Students in 3rd Grade read "Tar Beach" by the author and artist Faith Ringgold. Students learned about Faith Ringgold's story quilts which depicted her life and African American culture and identity in Harlem. Students imagined and drew their own scenes, practiced color blending and shading techniques with Prismacolor pencils, and chose patterned paper and yarn to embellish their work.
Students wrote a brief description of their scene in response to the prompt: "When I close my eyes, this is where I go." to contextualize their drawings.
Students wrote a brief description of their scene in response to the prompt: "When I close my eyes and fly, this is where I go." to contextualize their drawings.
Finished student works showing exemplary color blending technique.
Giving a brief demonstration on the steps for that class session.
Students watched this youtube video of Faith Ringgold reading her book: Tar Beach, as a closure activity at the end of one class session.
As an anticipatory set, students listened to a reading of the storybook "Tar Beach" by the artist Faith Ringgold which inspired this project. Students stand up to grab their own colored pencils from the middle table.
Student showing great color blending in their finished artwork.
Presenting the work of two classes in the hallway.
Student applying color blending technique using Prismacolor pencils.