Elementary students won’t need to wing it when they learn to create a Winter Cardinal full of personality. This project covers Common Core Standards for Science and Language Arts for grade 1 which can be found at the end of the lesson.
Grade Level
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th. This project was created by 1st grade students.
Objective for Winter Cardinal Art
Elementary aged students will do a directed drawing of a winter cardinal bird.
Time
2 – 30 min lessons
Materials
- Oil pastels (Brown, Green, Red, Black) – Pentel Arts Oil Pastels, 50 Color Set (PHN-50)
- Black Sharpie Marker – Sharpie Permanent Marker, Fine Point, Black, Pack of 5
- 9×12 Watercolor paper – Canson (100510941) XL Series Watercolor Pad, 9″ x 12″, Fold-Over Cover, 30 Sheets
- Brushes – Acrylic Paint Brush Set, 1 Packs / 10 pcs Nylon Hair Brushes for All Purpose Oil Watercolor Painting Artist Professional Kits
- Liquid Water Colors – Sargent Art 22-6010 10-Count 8-Ounce Watercolor Magic Set
- Or this mini version for homeschooling – Sargent Art 22-6210 10-Count 4-Ounce Watercolor Magic
- Kleenex for blotting paint
- Optional: Since 1st graders have a tough time making the eyeball a perfect circle, I waited until they were finished. Then I added a simple dot of white paint (or white out could work too) and once it dried another sharpie dot. I recommend having the dot for the eye be off to the side rather than in the center.
Inspiration/Artist
I made this project from these two awesome sites: Click Here and Click Here
Instruction with Questions
First
Show students images of real Winter Cardinal birds on google images. I love using this resource for reference. I remind students that all great artists don’t just know how to draw everything. They look to images from which to inspire and learn. What do they see? How would they describe the shapes they see? What colors do they notice?
Second
I completely came across this project on Pinterest and fell in love with it. Both of these resources are fabulous for supporting this process.
The first one is from https://artprojectsforkids.org/draw-cardinal/. Look at this fabulous step by step instruction! I did these steps on the white board. Then I did them again, having students follow along with me. You can even copy and paste this onto a handout for them to have right in front of them.
Another gem of a website is this one, https://elementsoftheartroom.blogspot.com/2018/12/1st-grade-winter-cardinals.html. This art teacher has a “how to” video that is wonderful especially if you are teaching virtually.
Third
After students do one or two practice runs, they draw their bird and branches and trace with sharpie marker.
Fourth
Have students use oil pastel or crayon to add color to their piece.
Fifth
Finally have students add watercolor for the sky. Once the bird is finished, check out my “optional” take on how to make the eye in the materials section. These birds have soooo much personality!
Check out these finished Winter Cardinal art pieces!
Common Core Standards for Winter Cardinal Art
Grade 1 – Science
Life Sciences
2. Plants and animals meet their needs in different ways.
a. Students know different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different kinds of places.
Investigation and Experimentation
Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations.
a. Draw pictures that portray some features of the thing being described.
d. Describe the relative position of objects by using two references (e.g., above and next to, below and left of).
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