Prairie Animals
Lesson 1

Objective:
Students will investigate the prairie, through books, prints and samples, then choose a prairie animal to design in felt.

Materials:
felt, stuffing, fabric glue, moving eyes, buttons, markers, thread, equipment-books, slides, scissors and needles

Procedure:

• Teacher will show large print of prairie animals to class and elicit discussion.
• Teacher will show example of 3-D animal of felt to class, explain procedure.
• Students will look through books with prairie animals and choose one.
• Students will draw a large outline of the animal on a piece of 51/2 x 8 paper.
• Students will cut out stencil of animal
• Students will tape stencil to a piece of 81/2x11 felt folded in half
• Students will trace stencil in marker on felt
• Students will cut shape out of both sides of felt
• Students will glue around edges of felt leaving 2 inches for stuffing
• Students will add details to felt animal using cut felt, buttons thread, etc.
• After glue is dry use needle and thread and sew up opening in the felt animal.
• Yarn can be sewn on for hanging animal.

Evaluation:
Directions followed
Craftsmanship
Is it a prairie animal
Is animal well designed and constructed

Skills: knowledge of prairie, gross and fine motor, critical thinking, following directionsInterdisciplinary: science and art
Vocabulary: stencil, prairie, various animals, habitat

Natural Dyes of the Prairie
Lesson 2

Objective:
Students will learn to make and use dyes from natural materials found in the prairies and woods.

Materials:
Various plants (roots, petals, leaves, bark, berries), mordant (salt and alum), hot water, cotton fabric cut into 1 x1 sq., 12 1-gallon buckets, 12 lg. Plastic spoons. Suggested colors: gray-St.Johnswort, green-Larkspur, orange-Sumac or Onion, purple-Dandelion, yellow-Sunflower, red-Pokeweed

Procedure:

• Teacher will separate parts of plants: roots, petals, leaves, bark, berries.
• Teacher will elicit discussion about natural dyes, and where they are found, how mordants work and which parts of each plant contains the natural dye or stain.
• Student will submerge dried plant parts in buckets of hot water, separating the parts that contain the dye.
• Let seep until the next class.
• Student will remove the plant parts from the natural dye and discard.
• Student will soak their pieces of cotton in a bucket of natural dye, the color of their choice. (Teacher can have student guess what color the fabric will turn after dying, or tell them in advance. Student can also investigate it on their own.)
• Student will stir the buckets containing fabric and dye every 3-5 minutes. Let soak for about 30 minutes.
• Students will add mordant; either salt or alum. Allow to soak for another 10 minutes.
• Students will carefully remove wet fabric from buckets of dye. Wring out gently. (Should be done near a sink.)
• Allow to dry, laid out on board or a plastic tarp, away from sun.

Evaluation:

• Did student follow instructions?
• Did dye take and hold?
• Is dye consistent on clothe or splotchy?

Skills:
Knowledge of plants and their parts, application of the dying process, gross motor, following directions.Interdisciplinary: science and art
Vocabulary: various plant names, roots, petals, mordant, natural dye

Living Textures From the LandLesson 3

Objective:
Students will investigate various grasses, plants, and herbs, leaves and barks from the local area, and create textural and patterned prints.

Materials:
various plants (dried or fresh, from the local area, nothing endangered or threatened), leaves, bark, water soluble block printing ink, 12 x18 construction paper, 6 brayers, 6 large pie tins, newspaper or tarp.

Procedure:

• Teacher will show various local plants, including grasses and leaves, have students try and identify them.
• Teacher will elicit discussion about the texture and patterns found in nature.
• Teacher will demonstrate printing process and show examples.
• Student will squeeze small amount of ink into pie tin.
• Students will use brayer, rolling it into ink, applying it to brayer.
• Students will apply ink to plant with brayer, rolling on tarp or newspaper.
• Students will place paper over inked plant and press over it with side of hand.
• Students will lift plant and see impression of plant on paper.
• Students will repeat process of printing plants using different colors of ink, and various plants.
• Students will fill paper with an assortment of textures and create repeating patterns with the plant forms.

Evaluations:
Are plants used effectively in the design?
Are textures clear?
Is design comprehensive or incomplete and haphazard?
Craftsmanship?

Skills:
Knowledge of local plants, trees, knowledge of printing process, critical thinking, gross and fine motor, creativity.

Vocabulary:
Various plants/trees, threatened plants, endangered plants, texture, brayer, printmaking

Interdisciplinary:
science, language arts, and the arts

Prairie Mural on PaperLesson 4

Objective:
Students will design and render a mural on paper depicting the prairie, how our state looked largely before industrialization changed it, indicating grasses, herbs, trees, animals and land forms

Materials:
Sheet of 36 x 144 paper (3 x 12 ), pencils, markers, crayons, source material: books, prints and charts about the local ecology, plants, animals

Procedure:

• Teacher will display and explain charts and prints of the prairie.
• Teacher will elicit discussion about our natural ecology of the area (Illinois), seeing what students already know.
• Teacher will explain the process of making a mural which is a group drawing that holds together as a whole, not in separate parts, students must work together.
• Students will begin to the large forms on the mural paper, using pencil.
• Students will draw trees, sun, land forms, then draw in smaller plants, grasses, insect, animals, animal tracks, using charts and books for reference.
• Students will use colored pencil then markers and crayons on the mural.
• Students will add detail and identify or label plants and animals in mural.

Evaluation:
Is foreground and background utilized in mural or is it flat and empty?
Is craftsmanship consistent?
Is color used correctly?
Are plants correctly identified?
How is overall design?
Does it hold together as a mural or is it fragmented?

Vocabulary:
mural, ecology, prairie, industrialization, ecosystem, consumers, producers, decomposers, various plant and animal names, land forms

Skills:
Knowledge of prairie and local ecology, plant identification, animal identification, working together in a large group, design, fine and gross motor, following, following directions, critical thinking.

Interdisciplinary:
Social Studies, science, and art.

Local Insects on Scratch boardLesson 5

Objective:
Students will examine local insects, learning their body parts, names and where they are found, and draw them on a scratch board.

Materials:
81/2 x 51/2 scratch board for every student, scratch tools, tracing paper, pencils, incased insect specimens, books of local insects.

Procedure:

• Teacher will conduct discussion about local insects; having students give examples, discuss habits and body parts.
• Teacher will show insect specimens and pass around insect books.
• Each student will select a different insect to draw from book or case.
• Each student will receive a piece of tracing paper (51/2 x 81/2), and fold it in half.
• Students will draw one side of their insect on the tracing paper, as large as they can, depicting each body part and detail.
• Students can then trace the remaining side of insect onto paper, forming a symmetrical drawing of an insect.
• Students will tape or staple tracing paper to scratch board, with the pencil side down.
• Students will draw over their insect drawings, pressing firmly with pencil on scratch board, so an impression appears.
• Students will remove tracing paper and use scratch tool to create lines of detail in white against the black board.
• Students will use tool to add detail and form on scratch board by scratching out the black and creating an image in white.

Evaluation:
Is insect drawing symmetrical?
Is there enough detail or is it unfinished?
Are body parts of insect well defined?
Craftsmanship
Overall design?

Vocabulary:
various insect names, insect body parts, (antennae, pincers, etc. ), symmetry, local ecology, habitat, anthropod, arachnid.

Skills:
Knowledge of insects and their body parts, critical thinking, investigative, gross and fine motor.

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