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Recycled
Sculpture
Related Subjects: Visual &
Performing Arts, English-Language Arts, Science
Grades: 4-6
Medium: Sculpture, Mixed-Media
Author: MCASD Office of Education
Class time required: One 45-minute class session

In this one-session lesson, students will use recycled materials to create a sculpture using additive and subtractive processes.
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• Earth Book for Kids:
Activities to Help Heal the Environment or another book about recycling
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Recycled materials
you can cut easily with scissors (toilet paper rolls, paper, magazines,
milk containers, school lunch trays, etc.)
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Other recycled materials
that cannot be cut with scissors (cans, plastic bottles, etc.)
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Yarn,
twine, and/or ribbon
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Scissors
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Plastic knives
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Masking tape and/or duct tape • Glossary terms: additive, recycle, subtractive
• Images Online
Materials
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Images
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Concerning
the Antiquity and Genealogy of Gort
Perry Vasquez |
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10w-30
(baseball player)
Perry Vasquez |
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Paper
Pulp Panels
Andrea Zittel |
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Explore Art page
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Explore Art page
(kid-friendly) |
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Landfill
Mark Dion |
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Explore Art page
(kid-friendly) |
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• Ask the students to bring in items that
can be recycled.
•
Print above images onto transparencies.
•
Photocopy text about recycling
and reusing from Earth Book for Kids: Activities
to Help Heal the Environment or a similar book. Another option is to choose a picture
book about recycling to read with the class (see bibliography/webography
for examples).
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1. Read a book or a text passage about recycling to/with the students. Begin by discussing recycling: Why
is it important to reuse and recycle? What items can you recycle
at home? What items can you recycle at school? What do you think
will happen if people don’t reuse and recycle?
2. Show the students the transparency images. Use the following
questions to guide the discussion about the images:
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What do you see?
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What recycled materials did the artist use?
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Why do you think the artist used recycled materials? Do you think
recycling is important to the artist? How can you tell?
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What is the
artist trying to tell the people who see his/her artwork?
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Do you think
this artwork should be placed in a museum? Why or why not?
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What different
types of texture does the artist use? What do you think the artwork
would feel like?
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If you were going to create a piece of artwork using
recycled materials, which materials would you use? What would you
create?
3. Explain to students that they will be creating a sculpture
using recycled materials.
4. Discuss and give examples of the additive
and subtractive process when sculpting. Model each vocabulary word
by using recycled materials to give a visual example. For example,
sawing and removing a piece of Styrofoam with a plastic knife is
an example of the subtractive process. Joining two paper towel rolls
together is an example of the additive process.
5. Ask the students
to think about how their sculptures will inform others about the
importance of reusing and recycling. How will your choice of materials
express your message about reusing and recycling? What story will
you tell through your artwork?
6. Hand out all of the art supplies/materials
to the students.
7. Give the students 30 minutes to create their sculptures.
8. Once the students have finished creating their sculptures, ask each student
to give a short informal presentation explaining the materials used and how this
piece of artwork can be used to tell others about the importance of recycling.
Extensions
English-language arts: Have students read different articles related to recycling and have a discussion based on those readings.
English-language arts: Have students write an informational report about reusing and recycling. Students can use books, magazines, and the Internet as resources.
Science: Have the student develop a recycling project at school. Students can use their art projects, posters, etc. to inform their schoolmates about the importance of recycling.
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• You can involve parents with this project
by sending a letter home requesting the need for recyclables about
2-4 weeks before you begin this project. Give examples of the types
of recyclable materials needed.
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Make sure to find both two-dimensional
and three-dimensional items for this activity.
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CA Content Standards
Fourth Grade Visual Arts
1.5 Describe and analyze the elements
of art (e.g., color, shape/form, line, texture, space, value), emphasizing
form, as they are used in works of art and found in the environment.
2.3 Use additive and subtractive processes in making simple sculptural forms.
3.1 Describe how art plays a role in reflecting life (e.g., in photography,
quilts, architecture).
Fifth Grade Visual Arts
1.3 Use their knowledge of all the elements
of art to describe similarities and differences in works of art and
in the environment.
2.5 Assemble a found object sculpture (as assemblage)
or a mixed media two-dimensional composition that reflects unity
and harmony and communicates a theme.
2.6 Communicate values, opinions,
or personal insights through an original work of art.
Sixth grade
Visual Arts
1.1 Identify and describe all the elements of art found
in selected works of art (e.g., color, shape/form, line, texture,
space, value).
2.5 Select specific media and processes to express
moods, feelings, themes, or ideas.
4.1 Construct and describe plausible
interpretations of what they perceive in works of art.
Fourth Grade English-Language Arts
2.3 Write information reports.
2.2 Make informational presentations.
Fifth Grade English-Language Arts
2.3 Write research reports about
important ideas, issues, or events.
2.2 Deliver informative presentations
about an important idea, issue, or event.
Sixth Grade English-Language
Arts
2.2 Write expository compositions.
2.3 Write research reports.
2.2 Deliver informative presentations.
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Teachers
Cerny, Charlene. Recycled
Re-Seen: Folk Art from the Global Scrap Heap. New Mexico: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.
Martin, Laura C. Nature’s Art Box. Massachusetts: Storey Publishing,
2003.
Martin, Laura C. Recycled Crafts Box. Massachusetts: Storey Publishing, 2004.
PBS’s Educational Contemporary
Art Series
and their specific link to
Zittel where you can view videos excerpted from the
series online.
Andrea Zittel
Contemporary artist Andrea Zittel’s A-Z Web site
Recycled Art and Toy Bazaar
This Web site has images of toys created out of recycled materials from Africa,
Asia, and the Americas.
Students
Gibbons, Gail. Recycle!:
A Handbook for Kids. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.
Kohl, MaryAnn and Cindy Gainer. Good Earth
Art: Environmental Art for Kids. New York: Bright Ring Publishing, 1991.
Schwartz, Linda. Earth Book for Kids: Activities
to Help Heal the Environment. Santa Barbara, California: Learning Works, c1990.
Smith, Heather. Earth-friendly Crafts for Kids:
50 Awesome Things to Make With Recycled Stuff. New York: Lark Books, 2002.
The Imagination Factory
This Web site teaches kids about the importance
of recycling and the different types of art projects they can create
with recycled materials. The “Trash
Matcher” link allows students to choose a type of recyclable material
and provides them with an art/recycling activity that calls for that
material.
Environmental Protection Agency: Welcome to Recycle City
In this Web site, students can explore Recycle City (a town that reduces waste
and betters the environment), explore Dumptown (a town that was ravaged by trash),
create their own Recycle City, and participate in different recycling activities.
Environmental Protection Agency: Environmental Kids Club
This Web site offers students games, pictures, and stories as a way to explore
the environment and learn how to protect it. back to top |
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More
student examples |
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Recycled Sculpture
4th grade student
San Diego, CA
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