Project Objective:
Students will be introduced to a new time period every week, this week: The Ice Age. Students will be exposed to what life was like in that time through a series of activities. After looking at images, watching a clip, and discussing mammoths, the students will create their own. Using various objects, students will use their imagination to create a hand-held wooly mammoth that will later be added to a habitat, also created by the student. The mammoth will combine textures, shapes, and objects that will promote the student’s imagination, creativity, and fine motor skills. In order to fully gain an understanding of an animal, an exploration of how and where an animal lives/lived will occur through the construction of a habitat for their woolly mammoth. The materials used to create the habitat will imitate what woolly mammoths ate, the type of land they lived on, and the physical features of the Ice Age.
Ohio Academic Content Standards (Kindergarten):
Creative Expression and Communication
Benchmark A: Demonstrate knowledge of visual art materials, tools, techniques and processes by using them expressively and skillfully.
Explore and experiment with a variety of art materials and tools for self-expression
Identify and name materials use in visual art
Benchmark C: Develop and select a range of subject matter and ideas to communicate meaning in two and three- dimensional works of art.
Generate ideas and images for artwork based on memory, imagination and experience.
Analyzing and Responding
Benchmark C: Contribute to the development of criteria for discussing and judging works of art.
Select and share favorite visual works of art and tell their reasons for choosing them.
Valuing the Arts/ Aesthetic Reflection
Benchmark C: Distinguish and describe the aesthetic qualities in works of art.
Notice and point out different ways that an artwork expresses a feeling or mood.
Connections, Relationships and Applications
Benchmark C: Create artwork that explores a central theme across disciplines
Interdisciplinary information/ Connection:
Creating and environment to resemble the Ice Age correlates with both science and social studies. This lesson will touch on the cave paintings early humans made of woolly mammoths spanning across time and geographical location. Also, the material presented will cover the physical characteristics of the Earth’s land throughout the Ice Age and how it has changed over time.
Materials:
1. One bag of craft Moss
2. Blue Construction Paper
3. Oval Chinet paper plates
4. Styrofoam
5. Elmer’s Glue
6. Pebble and gravel sized rocks
7. One pack of Swedish Fish
8. Small plastic bowls
9. Shaved ice
10.Safety Scissors
11.Ice Shaver
12.Speakers- audio- wind sounds
13.Television/DVD player/Ice Age
14.Glacier mist air freshener
15.Star Installation Projector
16.When Mammoths Walked the Earth by Caroline Arnold
17.Giants from the Past (National Geographic)
18.Wild and Woolly Mammoths by Gregory Turak
Each Child Will Need:
1. A small handful craft moss per student
2. 1/3 sheet blue construction paper
3. 1 paper plate
4. 5×5 square (roughly) of Styrofoam
5. 1 bottle of Elmer’s glue
6. 10 rocks
7. 1 Swedish fish in an ice cube
8. 1 plastic bowl
9. Enough “snow” to fill bowl
10. 1 pair of scissors
Pre Class Preparations:
1. Set up bulletin board (create visuals of a large woolly mammoth, and other animals of the Ice Age)
2. Plug in star installation projector
3. Set up DVD to clip that will be shown
4. Roll “time machine” made of cabinets into position
5. Have “snow” shaved ice prepared and distributed
6. Cover up visuals until “time machine” experience occurs for students who may arrive early
7. Divide moss into individual portions
8. Cut blue construction paper into 1/3 sheets
9. Prepare “passports”
Stimulation Presented:
Each lesson we will begin with a journey through our “time machine” that will take us into a new place in time. Our first stop is the Ice Age. When we leave the “time machine” we will enter into a classroom decorated as the Ice Age. The lights will be off and the star projector will be on. Students will be allowed a few minutes to explore the new environment. We will then turn the lights back on and use pictures located on the bulletin board. Students will be given shaved ice in a cup and an ice cube with a Swedish Fish frozen inside that they are allowed to eat and touch. Then we will show a short clip from the movie Ice Age to show another example of the environment and wooly mammoth. After the clip, we will begin to teach the construction of the wooly mammoth step by step.
Directions or Process:
Time frame: 15-minute introduction
9:00 Time Machine 9:03 stargazing and tasting shaved ice 9:10-9:15 video clip and facts about woolly mammoths
9:15 30-minute lesson constructing a woolly mammoth
9:45 Distribute oval plates and supplies (each student should have a bottle of Elmer’s glue, 1 pair of safety scissors, 1/3 sheet of blue construction paper, 1 plate, a piece of Styrofoam, and about 10 rocks.)
9:50 Show students example of habitat, use the materials to describe how woolly mammoths lived. (ex. Craft moss is for the woolly mammoths to eat since they ate grass and low shrubs; Blue construction paper is to make a place for the woolly mammoth to drink from; Styrofoam is to create glaciers and snow, since the woolly mammoth lived in places that were covered with ice and snow.) All materials for the habitat will be fastened to the plate by using Elmer’s glue; an ample amount of glue will be needed for the rocks to stay in place.
9:55- 10:20 Allow students to begin working on their habitats, walk around the room and help students as needed. Remind students to use an ample amount of glue in order to hold parts of the model in place. Remind students of facts about mammoths and offer new information. Provide compliments to students who are working hard on their projects and hold up examples of outstanding work. Ask students about the habitats they made for their woolly mammoth, and ask them what aspects of the habitat they like the most.
If a student finishes the project early allow for them to draw their favorite part of their journey through time in their passport. Before they are allowed to work in their passport, they must clean up their workspace.
10:20- 10:25 Begin preparing students for clean up. Students must close caps on glue and push the glue bottles along with scissors to the edge of their table to be picked up by students (one or two chosen by the teacher) who are finished with their work to put in the proper place. All scrap materials will be put into a pile in front of the student, and collected by the teacher. Left over materials will be placed back into the bins the materials originated; the teacher(s) will direct each student as to when this will happen. If necessary, students will make a line at the sink and wash their hands.
10:30-When the last student is accounted for. Wipe down tables, clean out sink, place materials into cabinet.
For further study on mammoths, students may refer to the book Woolly Mammoth by Mick Manning
Evaluation: Students had the opportunity to…
Demonstrate knowledge of visual art materials, tools, techniques and processes by using them expressively and skillfully.
Explore and experiment with a variety of art materials and tools for self-expression
Identify and name materials used in visual art
Develop and select a range of subject matter and ideas to communicate meaning in two and three- dimensional works of art.
Generate ideas and images for artwork based on memory, imagination and experience.
Contribute to the development of criteria for discussing and judging works of art.
Select and share favorite visual works of art and tell their reasons for choosing them.
Distinguish and describe the aesthetic qualities in works of art.
Notice and point out different ways that an artwork expresses a feeling or mood.
Connections, Relationships and Applications
Create artwork that explores a central theme across disciplines
Bibliography:
Arnold, C. (2002). When Mammoths Walked the Earth. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Bailey, J. (1983). Giants from the Past. Washington, D.C. : National Geographic Society.
Turak, G., & Theodo, N. (1996). Wild and Woolly Mammoths. Washington D.C: Library of Congress.
kmcgreevy 