Sunday, July 28, 2013

2nd Grade Recycled Sculptures

Due to storage issues, my students don't get a lot of 3D experiences. I want to work on this! For the last big project of the school year, my 2nd graders made sculptures using recycled materials- cardboard tubes and egg cartons. I showed the students several examples from my Recycled Projects Pinterest board to give them ideas on how to manipulate and attach the materials. The students did most of their building on the first day, using masking tape to attach things, and painted on the second day. I used my hot glue gun to attach things like buttons and google eyes for students on day 2. 
Things I learned
  • Don't assume that 2nd graders know how to tear masking tape off the roll.
  • You have to remind students to look at their sculptures from all sides when painting.
  • You need more google eyes than you think. Students will ask to put them on everything.


 I showed an example of a rocket and it became the most popular choice. I was glad to see some students taking ideas from the examples and doing their own thing, like with the jet below.
The cat (above, right) was made from toilet paper tubes. The student found some yarn that had been crocheted into a long strand and used that to wrap the body of her cat. It made it kind of chubby, especially on the toothpick legs. :)
 Two students made owls and asked if their projects could be photographed together in addition to the individual pictures for Artsonia.
Not as many students made projects using egg cartons, but some did, or combined the different materials. We found that a section of egg carton worked pretty well as the tip of a rocket.
These students used the lids of the egg carton in addition to other materials.
I told you that storage was an issue... This was the only solution I could come up with- a big piece of cardboard to form a shelf on top of my picture frame box. It worked out until a student bumped it and knocked the pieces over throwing off the class organization. It just took a little extra time to sort out. I'll be in a new classroom in the new school year that I think will allow for a lot more 3D storage.

3 comments:

  1. Storage is my biggest issue too :( I will say that even 8th graders can't tear tape so my best thing I've ever purchased {sounds so sad when I write it LOL!} is a masking tape dispenser. I am going to buy two more this year!
    http://thisoldartroom.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have one masking tape dispenser at each school and love them! I may try to buy a couple more this year. :)

      Delete
  2. Storage o my do I need storage :)

    ReplyDelete