4th Grade - Surrealism Collages

I absolutely LOVE this project - though it does take a specific group of kids to be able to wrap their brains around something you can't really understand.

I start off the lesson by asking if anyone knows anything about surrealism - have they heard of it, or can anyone give any examples.  I rarely get many students who can tell me anything, though most of them can recognize Dali's "Persistence of Memory".  So, next I introduce them to a short slideshow of handpicked surrealistic works - some 'classical' and other more modern.  I let the slideshow run through first and ask for students to report what they saw - what they noticed.

This is an interesting process, because students sometimes struggle to explain what they see.  They see one thing, but their brain has a hard time understanding it, so it is hard to describe.  Many descriptions will include that, things don't make sense in the picture, objects are put together or near each other that don't make sense.

So, next we go on to define some surrealism vocabulary to help them with these difficult descriptions.  We talk about:
- Levitation: things/objects floating in space that shouldn't.
- Juxtaposition: Placing things near each other that don't make sense.
- Scale: Objects that are unusually small or large in comparison to the picture.
- Transformation: Objects that start as one thing but transform, or change, into another.
- Transparency: The idea of seeing through something that should be solid.

While we talk about these we go back through the slideshow and try and find these words - most times this helps students to connect what they saw and now how to explain it.

Next, we start their collage, by gathering pictures from magazines.  I pull all the kids around for a demonstration/think aloud.  I have the students use National Geographic because of the colors and diversity of pictures and there are never pieces about who looked best in what dress or who is dating who.  I do give a speech to the kids about how National Geographic travels ALL around the world and goes to places where people dress VERY differently, and by differently I mean no clothes.  Most students are okay with this, a few giggle.  I remind them that our culture has clothes and our climate demands clothing - but in the jungle or out in the desert, clothing would be more harmful then helpful.  I explain that these other places are not wrong or gross - but just different.  They are to simply turn the page - no giggling, no elbowing a neighbor - nothing more than turning the page.  I explain that if they can't handle the magazines they don't get to use them.  I think in my hundreds of kids I have had to enforce this consequence ONCE.

I then proceed to thumb through the magazine thinking out loud as I pause at pictures, move on, decide on pictures I think are unique or funny.  I proceed to rip out the whole page and set aside.  I tell them that I also need a background - but that my background needs to have a lot of options, not just be pretty.  So a busy square, street, or landscape will work - but a pretty picture of leaves won't give me enough options.

Next, I stress to cut out each object I want to use as closely to the picture's edge as possible - it will help the picture blend in to the new picture.  I then start laying out my objects on my background playing around with how they will interact with the scene already in place.  I show different ideas, think through them and problem solve.  If I want a building to be on the horizon, but it covers a boy in the foreground and looks weird - I can cut a line along the horizon, around the boy and then slide my building in behind him.

As I do my think aloud I do my best to use our surrealism vocabulary words as I try and get my new objects to interact and appear apart of new picture.

The first day students mostly collect pictures that interest them.  The next class we cut out and do some brainstorming and start gluing pictures together.

The students really enjoy getting these to work and it's fun to watch them problem solve and think through their unique pictures.

Staff and students have enjoyed looking at them in the hallway as well.  I have heard 1st graders find funny things about the pictures and talk about what they see!


Pictures I used for my slideshow -- there are literally hundreds of great examples to use.  I picked these mostly because I like them and they represented the vocabulary well.

Vladimir Kush -- Fauna in La Mancha
Unknown -- Surrealism iPad Wallpaper
Rene Magritte -- The Empire of Light
Rene Magritte -- The Song of Love
Salvador Dali -- Reflecting Elephans

Tornado Safety - 1st Grade

I originally found this lesson while browsing "Adventures of an Art Teacher".  I pinned her tornado safety pictures to my 'Art Lesson' board on Pinterest.  I have since been eagerly waiting for spring to try my spin on this idea.

The very first day we didn't discuss tornadoes at all - instead I had the students close their eyes and imagine they were driving up to their home.  I asked them to think and look at their home and proceeded to help them think through what their home looked like:
- is it a house?
- is it an apartment?
- do you live in a condo?
- do you live in a trailer?
- How many windows do you see?
- How many doors?
- Where are the windows and doors?
- What color is your home?
- What shape is your home? - tall and skinny? short and flat? square? rectangle?
- Are there shutters by the windows?
- Is there a chimney?

After this I asked students to draw their home LARGE on a sheet of paper.  They then outlined with sharpie and colored it with crayons.  I did my best to stress they color their house the color it is - apparently there are some rainbow and duel colored homes out there. ::wink wink:: If students got this far then they cut out their house and glued it to a piece of dark grey construction paper.

Next class students and I discussed Tornadoes - what are they, how do they form, what to do to stay safe during a Tornado.  This discussion was pretty informative for them and for me.  After we talked for a bit I explained the plan for the day.

After a quick demonstration on tearing paper  - We pass out their homes, black paper for the tornado, sentences about how to stay safe around tornadoes, and oil pastels.  Students ripped their construction paper, glued it down.  Next, they cut their sentence to fit in the tornado, being careful to read the sentence back before gluing it down.  After this was completed students used oil pastels to finish out details.  Again, we are working on making color choices that make sense - ie: magenta clouds aren't very tornado like. 

Most of these turned out AWESOME and I love the diversity in homes, tornadoes and even details that got added in later! 

Thanks for the idea Adventures in Art!

I am an art TEACHER

Do you ever want to shout "I AM A CLASSROOM TOO" or "I AM A TEACHER TOO"?

I feel like this here and there.  Most times I don't feel singled out or less of a teacher than grade level teachers - but every once in a while things add up and suddenly I feel like I'm backed in a corner trying to fight my way out - trying to prove and explain that just because I teach art doesn't make me any less of a teacher or any less of a classroom.

Generally when schedules are running smoothly and people are less stressed - specials teachers get treated with respect and equality(in my experience) - but the moment things get rough or a planning period is in jeopardy, even by a few minutes, suddenly it feels as though specials teachers are less important - that what we are doing with the kids is just fluff and that our job is to babysit and entertain the kids so that planning times can be had.

I may not directly teach reading, writing, or math - but what I do is important.  I may not teach anything that can be 'graded' with numbers or be graphed on a standardized test, but I teach students life skills that they use in general education rooms.  Students learn valuable skills in my room, not just how to mix colors or draw in perspective (which honestly is super hard), but they learn how to cope when their ideas don't pan out.  They learn how to ask for help, how to visualize, how to plan ahead.  Students learn to preserver - students learn stamina in the art room.  They learn to create something completely original by combining new and prior knowledge - a skill they need in writing for sure.

I realize that walking into my room it looks all fun and games - I understand that when I hang up pictures in the hall they they often look as though all we did was cut a glue paper.  Those pictures represent so much more than the end product.  Those pictures represent all the skills they need to learn new things in the general ed room.

What I do matters.  What I do is needed.  If for no other reason, I do what I do because there is that one student in each class that lives their week for art class.  There is always that one kid that can't read well, that numbers don't make sense, friendships may be hard to make and keep - but art they can do.  Art is where they are smart, confident, at home - art is the one place they feel okay taking risks.

Creativity is one the number one things CEO's and other job hunters are after for their companies.  Our country feeds and runs off of innovators and inventors, and we are in a creativity crisis.  How do you teach creativity?  I often times feel you can't teach creativity, but that you have to practice and experience creativity.  I don't think creativity can be taught in one particular class or by filling out worksheets, but rather it is a process.  Students need time to try and be creative by having open ended experiences while melding their prior and new learning so that they take risks.  I love when a kid comes up to me with a sparkle in their eye and say, "Ms Novak can I try...." or "Ms. Novak can I add...."  That is creativity when they start thinking outside the box and give something new a try, a chance.

I know creativity happens in general education rooms, but I tend to feel it doesn't happen quite the same was as it does in the art room.  I am passionate about what I do and what I teach.  There is value and purpose in my planning and lessons.

All of you out there - please support your ARTs teachers and remember that they are indeed TEACHERS.

Clay - Set Design - Update

WHOA! Where did March go?!  I didn't realize that I had not posted in WEEKS.  This month has blown by.  Our 5th grade production is in less than two weeks and that has taken up A LOT of extra time - not to mention I was brilliant and decided to do clay this month with all 800 or so of my students!  As my 95 year old grandma would say, 'GoodNITE'.

So, I have mentioned, many times, our 5th grade production.  In addition to teaching 6 classes everyday - every Tuesday morning for the last couple of months I have about 25 students that come to my room during my normal 'prep' time and have SET DESIGN class.  We have been busy painting and building set pieces for the show.  The truffula trees are complete, the background is ALMOST done, and the building we need for the last scene was started this last week.  I am blessed to be able to do set design work at my job - as I was a technical theatre major for a short time in college and have worked in the scene shop building sets all through high school and college.  Though, as much as I do love it - I am ready for the show to be here and done!  I really would like my room back - it is a DISASTER! 

The 5th Graders did a pretty awesome job painting this - I have been going back through and outlining their work.  I didn't originally want to outline this masterpiece for two reasons: 1) Things in real life aren't outlined in black. 2) There are A LOT of books to outline.  I did end up outlining because having 30 or so ten-year-old students paint it - the lines weren't as crisp as they needed to be to make it make sense.  They did a fantastic job - just needed some touch ups.  The backdrop for the show is the school's media (library) center.  The dinosaurs and cars are from prior years - projects done in class or for other 5th grade shows!  I can't wait to finally finish it and hang it up in the Cafetorium! 

As far as all my other classes, they have all been building and glazing their clay masterpieces.  Here is the breakdown - (individual posts about each project to come)

Kindergarten -- Pinch pots with lids or handles.
1st Grade -- Pinch pot WIDE mouth animals.
2nd Grade -- Handbells
3rd Grade -- Spirit Balls
4th Grade -- Spirit Balls
5th Grade -- Bobble Heads.

Truffula Trees - 5th Grade Production "Mystery of the Midnight Thief"

I haven't updated in a while - I apologize.  I had a post all ready to go and realized I don't have pictures of the project downloaded onto my computer yet!  Whoops!

Things have been busy with mid-winter break, snow days, and 5th grade production.  March is the craziest, busiest month EVER at our school.  Whew.  I will earn my Spring Break!

Well, with the 5th grade production almost on my doorstep I took some extra minutes today between classes to finish up the Truffula Trees for the Seuss scene in our show!

These turned out pretty great and are far steadier than I was expecting!

It's amazing what tomato cages, paper mache, water bottles, tissue paper and some square fencing can become!

Backside

I'm Done -- All Grades

What do you do with kids that are all done?!

Here is what I do - as of now:
- Students first have to come show me their work and we discuss it - we compare and contrast their own work within their work.  So for example if one part is colored/painted with care and precision but another part is scribbled in - I point out the two spots and ask if they match in quality.  In most cases students will see the difference and go fix it.
- When students bring me their 'done' work I also compare it to our list of expectations.  For example if we are working on their Wild Things I will go down the list of requirements: - is the wild thing made up of 4 or more animals? - Does your wild thing have visual texture? - Does your wild thing have a habitat?  - Yes to all of those? You are done for today.

When I agree they are indeed done most times I send the kids to the 'Done List'.  I sometimes have mini projects for them to complete, but often times kids get a huge benefit of exploring things on the done list.

The 'DONE LIST' in my room currently has the following to do:
- Free Draw (2 papers)
- Modeling Clay (size of a golf ball)
- Art games - memory and go fish
- I Spy - books and search bottles
- Tangoes
- Kidpix

Free Draw: Students may use 2 papers to color, cut, glue, paper punch - it is free draw after all.  For some reason my students LOVE to use paper punches.. they will sit and punch holes in paper for their entire 'done' time.  I don't full get it, but there must be some magical about punching perfect circles and hearts in a paper.

Modeling Clay: This is a favorite with ALL grade levels - and mostly with boys.  The rules are: no weapons, no throwing, no chasing each other.

Art Games: These tend to be more popular with younger elementary students, as most older kids have mastered memory and go fish.

I SPY: These tend to interest middle to lower elementary students and mostly boys - though many girls still enjoy them.  I made the search and find bottle out of a plastic tea bottle, added some small bits of this and that from around the room, filled with plastic beads, glued on the lid, printed out a list that I taped to the side.

Tangoes: Tangoes are basically tangrams with different shapes.  I got these travel tangoes at Target - they are magnetic and have little books inside with pictures to make on the front and the solutions on the back.  I find all grade levels love these and I tend to see girls play with them longer.

Kidpix: ALL kids LOVE kidpix.  I have 3 computers set up in the back and they make silly pictures.  I set a timer for about 4 minutes so they don't stay on all class and give other kids a chance.  I don't have it hooked up to the internet or to a printer.



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Jim Dine -- All Grades

It happened - Jim Dine invaded the art room!  Hearts are everywhere!

Due to my district's schedule and a snow day - my Monday kids are a WHOLE unit behind everyone else, so I am filling my Friday schedule with some quality one day art lessons.  I hadn't really planned on using Jim Dine, but he kept popping up on art blogs and pinterest that I couldn't ignore his amazing hearts any longer!

So, off I went to google to find and save images of Jim Dine's many marvelous hearts to make a slide show.  I talked a little bit about the Pop Artist before the slide show, and explained to the students that their job during the slideshow was to find something about his work and raise their hand.  They could raise their hand when they knew a color, a texture, what the subject was, something all the pictures had in common, something the pictures didn't have in common or anything they observed.  I made sure to wait till ALL hands had something to share.  I called on students until anyone that wanted to share got to share at least once.

Next, I explained their job was to create their own version of a Jim Dine heart.  I broke down and wrote on the board what choices they needed to make:
1) How many hearts? (We talked about any number they were willing to color: 1,3,7,59)
2) What colors? (random, hot/cold, favorite, sport team colors, school colors)

Then we discussed what they needed to have no matter the number of hearts or colors:
1) Whole paper filled with color.
2) Coloring with purpose and not scribbling in whole thing.
3) Using the TIP of the oil pastel and NOT the side (sides don't have as much color and the coloring goes far too fast)

I passed out paper and oil pastels and let them to it.  I let students get pencils if needed, but I encouraged them to jump in with oil pastels.

These turned out great!  I had some students struggle with the freedom of this project, but most of them loved doing it and asked to do more than one.

Now, in classes that had more time to work I offered another step to students that wanted it.  I let them "batik" their papers.  Now, this isn't a true batik as we didn't use wax resist and plan out our colors lightest to darkest.  Instead it is more of a inspired look from batiking.  Those that wanted to crumpled their paper into a ball, then smoothed it back out - they did this 3 times.  On the their crumple students kept it in a ball, dunked it in watered down black paint, rinsed it in the sink, blotted it dry.

I let students pick if they wanted to do the last step because the idea of crumpling your work is too much for some students to handle - though MOST of my students were excited about being a little rebellious.

Truffula Trees for 5th Grade Production

Our 5th graders do a HUGE production in the spring each year - this is my first one at this building and to say the least I am super excited and a little overwhelmed!

We are working on a big ol' backdrop of our Media Center, creating Seuss land, and then the "Villain" lair.

For our Truffula trees I am attempting to use Mr. E's Chihuly's sculptures as inspiration.  The kids glued and glazed some tissue paper around water bottle that I then forced into a round-ish frame.

So far it looks great and it will be way bigger than I had planned - but it will be awesome!

Draw Along Confusion

I have seen quite a few lessons in the last month or so that specifically have 'draw along' as part of the lesson.  I am very confused and slightly concerned about this - will one of you who do this explain to me your reasoning and purpose for doing them?

I tend to feel that all kids are super creative and I challenge my students to make their art their own.  I have never done a draw along, but I wanted to ask why some of you do them - because perhaps, I am missing the purpose of them.  I currently just don't get it. 

Personal Logos -- 5th Grade

I would love to say that I came up with this lesson - however, it isn't true.  I did this lesson back when I was doing my first placement for student teaching.  I was in a rougher school in the area, with a room full of 8th graders that were one of the worst groups the school had seen.  I was 5'2" and not really super confident in my ability to teach a crammed room of rough 8th grade students that were taller than me -- so instead of making my own lesson I taught a lesson my cooperating teacher had already set up.  Logos.

I have since morphed her lesson into a unit for my 5th grade students.

Day 1:
I start out with a slideshow of logos that have no words.  I tell students I want them to keep track WITHOUT talking of how many of these logos they know.  We go through the slideshow a second time and then students whisper what each company is.

We briefly talk about what a logo is, why it is important to a company and consumer.  I then explain they will be creating their own personal logo.

:Insert gasps, and whispered feelings of 'cool':

I explain they will be brainstorming today to find their logo.  (I am super against worksheets in the art room - but for this I needed a way to help and guide their brainstorming).  I pass out a worksheet in which they have to write their first initial 10 different ways.  Some students groan at this point, because apparently 10 is a lot -- I quickly show them on the board that simply writing their letter lower case, upper case, and then the same in bubble is already 4, and they all relax.

After 10 of their first initial they do 10 of their second initial.  Last but not least they do 10 different ways to combine the letters they have done.  I of course don't keep them confined to the letter they have done, but it gives them an out if they can't or won't think of anything past what they have already done.

At this point hopefully they find a combination they REALLY like, though sometimes they need a little help to think past the letters themselves.  If they find one they like I have them turn over the paper and try that design slightly different 4-6 times -- ie. changing the thickness of the lines, the angle of the lines, how long certain lines are.  When they are confident in what they want we move to the next step.

Day 2 -- Formatting

The next class time we talk about formatting.  My students have already had practice at formatting in the beginning of the year - so a quick reminder of formatting and away they go. I, again, have created a sheet to help guide their exploration for a final logo.   The worksheet has a circle, triangle, square, rectangle and oval on it.  The students must take their favorite design from the previous class and mold/bend it into each shape.  Most students claimed they liked it in a square until they got to the oval or circle.  Once they did this and decided which shape they liked best they flipped their paper over and drew it 4 more times.  The students then started to work on color combinations for their logos.

Day 3 --  Final Logos

The final day!!!  I printed out large shapes: square, circle, oval, rectangle, and triangle.  The students picked their shape, drew their logo, colored, cut it out, glued it onto a piece of choice construction paper.  I made a HUGE deal out of how awesome these should be.  I told them that a marker that was drying out was not an acceptable reason for why it wasn't colored well.  Poor cutting and glue bulging out the sides was not acceptable.  To really drive home my expectation if there was poor coloring, cutting, or glueing they would need to START OVER.


Their logos are AMAZING!!!  Not only do they look fantastic but the kids are super proud of them!




















Okay, so I haven't figured out how to attach word documents or PDF files for download - but for now here are pictures of my brainstorming worksheets:

Star Gallery

I have been wanting to make a small gallery at one of my schools since I was hired a couple months back (has it been that long already?!)  I wasn't sure where I wanted it or how I wanted it to look.

After I got the room mostly organized the way I needed/wanted it - I thought about making the gallery on one of the walls in my room.  The wall is huge and ALL the students would see it.  I decided I wasn't happy with this idea for a couple of reasons: 1) The 5th grade production backdrop has now been hung over that wall so we can start working on it. 2) All students would see it but no one else -- no parents, visitors, or staff would get to enjoy it.  So, all in all I decided to make one fo the front big bulletin boards, complete with track lighting, into the Star Gallery.   (The funky yellow star is our schools logo - it is based off of Matisse)

The gallery has somewhat amiable lighting (though there aren't enough lights for the board/far enough away - but it's better than nothing), good traffic, a sparkly gold frame and artwork already on it.  I have yet to complete the boarder - but in due time. 

I will be posting student work in/on the Gallery that goes above and beyond the project expectations - or even if a student goes above and beyond their personal level.  At this point there are no awards or certificates, just the honor of seeing their work there.  I am thinking about doing a picture of them with their art on the wall, but frankly I'm not sure I have the time.  I am at this school 3 days and those 3 days are PACKED!  Classes are pretty much back to back and there is little time for much else.  Perhaps I can get some parent volunteers to help me out with this?!

1st Graders vs. Clean up vs. Mean Teacher

Okay it was one of those days with one of my 1st grade classes - I don't know what happened but MEAN  teacher appeared....  It is not a moment I am proud of, and I actually intend to make it right with the kids I had today, it was one of those moments that was just not pretty.

My 1st graders had a GREAT class - they worked really hard on their projects and when they were done they went to the 'done' station as normal.  They were busy and having fun - doing their thing.  I gave them warnings about clean up, as normal..... then it was time to clean up and it happend... no one cleaned up.  They walked around talking to friends, getting out MORE materials..... I stopped our song and told them it was time to stop and clean up - if not they would not be taking their 'free draw/builds would be recycled'.  It didn't phase them... I could have been speaking Greek for how many of them followed my warning.

Sure enough the song was over and kids were out of their seats, pencils all over, paper all over, glue bottles on tables toppled over..... I have no idea what happened.  We have been cleaning up with the song since fall - more often than not they stop what they are doing and put everything away. Often times they race to see what table can be done first.  However, not today.  Today I was shocked, frustrated, and honestly a little upset.  I had 3rd graders standing in the hall waiting to come in and they were goofing around after our song was over.  I had reminded multiple kids with personal reminders during clean up with things like, "Put away the clay please" "Check your table.  Is it clean?" "Where should your body be?" "Put away the glue please." Greek I tell ya, I learned and was speaking Greek.

That is when it happened - MEAN teacher broke out - I haven't seen mean teacher in years and BAM there she was.

Mean teacher had all of them place their free made projects in the recycling bin as I had warned them.  At the time this felt appropriate based on how they were playing/building them instead of cleaning -- but when I got home tonight and thought about it -- it just wasn't necessary.  In my mind those 5 minute projects they made with left over papers were nothing overly special - but perhaps to my kids they were the Mona Lisa and a gift for someone... I was an adult in that moment and decided those scraps were nothing more than scraps -- which wasn't my call.

I made a mistake today - I over reacted.  I am human.  I plan to talk that class and apologize for my actions and explain why I made them and why they were wrong.

Next time they come we will be practicing how to clean up (which is a far more appropriate consequence) and while we do that I will let them re-build what I asked them to toss.

This will be a lesson for me as it will be for them -- that even teachers make mistakes, teachers/adults can apologize when they are wrong.

I don't know what came over me in that moment.  I am not normally so rash about things - but I think the combination of surprise, frustration, and the need to get them out so my 3rd graders could come in was just a bad combination.

So, to my 1st graders I see on Thursdays -- I am sorry.

4th Art Ed Blog of the Year!

I am super excited to announce that Organized Chaos has been voted the 4th Art Ed Blog of the year through The Art of Education.  Thanks to all who voted and those who have shared my site with new people.  I am excited to not only have found many more wonderful blogs through this experience, but I've been connected with so many wonderful people!

Please head to The Art of Education and visit some of the blogs listed - truly amazing community.

Black Book of Colors - 3rd Grade

I did a "Black Book of Colors" lesson a few years ago, and decided that my current group of 3rd graders could handle the whole concept/idea.

I started out the first day of the unit with the question, "Can people who are blind understand color?".  I had the students vote, with their heads down, to see what they thought.  In MOST of my classes it was an overwhelming thought that no a blind person couldn't understand understand colors.  A couple of students always said yes.  I then asked for volunteers to explain their thoughts.  As expected the kids that say no can't wrap their heads around how to explain a color without sight and the kids who think yes - say you just have to explain it enough.

As this point I change the question to "Can a person who is deaf able to understand music?"  Immediately I have students saying yes!  I ask how.  They immediately tell me that the person could watch people play instruments, or someone could sign the words, or read music.  At this point they are so close to opening up their way of thinking that you can feel it in the room.  Next, I ask how many of them have sat at a red light and they can feel the bass of a car 3 places back?!  Almost all of them raise their hand -- I ask them how they could hear a car so far away..... tick... tick.. HANDS SHOOT IN THE AIR.  There are gasps as students get it.  I call on someone and they say they could feel it.  So I summarize - if people who are deaf can understand music through sight and sound - how could someone who is blind understand colors?!

Slowly, so slowly the gears are turning as students start to transfer their new thoughts - and BAM.  Hands go up.

Now, instead of calling on someone I tell them we are going to do an experiment.   I explain that I am going to blindfold a volunteer, hand them an object and their job is to tell the class what color it is.

I am always surprised on how many students volunteer for this role.  I pick my first volunteer and blindfold them.  I stress that if they cheat by looking under the blindfold it won't really help our experiment.  I then stress to the class that they can't make a single comment because even if they don't mean anything by it, it might give the color away!

I hand my first blindfolded student an orange making sure I puncture the skin with my nail.  After a few seconds the student tells me it's an orange.  I of course then ask what is the color?!  The student generally giggles and says, 'orange'.  I ask the class if this is true and they say YES!

I repeat this with a variety of things: a piece of chocolate (making sure my volunteer has no food allergies), a banana, the sunlight, a smelly marker, a cup of water.

After this is over we re-vote on the original questions "Can people who are blind understand color?".  Most students switch over to 'yes' though there are always still a couple of 'no'.  Now, I explain to them that they are both right.  People who are blind can understand color through their other sense though we don't know if they understand it the same way we do.  (I don't normally like to have 'trick' questions but this time it seemed appropriate).

I then read the best book ever, the book that inspired the unit - "The Black Book of Colors".  This book is written from Thomas's point of view.  He describes different colors using his senses: taste, smell, feel,  and even sound.  The pages are black, type in white - the book is also complete with brail and the pictures are all meant to be touched as they are raised off the paper.  The pictures have no color.

Next, I explain that we are going to make our own black book of colors.  (Pause for excitement and whispers).  As a class we complete the paper I am about to hand out to them.  It is a simple paper, but the thoughts the students have to create are new and stretch their current ways of thinking.  I have found that this paper helps them organize their thoughts.

Their paper says:
COLOR:

SMELLS LIKE:
TASTES LIKE:
SOUNDS LIKE:
FEELS LIKE:

So to complete this together I have a student volunteer a color, then other students to volunteer a way to use smell, taste, sound, or feel.

Example:
COLOR: green

SMELLS LIKE: sweet spring.
TASTES LIKE: mushy, gross, peas.
SOUNDS LIKE: summer breezes through the trees.
FEELS LIKE: sharp, pokey grass

After we create the example I pass out the papers and they make up their own colors and examples.  I stress that each one should be different, because otherwise they pick the first one they come up with and describe it for rest of the paper.  I remind them they are describing a color and not 'grass'.  This is a little tough for some students and they need some extra examples.  When they answer these they draw a  SIMPLE thumbnail sketch for each one.

DAY 2:

Students finish their white brainstorming sheets, pick their favorite drawing and draw it BIG on 9x12 black construction paper.  Next, they trace their lines with good ol' school glue.  We talk a lot about making their lines too skinny or too thick -- getting them just right.  I tell them to hold the bottle like a pencil with one hand, tilt the point, put the point on the paper, and always PULL the glue bottle -- turn the paper if needed.

When their picture is on the drying rack they are to write what they drew in a FULL COMPLETE sentence on their white paper... "Green tastes like mushy, gross peas".

DAY 3:

I tell students that we are going to test their papers.  I pass out random pictures FACEDOWN to students.  I ask them to keep their eyes closed, flip over the papers and try and figure out the picture using their fingers.  When they think they know they are to raise their hands.  When most students raise their hands I have them look to see if they were right - flip them back over, shuffle the papers in the middle of their table and pick a new one!  I did this for about 3-4 rounds.

Next, students take WHITE colored pencils and write their sentence somewhere that makes sense on their paper and in a size of lettering that also makes sense.

I then had them pick out a piece of colored construction paper that goes with the color they chose to represent.