Lesson Plan Submitted by Jim O'Kelly.
Grades: 1 - 5th grade

 

Materials:

• tray of watercolors for each pair of students
• A small jar or tub of water for each pair of students
• White drawing paper (6" x 18" or 24")
• Paintbrushes

Procedure:

I got the idea for this lesson when I was reading the picture book "Swimmy" by Leo Lionni to my kindergarten class a few years ago. Leaf through "Swimmy" pointing out the various forms of plant life depicted in the illustrations. Discuss the possible ways the illustrator created those images. Challenge the children to create various types of seaweed by painting a variety of lines (eg, different colors, wavy lines, zigzag lines, curly lines, crisscrossing lines) that extend from the top of the paper to the bottom.