Fun Line Names

This past week I started my first graders on a project that could review line while tying in with their current classroom curriculum of "All About Me".

We began the lesson by drawing in the air together with our pointer/drawing finger. We told a silly story while we drew different kinds of lines in the air. Fun fun! We walked to the mall (horizontal line), we went up elevators and escalators (vertical and diagonal), we even traced some alligator teeth (zig zag) without a single student losing a finger.

After our silly story, I then explained we would use these lines to make our names special.
Students first drew their name very large with a pencil onto a piece of 6 x 15" paper. We also turned the paper horizontally, but a vertical approach could be interesting too.

 

We traced over our names with a black crayon to make the name very very dark!

 

Then together we put lines on our papers. I would tell each student to pick a bright color and then put a specific type of line somewhere on their paper. It could be inside or outside a letter. Then they would pick a new color and we would repeat the process with a different type of line. After we drew some together I let them loose on their own to fill the remainder of their papers.

 

The first two above just have a little more to do. The third paper is complete.

 

Next week my plan is for them to finish drawing their lines then we will watercolor wash over the paper using multiple colors. The last step will be to glue their names onto a piece of black paper to mount it. Hole punch into the black paper and tie yarn and beads around their names. I am really looking forward to seeing the finished products!

 

 

(On a sidenote: Pinterest has really been an awesome source of inspiration this summer. I was able to create new posters for one of my classrooms and this one has become the favorite. Thank you Pinterest, you rock!)