Snowy Winter Weather

1. After reading about hibernating animals, ask students what happens to most of the animals that live in forests during the winter. Students should be able to talk about and define the term hibernation. Draw the conversation to what the forest looks like when the animals begin their winter hibernation. Provide several examples of pictures and photographs for students to examine and discuss.
2. Point out to students the space present in snowy scenes. Share the two artistic methods used to create this feeling of deep space. The first is overlapping, in which larger objects are placed in the front and smaller objects are placed in the back. The second is contrast, where objects in front have more contrast, or brighter whites, than objects in the back.
3. To begin their Snowy Winter Weather paintings, instruct students put on their Crayola® Art Smocks and cover work space with recycled newspaper. Use a small piece of crumpled paper towel to dab white Crayola Washable Paint on blue paper. Begin with the background, which will be very light (or have less contrast) to show that it is far away. To make a light background, have students blot the paper towel on scrap paper until it is nearly dry, then paint your paper. Students may wish to make an irregular mountainscape, such as one with caves where bears might hibernate, then fill it with light dabs.
4. Students make a second, brighter landscape in front by dabbing white paint on the paper without blotting it first.
5. Encourage students to add trees by using the edge of the paper towel. Make blotted trees in the distance and brighter, bolder trees in the foreground. Trees look smaller when they are far away, and larger when they are closer, too. Students can use their fingertips to add branches, etc.

LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.

LA: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g.,where, when, why, and how key events occur).

LA: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to grade level topic or subject area.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SCI: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the types of habitats in which organisms live, and ask questions based on that information.

VA: Students will initiate making works of art and design by experimenting, imagining and identifying content.

VA: Students will investigate, plan and work through materials and ideas to make works of art and design.Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

Possible classroom resources include: Pandas! A Kids Book About Panda Bears - Facts, Figures and High Quality Pictures of Animals in Nature by Maya Lee Shye; Moon in Bear's Eyes by Stephen R. Swinburne; Koala Country: A Story of an Australian Eucalyptus Forest by Deborah Dennard

Using Crayola Model Magic, students create 3-D models of their bears When displaying student artwork, site the 3-D bears in front of the landscape scenes.

Allow students time to experiment with other snow-painting tools such as sponges, cardboard, plastic picnic utensils, toothbrushes, and salt. How do these tools assist in creating a landscape scene?

Students take a 9" x 12" piece of construction paper and fold it in half. On the front, students create a seasonal scene for a holiday card. Inside the card, students compose an original sentiment and "send" the card to a beloved family member.