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| 4th grade |
Remember the 80s song, “Walk Like An Egyptian?” My art
students are too young to know the song but we have been making Ancient
Egyptian Art at school. Naturally, I dressed the part, because as everyone
knows, you can’t teach Egyptian Art without wearing Egyptian accessories.
(Well, you can, but…why would you?)
I’ve never dressed in costume while teaching the kids. I
figured it would be distracting and they have enough trouble listening to me.
But we must make exceptions for certain occasions and I’m so glad I did. The
other teachers loved my accessories and many of the kids did, too.
In case you are wondering about my accessories, I made them
myself. The head ornament is made of felt, paint and gems. The necklace was
created with paint on top of scraps from an old pair of jeans. Why jeans?
Because denim has more weight than cotton and I wanted the necklace to stay
flat and hold up to the paint. I glued on a few gems and used glitter hot glue
sticks for the paint. We had my belt already and I attached an old necktie,
which I painted with gold. Total out of pocket: $1.
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| Kindergarten |
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| Kindergarten |
I’m fascinated by how my students have interpreted this
lesson. I always say that, but it’s always true. They astonish me with what they
create, and I’m so proud of them. It’s impossible to pick favorites among the art
projects I’ve taught but this one is truly one of my favorites because the
results are so varied and so creative.
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| 1st grade |
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| 2nd grade |
My Kindergarten, first and second grade students were given printables to color in. If you're not familiar with the term, printables are like coloring book pages. The older kids created their own pieces. I
encouraged the kids to draw a geometric border around their subject, as most
Egyptian art has a border. It really enhances each piece, and makes it look
more complete.
In the art room we often use photos for reference. I always ask
the students to put their own twist on their art piece, rather than to copy
exactly from the photo. Many of the Egyptian art photos were highly detailed,
so I told the students that they could simplify the design if it was too complicated.
Some simplified, but some added incredible detail. They rose to the task and
here is what they made:
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| 3rd grade |
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| 4th grade |
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| 8th grade |
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| 8th grade |
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| 8th grade |
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| 8th grade |
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| 8th grade |
Ancient Egyptians buried their dead with lots of gold,
sculptures and art inside the tomb. They believed that these treasures would
ensure an arrival into the afterlife. Because the Egyptian desert is so dry, many
artifacts have survived over the last 5,000 years.
And so we brought a piece of Ancient Egypt to my classroom
in San Diego. I’ve been thinking about this project for months and it feels
great to have introduced the kids to the idea.
And now please excuse me. I must get back to my book, Hieroglyphics for Dummies…
Class dismissed.
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| 8th grade |
