5th Grade Art Project

“Colored Chalk Project”

The 5th grade project introduces students to a new medium, colored chalk, not your old white chalk, like many of us remember, but beautiful colored chalks. During the first lesson students create a large abstract design of their choice on colored construction paper. In the process they learn to blend the chalk colors with their fingers and create interesting effects using various techniques. During the 2nd lesson they learn about the artist Georgia O’Keeffe and her signature flower paintings and then create a flower drawing of their own incorporating the techniques learned from the first lesson. Students also learn that some mediums are more forgiving and that a mistake made with the chalk can be rubbed out or covered in another layer of chalk and blended together to create something entirely new.

“Ledger art”

Students will be introduced, by their teachers, to Ledger Art created by the plains Native American Nations.
Native American Nations of the central plains did not have a written language. They recorded their history and traditions on buffalo hides using natural colors. After the destruction of the buffalo herds and their forced relocation to reservations they were left without the means to record their history. It was at this time that they discovered the “white man’s” ledger books and printed paper as well as pens, colored pencils and eventually crayons creating a new medium on which to record their history that was portable and easy to use.

In a second class, students are shown multiple examples of ledger art and various symbols and artistic designs used by the Native Americans. After a short review of the history of Ledger art Students are given samples of Ledger Paper and begin the process of creating their own Ledger art inspired drawings using only materials that the original Native American Ledger Artists would have used, such as crayons, colored pencils, and black ink pens.