First Grade Dragons

First Graders learned about Lunar New Year and read the book "My First Chinese New Year" by Karen Katz. We discussed Lunar New Year traditions and connected this learning to the traditions we observe at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. We also discussed how dragons in European and American stories are often depicted as bad guys, whereas in Chinese culture, they are a symbol of strength and good luck. 

To create their dragons, first graders observed several dragon paintings and weavings. They observed the different kinds of shapes and lines, and watched step by step demonstrations about how to put these together to create the form of the dragon. 

Windows in Art (Rashi School Online Lesson)

Windows have inspired many artists. Here are some amazing ways that artists have represented windows:

Salvador Dali, Figure at the Window, 1925

Henri Matisse, Open Window at Collioure, 1905

Rene Magritte, The Telescope, 1963

Marc Chagall, Hadassah Hospital Windows

Notre Dame Cathedral, France

Windows have been an inspiration for authors and illustrators, too! This great book, Outside my Window, by Linda Ashman, is a perfect companion to our lesson about windows. 

What do you see out your window? Try drawing the window, then observe the details of the things you see outside and draw them, too. 

Stained Glass Drawings (Rashi School Online Lesson)

Today we are going to create drawings that will look like a kind of art called stained glass. Stained glass is made with colored glass and metal. It is not easy to do, I have tried it!

Here are some famous artists who have made stained glass.

Marc Chagall, Tribe of Benjamin, 1962

Kehinde Wiley, Saint Remi, 2014

Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, Iran, 1800's

Materials:
-A small object, about the size of your fist
-A pencil
-A piece of white paper
-A black marker or pen
-Something to color with (colored pencil, marker, crayon)

Here's what we're making. I created it by tracing something I found in my house. Can you guess what it is?

If you guessed a roll of tape, you're right!


1. First, choose an object. It can be anything you want, as long as it's about the size of your fist.


2. Ready? Now, use your pencil to trace it onto the white paper. You can start anywhere you want.



3. Now, trace it again. BUT make sure that you put the object down so that it is on part of your first tracing.

   

4. See how some new shapes were created with the two tracings? Here, I will show you by highlighting it:



5. Now, continue to trace and overlap until you've filled the page. You should trace the object at least 8 times.














6. When you have it traced at least 8 times, go over all of your lines with a black marker or pen. this is what will look like the black lines in stained glass.



7. Then, notice all the new little shapes and start coloring them in.