Classroom ATC: Picasso - Stack #1 (25 ATC)

This is an elementary classroom ATC swap for 25 cards to 1 school for each “stack” of this trade. Students should be between the ages of 5 and 11. If you have more than 25 students, please see section on "stacks" below.

SUBJECT: PICASSO – This activity is simple enough for younger students to succeed and complex enough to blow the older students' minds. It can be completed within a 45 minutes with common classroom materials. Discuss Pablo Picasso at age level. Common at all levels is that the results are strange and not realistic. If all the features are there, it does not matter what shape, size or color then end up – it’s right with no mistakes. As long as they follow the step by step verbal directions, they will become little Picassos.

Materials: Cardstock weight paper cut to 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches or 64 X 89 mm, fine point of skinny black markers, colored pencils.

Class Instructions: Instruct students to write the following on the back of EACH card - Name (no last names) Title, State/Country, Date. Age, grade and school are optional. Make sure student understand the phrase “turn your card 90 degrees clockwise”. It's helpful to tell them to keep their cards on the table and not pick them up, and as silly as this gets, not to talk between instructions, wait until coloring time, or they won’t be able to finish in 45 minutes. It is also helpful to tell them not to draw “line”, but to draw features that they can color in.

Verbal Instructions: 1) With your marker, draw an eye anywhere on the paper. Turn your card 90 degrees clockwise. 2) Draw a second, different eye, several times larger than the first eye. Turn you card 90 degrees clockwise. 3) Draw a nose (if class is doing animal it can be snout). Turn your card 90 degrees clockwise. 4) Draw a hand and arm (if animal can be paw or leg). Turn your card 90 degrees clockwise. 5) Draw a mouth (if animal it can be tail or ear) 6) As if you were connecting the dots, connect the elements together with straight and curved lines. Don’t worry too much about it, relax and stop when it feels right. 7) Color in your Picasso with colored pencil.

STACKS - Notice the multiple titles with different “stack #”? This is designed to allow a diversity of participation - from whole schools, after school programs, homeschoolers, and single classrooms. Students will receive ATCs from more places. Students love to talk about all different places they have swapped art with. Each “stack” is designed for 25 students. Each “stack” swaps with one school. Teachers can join multiple swaps to “stack” the right number of students. If you have 100 students participating, please join four “stacks” to equal 100. You will mail to four schools. If you have only 25 participating, please look at all the stacks and join one with the least amount of participants. You will mail to one school. If you have more than 100 students, please contact me. I can work it out to accommodate more students. Right now we are mostly art teacher in the exchange, but feel free to get the word out