Morris Museum of ArtLearn

Artstart for Grades 1 and 2

After the Visit Mini-Lesson

What did you learn?
Allow time at the beginning of class for students to take turns talking about their visit to the Morris Museum of Art. "Whom did you meet? What did you see? What did you do? What did your docent talk to you about? What was your favorite artwork? Why? " Lead the discussion into colors and patterns. Look back to The Silver Slipper Club to help them remember what a pattern is and how patterns are made.

Activity: Pattern Necklaces

To reiterate the concept of a pattern, conduct this activity where students make pattern necklaces. The steps are illustrated in the photographs.

Materials

  • One pattern paper sheet for each student (printable PDF file)
  • One 50 inch length of string for each student
  • Crayons
  • Pencils
  • Safety scissors
  • Various colors of plastic beads
  • Glue

Preparation

  • Prepare a pattern necklace example for demonstration.
  • Prepare the pattern paper:
    • Cut out the pattern paper along the outer box.
    • Photocopy this so that every student can have one.
  • Cut string. At the end of the string, tie a knot with a plastic bead. This will hold the rest of the beads in place.
  • Gather remaining materials.

Procedures

  1. Show completed pattern necklace.
  2. Give each student a pattern paper sheet.
  3. Have students color in the shapes made by the wavy lines in alternating colors.
  4. To make the beads, cut along the lines made by the V's.
      
  5. Students will roll these flag shapes around a pencil, starting with the flat end and ending with the tip in the middle. Remove from the pencil and put a dot of glue under the tip and set the bead aside to dry. Each student will make seven beads.
      
  6. String up the beads.
      

Assessment
Have students gather in a circle and look at each other's necklace. Allow students to talk about the colors and patterns they chose for their paper beads and their plastic beads.

Book Suggestions
Here are a few book suggestions that relate to primary and secondary colors, patterns, and museums

Colors: Mouse Paint, by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989.
Patterns: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, by Simms Taback. Random House, 1977.
Pattern Fish, by Trudy Harris, illustrated by Anne Canevari Green. Millbrook Press, 2000.
Introduction to museums: Babar's Museum of Art, by Laurent de Brunhoff. Harry N. Abrams, 2003.