Magazine Turkeys and a little Mask

My Kindergarteners are proving a bit needy of some cutting and gluing practice (as well as some basic listening/direction following skills), so I channeled the Turkey Day energy that's been buzzin' for this project.  It started with just basic cutting/gluing to create the body, wings, feet and beaks.  I had the brown and orange paper pre-cut, and they followed along with me.  For the feathers, I pre-sized some magazine pages into manageable pieces.  They used those to create feathers.  I encouraged ovals, but some got a bit rectangular.  The kiddos seemed to really enjoy this project- especially the ones who got cartoon scraps. 

 Also, my 3rd Graders have been working on clay masks and I just had to share.  Below, one student begins the painting process.  (I use acrylic- it's messy danger, but it looks great on clay!)  The other is by a boy who clearly loves making masks.  It's so rewarding when you finally find the thing that excites a hesitant student!  When we paint, I set up paint stations.  The kids move their mask to the station, rather than me pouring paint for every table that may or may not be used.  I have a student with Autism, and traveling is not in her best interest- I allowed her to stay at her seat with color choices.

Sculptural Faces

The 3rd Graders and I are in the midst of mask making!  Admittedly, one of my favorite units to teach.  We have made clay masks (which are going to be painted soon) and are currently working on Echo Masks.  While working through the clay days (sick kiddos=more make up days than I like.  It seems like the clay dust is never ending), I gave each student a piece of card stock and some scrap paper.  They were to use their paper sculpting skills to create an outrageous face- the sillier the better.  I demonstrated/reviewed the techniques I know they should be capable of (having had the majority of them since Kindergarten) and then I turned them loose.  After they finished, I took them outside and spray painted them.  Here are the results!