1/16/15

I had all of the students bring in an object that belongs to them that could fit into a plastic bowl.  I told them we would be pushing it into clay so it had to be able to get dirty.  Most of them brought small toys. 

We reviewed different types of fossils including preserved organisms, impression fossils, and mineral replacement fossils.  I showed them a few visual examples of each and then we moved onto the hands-on activity.

We gave each student a small plastic bowl with a ball of air-dry clay in it.  I gave them instructions to press the clay down flat and then push in their object with enough pressure for the object to go about half-way down.  After pushing it down, they lifted the projects back out of the clay.  I asked them to identify what type of fossil the clay resembled.  Most of them made the connection to impression fossils.  After doing that we filled the impressions with plaster and let them dry for a week. 

While Mrs. Gandara filled the bowls with plaster, I let the students choose a fossil image from the back of the room.  I showed them some examples of fossils like a frog skeleton and plant and we described what these fossils might have looked like as live organisms.  Then I asked the students to look at their fossils and imagine them in a prehistoric environment.  I showed them a few examples of illustrations that infer what the environment and wildlife looked like based off of scientific research.  I introduced some perspective drawing techniques like horizon lines, aerial perspective, and the scale and location of objects on the paper.  I showed them some more prehistoric illustrations and asked the students to point out the techniques being used.  Most of them could recognize the aerial perspective and the horizon lines, etc.  I did a demonstration of how to utilize these techniques with oil pastels on construction paper and then gave the assignment to draw their fossil as if it were alive.  These were the requirements:

·      Draw a landscape with the type of environment that you think your organism would have lived in.

·      Include a horizon line

·      Draw your fossil organism 3 times in 3 different sizes going up the page to create the illusion of depth.

I wish I had written these three requirements on the board or something, but I didn’t think to do it in the moment.  About half of the students remembered the instructions.  I was still pleased with the outcome.  Some of the students finished their first drawing early and started a second one that had a little bit more creative flare. 

Fossils and Art

Name of Art Scholar: Rachel Jackson         

Name of Teacher: Jayme Gandara

Subject Concepts		Art Concepts
Content Covered: Fossils		Content Covered: Landscapes, perspective,
State Standards & Objectives (USOE/UEN): Standard 4, Objective 1 Impression/Tracks and Mineral Replacement a.Identify features of fossils that can be used to compare them to living organisms that are familiar (e.g., shape, size and structure of skeleton, patterns of leaves).  b.     Describe three ways fossils are formed in sedimentary rock (i.e., preserved organisms, mineral replacement of organisms, impressions or tracks).		State Standards & Objectives (USOE/UEN): Standard 2,Objective 1 a.      Discuss how height placement creates an illusion of depth in artworks.  d.     Identify evidence of depth, shadow, color, and mood in artwork.  Objective 2 a.      Draw the base of a distant object higher up on the drawing page than the bases of objects that are meant to be in the foreground.  Standard 3, Objective 2 a.     Create a work of art using inspiration from hobbies or interests
Learning Outcomes: ·       The student will be able to identify fossil features and compare them to living organisms by drawing a landscape that incorporates prehistoric wildlife. ·       The student will be able to identify preserved organisms, mineral replacement of organisms, and impression fossils by imitating the different fossils types with clay and plaster.		Learning Outcomes: ·       The student will be able to draw a landscape using perspective techniques such as creating depth through height placement, shading, and the location of objects within the page.  ·       The student will create a fossil that preserves an artifact from his or her own life.
Lesson Plan
Objectives: The students will gain a better understanding of fossils and the process of how they are formed through hands on experience with sculpture. Students will learn perspective-drawing techniques and apply their imagination to analyze fossil images. Assessments: Student’s drawings will be used to assess their ability to render a landscape using aerial perspective and object scale and location.  Students will write a response after observing a classmates fossil that describes and explains what they see. The teacher will verbally check for understanding to see if students can connect their fossils with preserved organisms, mineral replacement, and impression fossils.
Materials Needed: Plastic bowls Air-dry clay Objects from students Plaster of Paris Shoeboxes Sand Brushes Colored construction paper Oil pastels Print out images of different fossils Vocabulary: Environment Impression Fossil Organism Replacement Foreground Middle ground Back ground Horizon line Aerial perspective	Lesson Sequence: Day 1: Give students a weeks notice to bring in an object from home that can fit in a small plastic bowl and that also can get a little dirty Hand out bowls with a ball of air-dry clay (3 inches in diameter) Have students push the clay down flat and press their object with enough pressure to go half-way down.  After pushing it down, have them lift the objects out and ask them to identify what type of clay the clay resembles.  (10 minutes) Have students take their bowls to the counter and sit down to move on to the drawing part of the lesson.  (the teacher pours plaster while students draw) (5 minutes) Let the students choose from a variety of fossil images.  Show examples of similar fossils and describe the details and compare them with living organisms.  (5 minutes) Show examples of prehistoric landscape illustrations.  As students to look at their fossil image and imagine it as a live organism and what kind of environment it would live in.  (5 minutes) Explain perspective techniques such as horizon lines, aerial perspective, and the location and scale of objects in a picture.  Show examples of prehistoric illustrations and have students point the different techniques.  (10 minutes) Demonstrate drawing techniques with oil pastels and construction paper. (10 minutes) Give students the assignment to draw with oil pastels on construction paper fulfilling these three requirements: 1. Draw a landscape with the type of environment that you think your organism would have lived in. 2. Include a horizon line 3. Draw your fossil organism 3 times in 3 different sizes going up the page to create the illusion of depth. (45 minutes) Day 2: Ask students in advance to bring a shoebox from home Give instructions to remove the plaster from the clay.  While students are separating the fossils, the teacher will be putting sand in their shoeboxes.   (10 minutes) Have students bury their fossils under the sand face up and switch with a classmate. (3 minutes) Explain that they are to pretend they are aliens from another planet landing on planet earth 1,000 years into the future and collecting artifacts from our lives.  How would a foreign alien perceive the objects we leave behind?   (3 minutes) Show Fraggle Rock clip (1 minute) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKPnyKiDcYU&list=PLC3CB071ED8F467A6&index=2 Discuss how Uncle Traveling Matt perceives the bagpipes.  Go over how he describes and interprets his observations.  (3 minutes) Give students 2 prompts to answer in writing while excavating their classmate’s fossil. (3 minutes)  1.     Describe what your fossil looks like from an aliens perspective. 2.     Explain what it was used for from an aliens perspective.  Hand out brushes and instruct them on how to carefully brush away the sand to reveal the fossil.  (15 minutes) Have students raise their hands to share their writing response with the class. (5 minutes)