Adobe Pueblos!! A total fav!!

I have discovered a website that has become a real treasure in my classroom. http://www.deepspacesparkle.com

And this awesome lesson came from this site.

Materials:

1. 12 x 18" construction paper (I used old ugly color paper)

2. Pencils and erasers

3. Chalk pastels in a variety of colors

4. Black oil pastels.

This is the first time I have used chalk pastels with my students (Whoa! Really???) and I was really hesitant for the sake of a dusty mess. I found this lesson is well worth it.

I started off introducing my students to the country of Mexico. We looked at a powerpoint I whipped up about the country in relation to the U.S. -- We discussed differences in climate and why northern Mexico's desert makes for an excellent place to build adobe houses.

Then we began drawing. First we folded the construction paper in half hamburger-style. We drew on one side and the other became a 'cover' to protect the drawing.

Students drew with pencil to create an Adobe building composition. Started at the bottom of our paper and worked our way up to the top ended with a hillside and a rising/setting sun. This is a good stopping point.

Next class students began coloring the pencil drawing with chalk pastels. Students smudged with fingers help that chalk press into the paper. The students weren't crazy about the art work being all smeary though. I told them to "go with it" and that we could clean it up in the end.

When compositions were complete, we outlined EVERYTHING with a black oil pastel. It gave all parts a really nice clean edge and students were much more content with their drawings.

I hung a ton of these up this year. So proud.