My students first used a worksheet to sketch 8 significant "things" from their life. They were asked to choose a theme such as "Flowers of My Life" or "My Sports Teams", etc., etc., etc. Their projects just blew me away. The themes were so varied and they were given free choice to choose their theme. I had to help a few students who were stumped. Students were encouraged to think of something that was MEANINGFUL to them, and think of their earliest memory, the next memory, the next, and so on. Some of the amazing choices my students made were a chronological series of their video game technology, houses they had lived in, favorite toys, blankets, hairstyles, favorite restaurants, theme parks visited and roller coasters they had ridden, best friends, lots of sports themes, and so on. One special needs student even did his enemies and I let him because being in the art room is very therapeutic for him and I thought it was a good way for him to express some of the things going on inside of him. Interestingly enough, his enemies weren't all people, some were things or tragic events in his life. Another student did the most beautiful rendition of four of her favorite Christmas'. A couple of my favorites were two very artistic students depicted four of their favorite artworks since I had been their art teacher. They were just flat out cool! It was incredible to see the "stories they told." After sketching their 8 ideas they chose four to do on their timeline. They were given 6"x6" pieces of quality white paper and they drew each scene and then painted them with tempera paint and did the larger areas and background with oil pastels. We then glued them on long sheets of butcher paper, which folded into a four-page booklet. They wrote sentences at the bottom of each picture, which I, of course, had them write first on notebook paper and I edited their writing. They wrote their sentences with pencil and traced with a thin marker at the bottom of each picture. They also made a cover. It was a lengthy project! It took them about seven class periods to finish and that was really pushing them and rushing them. My classes are only 30 minutes long so that should give you an idea of how long your students would need. A couple classes even had to come in at recess once or twice to get finished up before the end of the year. You know, some groupings of students just don't move as fast as others! Students were really PROUD of their projects!
Above: Student completes the two page worksheet with eight sketches.
Above: This is one of my favorites. This student did the baseball teams he had been on.
Below: The cover.
Above: The walls of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy are lined with Giotto's frescos which tell stories from the Bible.
