Magic Dragons-- Katherine Layne

Name: Katie Layne
Date: April 17 2013
Lesson Name: Peaceful Dragons

Materials used: (it’s nice to have a photo of all of these laid out and explain if there are any recycled resources to use!) markers, crayons, glue, scissors, pencils, construction paper (in various colors)

Any resources that helped inspire this project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltun92DfnPY  and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anuVokJalvs

List the subjects that your lesson ties in with: bullying, respect, language arts
Step-by-step with text and photos:

1.       The students will make 2 lists that include 4 statements. The first list will be about treating everyone equally. The second list will be about ways to positively solve disagreements. Make sure statements have proper grammar with a capital letter at the beginning and period at the end.

2.       Cut out rectangles on white construction paper—about 1.5 inches by 5 inches.

3.       Write each list on these papers. Draw a colored line in between each statement so that it looks like the belly of a dragon. Be creative. Have students color as they wish.

4.       Sketch out dragon heads, tails, wings, and anything else the students want to add. There is a lot of room for creative freedom here.

5.       Color and cut out dragon heads, tails, and wings.

6.       Glue everything together and you’re done!

Extra tips for problem-solving: It’s possible that some students will have a hard time coming up with things to write about on their dragons. If this happens, talk to that student about bullying that they have experienced or observed. Talk about why it was happening and how it made them feel. Continue this discussion by asking the student if the problem ever got solved. Was it solved peacefully? If not, how could it have been solved differently?

Art Vocabulary:
Shape: The dragons were created using geometric shapes. These shapes helped the dragons to become more realistic and interesting to look at.

Color: Color is very important to this project because it can help portray feeling. Certain colors can symbolize certain emotions and the students will be able to pick up on this.

Value: The value will also encourage the students to portray emotion with this project. Dark colors can symbolize difficult experiences that some students have had to deal with in their lives. Light colors can symbolize a new beginning and a new way of interacting with people.
Blog Posting:
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Create a new blog post, make sure the pictures are included with all the above text.

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