Research Alaskan wildlife and landscapes then create a mixed media landscape with carefully placed native animals.

• 1.

  Research Alaskan wildlife. Take notes and make sketches about animal behaviors and their natural habits on notecards or in journals with Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils.

• 2.

  Sketch an Alaskan landscape with colored pencils. Include features such as tall evergreen trees, glaciers, icy cold streams, and mountains.

• 3.

  Paint the landscape with Crayola Washable Watercolors and Watercolor Brushes. What colors and techniques best depict these natural features? Dry overnight.

• 4.

  Imagine animals you see on your Alaskan adventure. Draw moose, elk, polar bears, brown bears, or fish on another sheet of paper with erasable colored pencils. How can you make your wildlife proportional to the landscape and each other?

• 5.

  Cut out the wildlife with Crayola Scissors. Attach them to the landscape painting with Crayola School Glue.

• 6.

  Add white Crayola Washable Paint to mountain tops to make them appear snowcapped. Create falling snow by spatter painting lightly over the scene.

Standards

• LA: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
• LA: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
• LA: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• LA: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
• MATH: Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations.
• SCI: Construct drawings or diagrams as representations of events or systems.
• SCI: Undertake design projects, engaging in all steps of the design cycle and producing a plan that meets specific design criteria.
• SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools to interpret information.
• SS: Describe how people create places that reflect ideas, personality, culture, and wants an needs as they design homes, playgrounds, classrooms, and the like.
• VA: Select media, techniques, and processes; analyze what makes them effective or not effective in communicating ideas; and reflect upon the effectiveness of their choices.
• VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities an characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of their experiences and ideas.
• VA: Describe and place variety of art objects in historical an cultural contexts.

Adaptations

• Students write journal entries for a several-day imaginary adventure into the Alaskan wilderness. Infused into these journal entries should be evidence of student research into the Alaskan landscape. Questions to contemplate: What animals do you see on your adventure? How frequently do you see specific animals? What do you do to keep warm on your adventure? How do the animals keep warm in this environment? What types of trees/foliage do you see? How does this differ from what you may see in your home community? Student journals can be bound and posted for reading.
• Research the status of specific animals that you would find in the Alaskan landscape. Possible questions to answer: What is the animal's status? Are they endangered? If so, what is happening in the environment to cause their numbers to decrease? If not, are the animals adapting to environmental changes or is the environment unaffected? What does the government do to protect animal species that are placed on the endangered list? How effective are these protective steps? Students to write a summary of their findings.
• In the school library, find picture books about Alaska and the animals that live there. Read one or more of these books to younger students that are also studying Alaska. Together with the younger child, make a chart of important information that you are learning. Organize this information on a chart. Use this information to create a collaborative watercolor mural of the Alaskan landscape. Post the mural for viewing and discussion.