Cardinals

Here's a mixed media winter cardinal project my Grade 2 students finished before Xmas break. 

I love the bright red of cardinals and they have such a graphic quality to their bodies, so it's a fun lesson to teach.

See my other cardinal lesson HERE.

Students started on Day 1 by drawing a cardinal on 9 x 12" heavy white paper. They outlined their drawing with a jumbo Sharpie, then painted it using tempera paint. Once dry they were cut out.

The next class they created their background.  Students chose a background colour of 9 x 12" construction paper. In pencil, they drew on a branch. For a challenge, I showed students how to overlap branches. They coloured these in using oil pastels. They were encouraged to mix colours for a more realistic effect. Lastly, white tempera paint was dabbed onto the top of branches and painted onto the sky for snow. Then they glued on their cardinal. I hot glued on a red feather for a wing for those students that wanted one.