Second Grade Classroom Connections with Shadow Puppets

In November, Second Graders studied fairy tales as part of their classroom curriculum. I thought it would be fun to connect their fairy tale knowledge with some shadow puppetry! I chose to focus on the story of The Three Little Pigs. We talked about characters and settings and made a list of all of the important parts of the story. Then, students chose a character or part of the setting to make into a shadow puppet.

Stay tuned: after vacation we'll be putting on a shadow puppet play! I'll include the link here.

Little Pig Shadow Puppet

Straw House

Some essential questions that students are answering through shadow puppetry include:
What is a shadow, and what do you need to make a shadow?
What are the parts of a shadow puppet and what are the purposes of the parts?

Shadow Puppet Parts

Shadow puppets: their parts and purposes

Big Bad Wolf

We also incorporated some scientific/artistic vocabulary and are adding parts to our opaque puppets that are translucent or transparent.
 

Brick House with Translucent Window

This happy piggie just makes me smile!

Fifth Grade Watercolor Landscapes

Over the last month, Fifth-Graders have been creating watercolor landscapes. They started by stamping lines with black acrylic paint to create a foreground, middleground and background.

stamping with acrylic paint

stamping with acrylic paint

Next, students applied different watercolor techniques that they had been practicing to add color to their compositions. Students experimented with washes, glazing, applying salt, sponging, and dry brush techniques.

I love the variety of solutions to the problem of creating a foreground, middleground and background. These pieces are beautiful, and Fifth Grade artists can be really proud of them!