3D Animal Studies

In core, 4th grade read about how the buffalo affects its ecosystem, and how when there were very few buffalo, the grass lost the nutrition it had previously received from buffalo defecation, and the soil was less oxidized than it had been when buffalos hooves left open spots in the soil.

At this time 5th graders read, “The Boy Who Drew Birds,” about John James Audubon who began his wild life career as a child, observing and drawing birds, and the way they live.

Students continued to think about these core readings to help them select informative books about animals. They needed to be sure that the books they’d chosen had enough facts so that they could represent these imperative details in their art studies.

4th grade focused their studies on how animals effect their ecosystem. They also drew and wrote about what their animal eats, and where it lives, before they used clay and found objects to build and represent their animal.

5th grade focused their studies on the adaptive features animals depend upon for survival, and also drew and wrote about what their animals eat and where they live. This allowed 5thgrade to make clay sculptures about specific animal characteristics.

In the end, students agreed that their artmaking is enhanced when the artist is educated about the subject they’re portraying, and thus other academics like science and literacy are beneficial to the artist.

4th Grade Colorado State Visual Arts Standard 3.1.a: Invent and Discover to Create- Use media to express and communicate ideas about an issue of personal interest. Students can utilize the characteristics and expressive features of art and design in media and technology to convey meaning.

5th Grade Colorado State Visual Arts Standard 3.3.b: Invent and Discover to Create- Apply an understanding of art processes and creative thinking to plan and create art. Students can research an idea or technique to prepare for art making.