unit of study about identity and the science behind skin color. In art, third graders are making self-portraits and later this month, they'll be mixing paint colors that match the tone of their skin. So far, we've created drawings that focus on proportion and proper placement of facial features. They're pretty spectacular!

Drawing from Observation with Fourth and Fifth Grade

We started off October with some drawings from observation. Students chose from a variety of plants that I brought to school, and worked on looking closely and making contour line drawings of leaves and flowers in their sketchbooks. I love drawing from nature because it is very forgiving. No one will know if you don't draw a leaf exactly the way it looks! We may go back and use some watercolor techniques to paint these drawings at a later date.