Clay Monsters!

Clay monsters

2nd Grade

To begin this unit on monsters, we turned to one of our favorite Pixar films, Monsters, Inc.!  We began by  looking at early character sketches and talking about how the animators thought of their ideas.   We learned that the Pixar animators usually go through many, many, many drafts, continually revising and growing their ideas. 

Check out some early versions of Sully:



We then watched a clip from the movie and brainstormed ideas of what can make monsters look either scary or silly.

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Students used these ideas to imagine their biggest fear as a monster.  They first imagined what it would look like as a scary monster, and then turned it into a silly monster!  Sometimes our fears aren't as scary as we think. 

Students then took their monster ideas and transformed them into clay monsters!  Students learned how to make a pinch pot, to score and slip, and to add texture.  Before beginning on their final monsters, students experimented with the clay and shared their discoveries.

Experimenting with new tools.

Creating texture

Next up, glazing!  This was the first time these students experienced the magic of glaze.  It's hard to believe that chalky paint will turn into glossy awesomeness!

Come see all the monsters now on display at school!

Improv and Elaboration

After naming our monsters and sharing our work via a gallery walk, we did a little improv in the art room!  This activity was taken from the art teacher at Chapman Elementary School, read all about improv in the art room, here!

The game we played is called "let's plan a party."  Read the directions and watch a demonstration video, here.  This game is all about teaching the concept of elaboration, or adding onto ideas.  After having a super fun time with our party planning, students paired up and used the "yes and" process to create worlds for their monsters.  It was amazing to see all the collaboration and imagination students engaged in!