Responding to Literature through Art

Activity Description: 

Type of activity

• group and individual work
• students at tables or desks pushed together
• Mainstream class or ESL resource class
• Art

Read Little Bear’s Friend by Else Holmelund Minarik.
Have the students retell the story. What did Little Bear do with his friend? What do the students like to do with their friends?
How can we show that two people are friends? List the ideas on the board or a chart.
Ask students to choose one of the ideas to illustrate.
Have the following directions written on a chart:
Materials
White Construction Paper
Crayons
Water
Paintbrush
Newspaper
Watercolor set

1. Cover the table or desk with newspaper.
2. Use crayons to draw on white construction paper. Press down to make the crayon dark.
3. Brush water over the paper.
4. While the paper is wet, paint over the drawing again with one color of watery paint.
5. Sprinkle a pinch of table salt over the drawing before the paint dries.
6. Center finished art on larger piece of black construction paper and hang for everyone to view.

As the painting dries the salt will create interesting shapes in the paint. Ask the students to tell or write about their paintings.

For practice in reading to following directions revisit the process at another time. Give the students a copy of the directions with the following questions:

1. Which item was used first?
a. water b. crayons c. watercolors d. pencil

2. Why was the newspaper put over the table?
a. to make the table pretty
b. to keep the water on the table
c. to keep the table clean
d. to make the paper stronger

3. What did you do with the salt?
a. Put it in the water
b. Sprinkled it on the wet paper
c. Brushed it with the paintbrush
d. Painted with it

4. Which one is NOT used in the art project?
a. water
b. white construction paper
c. markers
d. newspaper