#3256. "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb"

Art, level: Elementary
Posted Mon Oct 11 11:34:06 PDT 2004 by Chelse Burzio (chelseburzio@yahoo.com).
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Johnstown, USA
Materials Required: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, paper plates (2 per student), triangle pattern fo
Activity Time: 1 class period
Concepts Taught: March weather

Chelse Lea Burzio April 14, 2003
Windber Elementary School Grade 1
Art Bulletin Board Project

Relationship to State Standards:
9.1 Production, Performance, and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theater, and Visual Arts
9.1.3 A. Know and use the elements and principles of each art form to create works in the arts and humanities.
• Elements
o Visual Arts: color, form/shape, line, space, texture

9.1.3 B. Recognize, know, use, and demonstrate a variety of appropriate arts elements and principles to produce, review, and revise original works in the arts.
• Visual Arts: draw, print, design for environment, communication

9.1.3 C. Recognize and use fundamental vocabulary within each of the art forms.

9.1.3 E. Demonstrate the ability to define objects, express emotions, illustrate an action or relate an experience through creation of works in the arts.

9.1.3 H. Handle materials, equipment, and tools safely at work and performance spaces.
• Identify materials used.
• Identify issues of cleanliness related to the arts.

Objectives:
•The students will be able to listen and comprehend the storybook "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett.
•The students will be introduced to the vocabulary word-weather forecast.
•The students will understand the weather terminology "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb" and visa versa ("In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion).
•The students will create, with given materials, both one lion and one lamb each to display on the "In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion" bulletin board.
•The students will learn the concept of curling paper.
•The students will develop cutting skills and the ability to trace patterns.
•The students will learn how to keep their work space clean and tidy while working with materials such as markers and glue.
•The students will read and color the "March" worksheet, provided by the teacher.

Cross-Curricular Integration:
Art, Reading, Science, Writing

Materials:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, paper plates (2 per student), triangle pattern for lion's nose, pattern for lamb's nose, green and blue construction paper for the eyes of the lion and lamb, markers, crayons, paste or glue, 6 inch brown whisker strips for the lion (6 per student pre-cut), brown strips approximately 7 inches long for the mane (20 per student pre-cut), pencil to curl mane and whiskers, cotton swabs or poly-fil, safety scissors, white, thin paper

New Vocabulary:
Weather forecast, curling effect (of paper)

Instructional Procedures:
•Anticipatory Set- Introduce students to the art project for the day by asking students to brainstorm what they think of when they hear the month March (examples may include windy, kites, leprechauns, St. Patrick's Day, lambs, lions, etc). Explain to students March is known as the month that either comes "In Like a Lion, Goes out Like a Lamb" or visa versa. Explain to the students that if the weather is bad (cold or snowy) at the beginning of March, then the end of March (going out) will be calm (like a lamb). If the weather is mild at the beginning of the month, then it is said that the end of March will end with bad weather (comparing the weather to a lion). Read the story "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett and lead a classroom discussion about the town Chewandswallow and the crazy weather patterns (In the story, meals rain from the sky at appropriate times of the day. It rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers--until the weather takes a turn for the worse). Relate these crazy weather patterns to normal weather patterns. Ask students to look out the window and describe today's weather (the teacher may need to ask questions such as "Is it cold?" "Is it bright outside or dark?" to help the students verbalize what they know). Introduce the students to the term weather forecast.
•Developmental Activities: Students will create both a lion and a lamb to be displayed on the teacher's bulletin board entitled "In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion." The students will be split into two groups of seven. One group of seven students will follow my lead of making the Lion. The other seven will work with my co-op making the Lamb. Upon completion, the two groups will switch and create the other art project. A model of each art project is visible to all of the students. Here are the instructions given on how to make a Lamb:
 Give each child a paper plate to use as the face for their lamb.
 Tell students to take a handful of poly-fil and spread it around the rim of the paper plate. Once the students are sure where they wish to strategically place their poly-fil, allow students to apply glue to the rim of the paper plate and apply pressure to the poly-fil so that it will stay in place.
 For the lamb's eyes, students will cut two round circles out of construction paper.
 To make the lamb's nose, a pattern has been made ahead of time. Allow students to trace the pattern and cut out the nose.
 Glue both the eyes and the nose on the lamb.
 Give your lamb a mouth, hopefully a big smile!
Here are the instructions given to students on how to make a Lion:
 Give each child a paper plate to use as the face for their lion.
 Students will be given brown strips, approximately 7 inches long. The students will glue the strips around the entire brim of the paper plate. Allow the glue to dry for a few minutes while moving onto the face of the lion.
 Cut out two round circles for the lamb's eyes using the construction paper color of your choice.
 Trace the triangle pattern for the lion's nose and paste the nose on.
 For the whiskers, 6 inch strips have been pre-cut for the students. Apply three whiskers to each side of the triangle nose with glue. Allow the glue to dry for a few minutes.
 To finish the mane of the lion, take a pencil and wrap the brown strip around your pencil. You can wrap the paper as tight as you wish. This will cause the paper to curl, giving your lion a curly mane. The tighter you wrap the paper, the more curled your paper will become.
 Curl the whiskers with a pencil in the same manner.
 Add a mouth for your lion.

While students are working, remind them consistently to keep their work area neat and to watch the amount of glue they are using. These projects will be displayed by the student teacher on a bulletin board entitled "In like Lamb, Out like a Lion." The focal point used for the bulletin board includes a lion with a crown, pointing to the title of the bulletin board. Surrounding the letters will be the lions and lambs. Also on the bulletin board are rain drops, lightening bolts, a sun, and wind.

•Closure: To conclude the lesson, a worksheet will be passed out entitled "March." The worksheet includes a picture of a lamb and a lion hugging one another with the saying "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb." The worksheet explains the saying to the children. The children will trace the picture of the lamb and lion onto white, thin paper. Students will then be asked to color and label their picture as follows: "This March came in like a Lamb and will go out like a Lion." The children will read the worksheet, reinforcing the concept of the saying one last time.

Assessment:
Observing the students work responsibly and safely with art materials, keeping work area clean, ability to follow directions, capacity to cut along the lines, control of coloring inside a given space, ability to use the pencil as a tool to curl the paper, sharing the art materials with other students, controlled sense of how much of a given material to use (example: glue), ability to trace the patterns correctly

Special Needs Adaptations:
Deaf Child- A deaf child could participate in the art project just as well. An interpreter may be invited into the classroom in order for the child to be able to understand the story, the discussion about the month of March, and the directions for the lion and lamb art projects. The child might also be placed close by the teacher, making it easier for the child to hear. The teacher should speak clearly and loudly, enunciating all his/her words. Also, looking directly at the child will help the child understand the speech more clearly. The teacher and other students in the class may be taught certain signs for art materials such as scissors, glue, and crayons. Also, allow extra time for the child to complete this activity.
ADHD/Hyperactivity Disorder: This type of a child could easily participate in the art activity also. I would suggest having a teacher's aide or a parent helper to sit by the child, watching the child's actions closely. The aide should monitor the students' use of the glue and safety scissors. The child may need to be reprimanded at times and told to stay on task and focused. Isolation may be needed in order to keep the child on track with the rest of the students. During the reading of the storybook and classroom discussion, the child may need to be sat down one-on-one with the aid. The aide could read the story with the child and discuss the concept of March coming "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb." The reason for this could possibly be that the child may become restless when told to sit down with a large group of students and remain still.

Extension/Enrichment:
Children can sharpen their observational skills by taking an outdoor walking trip designed to help them notice any seasonal changes around them. Focus students' attention on changes evident in three or four observable areas in your school. For example, students may observe changes in flowers, shop windows, people's outdoor dress, people's outdoor activities, or seasonal decorations. Have children draw pictures to depict these changes. Create a bulletin board using their drawings and decorate the board's border with snapshots showing the students engaged in seasonal activities. Entitle the bulletin board "Look What's Happening Around Us!"

Technology Integration:
•One computer in the classroom:
For Science integration, the teacher may use the computer along with overhead projector to develop and display a calendar which will help the children determine how the month of March "comes in" and "goes out." The teacher can use Microsoft Word to create a calendar to display on the overhead. Day by day, have students take notes in journals regarding the weather variables. Students will share the notes with the teacher and these notes will be added to the overhead calendar daily. Using the notes recorded on the calendar, the teacher can create a graph using Microsoft Access to tally daily votes in March. The votes will consist of one of two choices: either a "lion" day or "lamb" day. At the end of the month, the graphs will be displayed to help children write a short story about March. Correspond with a meteorologist via the internet to compare day-by-day weather information. Save your calendar for next year and make comparisons.

•Six computers in the classroom:
March is also the month known for the famous holiday we refer to as St. Patrick's Day. Having six computers in the back of the classroom will grant small groups of students the opportunity to use the computer while other students are busy doing another activity elsewhere. Students will be given time to visit http://www.weekiwis.com/stpatkiwis.html where they can learn about the history of St. Patrick's Day, as well as play games, create email cards to send to friends, and print out coloring book activities to help the child celebrate St. Patty's Day. This activity will most likely take place during free time, such as recess or time in between classes if work has been completed early.

•Each child has a computer in the classroom
Children will be given the writing prompt "Whoosh, the wind lifted. . ." Students will create rough drafts in journals and the teacher with correct mistakes and give positive feedback. Students will then use the computers to create the final copy of their story. Children may also attach a picture printed from the internet that goes along with their story. The teacher may need to help the child find the picture by using a search engine such as Yahoo or Google.