As part of our 2nd grade for our Arts Around the World curriculum, students are learning about art and music from four different countries -- Brazil, Ghana, Japan and Scotland -- throughout the year. In art class, we started Brazil with our Romero Britto inspired paintings and continued with another project, this time focused on the endangered animals of the Amazon Rainforest.
We started by learning about the Amazon Rainforest, 60% of which is located in Brazil. Then we looked at the endangered animals of the Amazon Rainforest and discussed what it means to be endangered, which is when there are not many of an animal species left and they are at risk for extinction. We noticed that the word "danger" is part of the word "endangered."
We learned specifically about five endangered animals from the Amazon Rainforest, including the hyacinth macaw, jaguar, poison dart frog, golden lion tamarin monkey, and the three-toed sloth.
We also learned about the Amazon Rainforest and its environment and climate, as well as reasons why certain animals are endangered there. For example, the jaguar is endangered because people hunt them for their fur and the hyacinth macaws are being caught and sold as pets.
Students selected one animal to sketch, using reference images, and drew the animal it its rainforest habitat. Using oil pastels, students added color and thought about the texture of their chosen animal.
During the following class, students added details to the background to suggest the Amazon rainforest, such as leaves, branches, and vines. We made sure to leave some of the white paper showing.
Then we painted over their oil pastel drawing with liquid watercolor to create a resist, since the oil pastel and watercolor paint do not mix. We used shades of green, blue, and violet to paint the background of our artwork.
We also heard the story The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, a children's book about the Amazon Rainforest. The story begins with two men who enter the rainforest with the intent to cut down the great kapok tree. One man starts to cut down the tree and eventually falls asleep. While he is sleeping, all of the animals that live in or off of the kapok tree come to the man to whisper in his ear and tell him about the significance of the kapok tree to their lives as well as to the world. The man wakes up, picks up his ax and prepares to cut the tree, but then he remembers what the animals told him and finally decides not to cut it down.
As a conclusion to Brazil, students participated in a gallery walk to see everyone's finished artwork. Students shared their observations afterwards, noticing the bright colors, different choices, and vibrant patterns. Here are some finished examples:
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| Amelia, 2nd Grade (McCarthy) |
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| Audrey W., 2nd Grade (Hinds Thiemann) |
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| Dakotah, 2nd Grade (O'Connor) |
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| Joshua, 2nd Grade (O'Connor) |
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| Kai, 2nd Grade (Stone) |
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| Katherina, 2nd Grade (O'Connor) |
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| Lucas P., 2nd Grade (Pearse) |
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| Sannan, 2nd Grade (McCarthy) |
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| Violet, 2nd Grade (O'Connor) |
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| Will, 2nd Grade (Hinds Thiemann) |
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| Xavier, 2nd Grade (McCarthy) |
