Art: Triangle Collages

First graders began by experimenting with a variety of art materials on different types and sizes of paper. They were challenged to combine the materials and work at varying speeds in order to find out the strengths and limitations of the materials. For example, one first grader discovered that watercolor was an easy material to quickly fill a large space while colored pencil took much longer.  Next, girls took these paper experiments and created a collage composition using triangles to help organize their work. They learned about the art elements, which we described as being the "ingredients" that artists put into their work. (Ask your child if she can name an art element!) Each student chose an element to focus on in her collage. After the works were completed, first graders split into "Element" teams for a scavenger hunt. Each team used iPads to document their assigned art element when they observed it in others' collages. They then shared their findings in a large group.