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Beautiful Butterfly Tiles

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Instructor: Nancy Ensminger-Sams

Workshop: International Insects

Targeted Grade Level(s): 3rd grade

Content Area(s) Covered: Art, Science, Math

Anticipated Duration: three 45 minute class periods

Rationale:

Since the Butterfly Rainforest has opened at the Florida Museum of Natural History many of our grade levels have taken field trips to visit, also many of our families go to the garden on the weekend.  On our school property a number of teachers have created butterfly gardens with the help of their students and parents.  Butterflies lend themselves to an art lesson about symmetry, design (pattern) and color.

Objectives:

1. Students will extend their experiences at the Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History
2. Students will create a butterfly drawing that includes the elements of art and principles of design
3. Students will create artwork that can be made into ceramic tiles to be installed around the classroom doorways in our new addition.

Sunshine State Standards:

• VA.A.1.2.1.3.1: The student uses and organizes two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, techniques, tools, and processes to produce works of art that are derived from personal experience, observation, or imagination.
• VA.A.1.2.3.3.1: The student knows the effects and function of using various organizational elements and principles of design when creating works of art.
• VA.E.1.2.1.3.1: The student understands the influence of artists on the quality of everyday life.
• MA.C.1.2.1.3.3: The student, given a verbal description, draws and/or models two-and three-dimensional shapes and uses appropriate geometric vocabulary to write a description of a figure or a picture composed of geometric figures.
• SC.G.2.2.1.3.1: The student knows that all living things must compete for Earth’s limited resources; organisms best adapted to compete for the available resources will be successful and pass their adaptations (traits) to their offspring.

Resources/Materials Needed:

Fiction Books

• Bunting, Eve. (1999). Butterfly House. NY: Orchard Books.
• Johnston, Tony. (2003). Isabel’s House of Butterflies. San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books for Children.

Non-Fiction Books

• Carter, David J. (2002). Butterflies and moths. NY: Dorling Kindersley.
• Daniels, Jaret C. (2003). Butterflies of Florida field guide. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc.
• Gerberg, Eugene J. (1989). Florida butterflies. Baltimore, Md.: Natural Science Publications.
• Lerner, Carol. (2002). Butterflies in the garden. New York: HarperCollins.
• Llewellyn, Claire. (2003). Butterfly. Chanhassen, MN: NorthWord Press.
• Rockwell, Anne F. (2002) Becoming butterflies. (2002). New York: Walker & Company.
• Schappert, Phillip Joseph. (2004). The last Monarch butterfly: Conserving the Monarch butterfly in a brave new world. Buffalo, N.Y.: Firefly Books.

Procedures:

Day 1

Materials:

• #2 pencils, rulers, crayons. 
• Butterfly books
• Posters of butterflies
• Vocabulary words for the word wall: symmetry, vertical, border, composition, and overlap.

Overview

Today students will discuss their experience at the Butterfly Rainforest; learn that sometimes art is create for a specific purpose and so must follow specific guidelines; review the concepts of symmetry and dark coloring; and draw a butterfly. 

Discussion:

1. Tell the students that they will be drawing butterflies.  The best examples will be sent into a company to scan their artwork and print it onto tiles.  These tiles will be installed around the classroom doorways in the school’s addition.  Because of the scanning/printing process they must color darkly because dark/rich colors are picked up better by their scanner. 
2. Demonstrate symmetry – have students stand up and “draw” an invisible vertical line down the center of their body and discuss how their body has vertical symmetry.  What other objects have symmetry?  Tell students that they will draw a butterfly on an 8 ½” x 8 ½” piece of white drawing paper.  They may draw a realistic butterfly using the books from the library (see above) or they may use their imagination to create a butterfly.  Either way the butterfly must be symmetrical.
3. Show examples of symmetrical designs in butterfly wings.  Demonstrate coloring darkly with crayons. Model stretching and relaxing of hand and arm muscles.
4. Students will draw a ruler width border.  Then they draw a large butterfly that touches and/or overlaps the border. 
5. Next, teacher will check for symmetry and students will choose three or four colors to color the butterfly using crayons.  Remind the students that they need to show dark coloring.  Remind students that the color must be symmetrical. 
6. Clean up and review

Day 2

Materials

• Artwork
• crayons, watercolor markers
• Vocabulary for “Word Wall”, background, pattern, contrast. 

Overview

Today students will color the border and background in their butterfly drawing. 

Discussion

1. Review the concept of patterning.
2. Discuss how students will choose what color of watercolor markers to use for the background using contrast – if the butterfly is light use a dark color (no brown or black) and if the butterfly is dark use a light color. 
3. Demonstrate the procedure for using the coned shape markers and using a slip of scrap paper under the wrist to keep from smearing the colors.
4. Discuss patterning and how they may take an idea for a shape to use in their border pattern from the shapes that they used in their butterfly.  Limit the border colors to two or three colors. 
5. Clean up and review.

Day 3

Materials

• 3” x 3”, 6” x 6” copy paper
• Crayons
• Clear tape
• Examples

Overview

Today students will complete their butterfly artwork for the tiles and make a paper butterfly for the windows in the art room.  Some students will need this third period to complete their butterflies. 

Discussion

1. Students in grades first through third make butterflies, color symmetrical designs on both sides and tape them on the windows. 
2. Students in grades fourth and fifth make large construction paper flowers (tulips) and hang them on the wall below the windows.
3. Clean up and review.

Follow-Up:

The students’ artwork was shipped to Square One Art http://www.square1art.com  to be scanned and printed onto 4 ½” ceramic tiles.  The tiles were installed (by an alumni parent) around the entrance to the classroom in our school’s addition.  The tiles gave an otherwise sterile building a childlike touch!

Informal/Formal Assessments:

Rubrics can be created to evaluate this lesson, but due to the large number of students the artwork is evaluated using an informal assessment based on how successful each student was in demonstrating the objectives outlined in each day’s lesson. 

Evaluation/Reflection:

After completing the, “Beautiful Butterfly Tiles” lesson I felt the art lesson was successful as evidenced by the completed tiles; however, I would like to extend the lesson.  Due to a deadline to have the artwork for the tiles completed I did not get to make this as interdisciplinary as I would like to have done.  Ideally, after students went on the field trip to the “Butterfly Rainforest” we would discuss, research, plan and plant a butterfly garden.  Then students could observe the metamorphosis of the butterfly.  There are many math and science Sunshine State Standards that would be addressed by the garden.  As part of the garden component of this lesson I would invite an expert to speak with the students about planning the garden.  This year the area behind the art room that has been used for a garden in the past had a portable on it!  I have watched butterflies devour the dill in my garden at home.  I had the wonderful experience of watching the butterfly cycle in my own garden!