Nathan Smith, BTSALP Visual Art Specialist at Truman Elementary School in Granite School District, makes sure to not only display the work of his students but to explain to parents and art show visitors the content integration that informs the art projects.

First grade students examined their roles and the important roles of other people and places in their communities. They referenced the artwork The Block by Romare Bearden, an amazing contemporary African American collage artist. Then students used organic and geometric shapes to create their own collage of their favorite places in their community.

Second grade students created Color Wheels to explore how colors mix to create new colors. They discovered that the Primary Colors (red, blue, and yellow) mix together to create the Secondary Colors (orange, green, and purple.) Then they turned their color wheels into their own original Life Cycles, and explored how every living thing grows and changes over time.

Third grade students explored their understanding of the force of gravity – how it acts on everyday objects, and how it affects the Earth, Moon, and Sun. Then they showed the force of gravity in abstract artwork by creating colorful Contour Lines – lines that trace the outline of a shape or form.

Fourth grade students created Pixel Artwork – drawings or designs created by small colored squares. They examined the artwork of the famous street artist, Space Invader, who creates pixel art outdoors. Their challenge was to create a design and find the Area and Perimeter of their work.

Fifth grade students used their knowledge of land forms and Earth’s surface to create their own hand made historic maps. They created thumbnail sketches (small practice drawings) of a variety of land forms to study how they look. Then they drew and watercolor painted them before aging their map by covering it with a wash of coffee.

Sixth grade students used their knowledge of Moon Phases and the Solar System to create their own space masterpiece. Their goal was to use Value (the combination of light and dark) to create the illusion that their planets were three dimensional spheres.

Kindergarten students explored how they can express and recognize feelings on others’ faces. They created their own original Emotion Monsters to show different feelings. These monster faces are examples of a collage. Collage is a way of cutting and gluing paper shapes to make artwork.