Kindergarten Art: Symme-trees

Outcomes:  To look at symmetry in nature and in art, to create a work in a group that has symmetry.

Materials:  Large paper at least 3 feet tall and at least 2 feet wide for a background-any color is fine, but a color for the sky is nice in the finished product. Use brown Paper for ‘tree’ trunk, about 4 inches shorter than the background.  Various colors of brown for branches, and various colors for leaves-these do not have to be ‘tree’ colors.  Who says that a leaf can’t be purple or blue?  Scissors for each child, pencils or crayons, glue for at least every two children, some real leaves and real sticks and branches and the kids.

Art History component:  Look at works of art that exhibit symmetry, defined as: the property of being symmetrical; especiallycorrespondence in size, shape, and relative position of parts on opposite sides of a dividing line or median plane or about a center or axis. Bilateral symmetry is defined as symmetry in which similar anatomical parts are arranged on opposite sides of a median axis so that only one plane can divide the individual into essentially identical halves.  Radial symmetry is defined as the condition of having similar parts regularly arranged around a central axis.  Also, bring in things of nature, like leaves and tree branches (duh!), and butterflies that show symmetry.  Have the children look at the two sides of their bodies-put hands together

Steps: 

1. Prepare the back ground and ‘trunks’ by pasting cut out trunk shapes onto the background paper.    Make the trunks a good size so that the children have a good base to work with.   Four or five children to a tree group, just make as many as you need.
2.  Start off with your examples of symmetry in art and in nature, giving the definition and showing the middle (or mid-line) and two halves.  You can also talk about different kinds of symmetry if your group is up for it.  Have the children see if they can name things with symmetry-in the room, in their lives, whatever- and why they think it has symmetry.
3. Divide the children into groups with four or five children per group. 
4. Pass out backgrounds with trunks to each group and have the children put their names on the back.
5. Pass out brown paper for ‘branches’.   They may draw the branch before cutting it.  Have them measure their branch from wrist to elbow so that they don’t end up with ‘twigs’, because the leaves will be glued to their branch.
6. Pass out scissors and have them cut out the branches-you might want to check and make sure that the little darlings are making them big enough, and show examples-sticks that you have picked up, while they are drawing them and cutting them out.
7. Have them each glue their branch onto their tree trunk and talk about ‘balance’.  Do they want to put them all on one side?  Would their tree be balanced?  If they choose to do that, have them articulate why and why it is no longer symmetrical.  But it is a valid choice!
8. Now for the leaves.  Have half sheets of colored paper, construction paper is fine but any will do, and have each child choose one and them fold it in half.
9. Take out a real leaf and again talk about how there is the same things on each side, symmetry.  Take a folded piece of paper, draw half a leaf with the central line on the folded edge, and cut it out.  Unfold the leaf and show the ‘symmetry’.  Remark on how the folded edge remained uncut and you just cut around the line.  Many of them will want to cut out the whole shape rather than leaving that folded edge.  Help them out with it!
10. Have them each draw a half leaf on their folded paper, and then cut out the leaf, of course watching that folded edge.  If someone does cut the folded edge and end up with two halves, just have them glue the two together into a whole. 
11. Glue the finished leaf onto the branch and continue, making and gluing on at least four leaves each.  Encourage them to experiment with size and shape, and have various examples of leaf shapes for them to look at.  Have them experiment with making a stem on their leaves if this is too simple for them. 
12. Fill up the trees with wonderful leaves and then, if you and the children wish and time allows, add other things to the trees like birds, nuts, kites-whatever you might find in a tree. 
13. Hang the finished products and discuss with the students.  How is your tree symmetrical?   How is it not? 
14. Put them someplace where families can later see the wonderful things, and, if you wish, when it is time to take them down cut out the individual branches to take home.  I have done that in the past, and I have also put them in the up as ‘wall paper’ on bulletin boards for the rest of the year.  They even got added to!

 Other lesson plans to look into:

• Lesson Plans for Kindergarten Art Clay Incense Burners
• A Lesson Plan for Kindergarten Art Clay Tiles
• A Lesson Plan for Kindergarten Art Create a Crayon Box
• An Art Lesson Plan for Kindergarten Weaving Paper Placemats
• Getting Kids in Touch: Texture Activities for the Young
• http://www.quazen.com/Recreation/Crafts/An-Art-Lesson-Plan-for-Kindergarten-Through-Second-Grade-Animal-Pinch-Pots.551925