Lesson Three: Animal Groups & Habitats ~ Kara Leigh's Arts Bridge Experience

Lesson Three: Animal Groups & Habitats

Subject Concepts		Art Concepts
Content Covered: Animal Groups and Animal Homes (Habitat)		Content Covered: Sculpture and Composition
State Standards & Objectives (USOE/UEN): Standard III: Life Science. Students will gain an understanding of Life Science through the study of changes in organisms over time and the nature of living things. Objective 1  Communicate observations about the similarities and differences between offspring and between populations. Objective 2  Living things change and depend upon their environment to satisfy their basic needs.		State Standards & Objectives (USOE/UEN): Standard I: Students will develop a sense of self. Objective 3  Develop and use skills to communicate ideas, information, and feelings. Objective 2  Develop and demonstrate skills in gross and fine motor movement.
Learning Outcomes: The student will be able to… Discuss different animal groups and state defining characteristics of each.		Learning Outcomes: The student will be able to… Use clay to create a representation of an imaginary animal. Use materials to create a composite diorama.
Lesson Plan
Objectives: Day 1) Students will learn the basic animal groups (Mammal, Reptile, Insect, Amphibian, Bird, and Fish) and understand basic characteristics of them. Students will imagine their own new animal that they will describe on attached research guide. Students will draw a plan of their animal with color and habitat. Day 2) Students will work with clay to form the animal they have described and drawn. Student will name their animals. Day 3) Students will paint their clay animals in color. Students will use multiple materials and glue and arrange them within a diorama to create a habitat for their sculptures. Assessment: "My Research Journal" will be a formal assessment of what they understand as far as the science of grouping. Their finished product of animal sculpture and diorama will be an informal assessment of their knowledge and skills in sculpture.
Materials Needed: Copies of "My Research Journal" for each student Copy of "Animal Groups" short story book to lead discussion large 9 x 17 drawing paper crayons 15 pounds of clay (at least 1/2 a pound per person) scoring utensils toothpicks 10 pictures of famous sculptures google eyes glue gun wax paper tape shoe box per child household junk or other materials construction paper glue Finishing spray	Lesson Sequence: (include time estimates) DAY 1: Animal Preparation 10 min- Read book on Animal Groups with children and lead discussion about characteristics of animals 5 min- give children time to think about and picture their new monster they will create. 20 min - As a class talk about each of the areas of the Research Journal and help them fill in the blanks according to their monster 30 min- Have them sketch and color their animal according to what they have recorded. Make sure to put children's names and new animal's names on paper. ***Carefully prompt children throughout to make this a new and unique monster DAY 2: Sculpting 10 min- use picture of famous sculptures to pass around to students and ask them to talk with partner about what they see and how they compare. 5 min- safety explanation and materials demo 10 min- warm up with clay. Have them participate in activities like: making a pancake, making a sphere, making a snake, etc. 5 min - scoring demo and toothpick and googly eyes demo 35 min- sculpting their animal while teacher assists and prompts and answers questions. DAY 3: Diorama Habitats and Painting 5 min: materials prep and centers explanation, careful handling of animal sculptures 2 activity centers: Painting and creating Diorama Have children primarily working on dioramas, and call up small groups for 20 minutes at a time to paint animals. Painting (20 min) 8 children in each group Have colors on plates with 2 paint brushes in each color. Have children with animals on newspaper painting them. Set aside to dry. Spray dry painted animals with finishing spray to avoid cracking. Dioramas (30 min) Each child has box and will create a world for their animal to live in using materials they brought from home. Use Elmer's glue to attach all them materials. They may decorate outside and inside of diorama. Teacher will hot glue completed dried animals in dioramas. Put the dioramas on display in classroom as "Mrs.___________'s Zoo" with plaques for each student posted with their name and animal name.