at P.S. 282
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1st and 2nd graders looked at illustrations and were read to about overfishing, pollution, and endangered species in A Place for Fish as well as “Leave the Whales Alone" from All the Wild Wonders. Children identified and described some 2-dimensional marine animal shapes plus colors and each student made a watercolor seascape. Next they took turns tempera painting a 58-x-75-inch stretched canvas, color mixing and applying layers, while cleaning and reusing supplies.
2nd graders read about giant Pacific octopuses. Recycling paper and sharing other materials they sculpted 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. Each student also sketched a mural proposal. Based on a few 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.
3rd and 4th grade classes added a mixed media sculpture. The idea came from a mural proposal labeled, plastic pollution and BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
5th grade read a photo-essay on Hurricane Harvey and reconsidered ways to improve sustainability in city planning such as bike lanes. Students were asked to mural paint a bird's-eye view of a city damaged by continued global warming. They learned about 1-point perspective and drawings by Stephen Wiltshire. Each student used a ruler on paper to pencil a horizon line with vanishing point, then practiced drawing converging lines to depict 3-dimensional, scaled buildings plus infrastructures. Next they collaborated with yardsticks to draft on a 78-x-108-inch stretched linen and painted.
