Fish in Oil pastel- Fish of the Dene Nation

This was a cross grade collaboration project between my Grade 10 homeroom class and our buddy class, which is grade 4/5 students. Different grades in our school were assigned a specific group of First Nations to learn about. We were assigned the Dene nation. I designed this oil pastel fish project based on the fish found in their traditional waters. My colleague found a handout which we printed out. Students chose a fish and we all worked together to make these. This was a very last minute project started at the end of this year, so my class unfortunately didn't finish. But the ones that did, well, I was really proud of their work!

The Dene are a group of First Nations whose traditional homeland, Denendeh, spans across the subarctic regions of the Northwest Territories, Yukon, northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia. Meaning "the people", they consist of several distinct nations including the Denesuline (Chipewyan), Tłı̨chǫ (Dogrib), Gwich'in, and Sahtu.

For thousands of years, fishing has been central to the survival, culture, and economy of the Dene. They primarily target freshwater species like Lake Whitefish, Arctic Grayling, Lake Trout, and Northern Pike in local lakes and rivers. Dene harvesters practice reciprocity by only taking what they need, avoiding waste, and sharing their catch with the community.

Students started by sketching out their fish on 12 x 19" kraft paper. They started with the lightest colour, white, and filled i where all the white areas are. Then they worked up to finally the darkest colours last. They were encouraged to blend colours for realism. We finished with adding scales and then cut them out.

Then we made a display label writing the fish species in English and Gwichʼin.

Here are some Grade 4/5 finished fish!

Here are the teacher fish:

Here are some Grade 10 fish- unfortunately many didn't manage to finish:

We hung the fish on blue cellophane paper taped to a glass wall:

Shaking Dogs Mixed Media Art Project

 

Grades 4-6 students looked at the work of artist Iris Scott. She is a master finger painter. 

Her specialty is dogs shaking off water.

Students drew their dogs on 12 x 18" white construction paper. The goal was to tilt the head and add flapping ears to give a sense of motion. Some kids got this, others did not, lol. I really had to emphasize tilting the head. 

They coloured these in with oil pastels. Then cut out.

Previously, they had splatter painted on turquoise construction paper with watered down white tempera paint. Once dry, they glued their dog on. Then they used different shades of light blues to add fingerprints all over in curved lines. 

Colourful Oil Pastel Paper Weavings

This is a great one day lesson that my Grade 4-6 students completed in an 80 minute period. 

The nice thing about oil pastels is you get vibrant colours and don't need to worry about drying time.

I found the lesson HERE. 

I let my students choose any colour combinations they wanted. Its a great lesson for reviewing colour theory and different types of harmonious colour combinations. We used cardstock and glued the strips onto 12 x 18" black construction paper and then I cropped them down after.