The fifth graders recently went on a trip to the rainforest through a color, texture, and dimensional exploration in art. We started by choosing a rainforest-dwelling animal or bird and drawing it on a realistic-looking branch. The animals were then colored in oil pastels, and the students had to pay careful attention to the many shades of browns, greens, and tropical colors. They learned that moss will cause certain areas of trees to turn green, and soft light hitting the tops of a branch will give it a golden hue. We then used tissue paper to “paint” backgrounds and combed through tempera paint to create wooden frames. Finally, the students elevated their animals with cardboard to give the illusion of dimension and then took their tissue paper scraps to create interesting leaves for their branch. Enjoy their colorful and exciting projects, and if you listen closely you might just hear a bird’s song or a monkey’s call!

Click here to see the gallery!