at P.S. 282
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K - 2nd grades were read to and discussed ecology in A Place for Fish as well as “Leave the Whales Alone" from All the Wild Wonders. Examining illustrations, classes identified and described marine animal shapes plus colors then each student made a watercolor seascape. Next they took turns tempera painting on a 58-x-75-inch stretched canvas. Collaborators color mixed, applied layers, and cleaned reusable supplies such as rags rather than paper towels.
2nd graders read about giant Pacific octopuses. They reclaimed paper from school recycling bins and shared materials to sculpt an ovoid, armature head as well as eight, 4-foot curving arms.
A second mural began with 1st -
5th graders discussing the fresco, Man, Controller of the Universe. Students reviewed measures to mitigate climate change then categorized environmental and unsustainable behaviors, e.g., renewable energy versus burning fossil fuels. Approximately 360 students each submitted a mural proposal sketch. Based on a few similarly composed colored pencil plans, 3rd - 5th graders painted a diptych, measuring 70-x-124-inches combined. They mixed and applied tones of colors to show the Earth's atmosphere plus 3-dimensional light and shadow.
A 1st grader's mural proposal depicting plastic consumption and BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico led to a mixed media sculpture by 3rd and 4th graders. 4th graders also hot glued still lifes from discarded objects found in the school to draw from observation.
4th + 5th grade read a photo-essay on Hurricane Harvey and reconsidered ways to improve sustainability in city planning such as bike lanes. Muralists were asked to paint a bird's-eye view of a city damaged by continued global warming. Classes learned about 1-point perspective and drawings by Stephen Wiltshire. Each student used a ruler on paper to first pencil a horizon line with vanishing point and then added converging lines to depict 3-dimensional, scaled buildings plus infrastructures. They collaborated with yardsticks to draft on a 78-x-108-inch stretched linen and then painted.
