March- Fish Printmaking - 1st grade

Process:

-have students sit on rug

-pass around rubber fish, encourage students to touch and examine

- ask questions like “ what kind of things could you do with this fish?”, “what kind of details/ parts of the fish do you see?” and “ If we wanted to get the images(picture) of these rubber fish on paper, how can we do it?”

- explain that they will be making a print of the fish. Explain what a print is and tell them about Japanese fish printing:Originating in 19th century Japan, gyotaku (meaning "print fish") developed from the need to record the exact size of a trophy catch and evolved into a beautiful art form in its own right.

Definition of print:A mark made by impression; a line, character, figure, or indentation, made by the pressure of one thing on another

-explain that they will be painting the surface of the fish with tempera paint, and then they will press the fish onto a piece of paper to make a print. Ask if they think it would be better to put the paper under or over the fish. Ask if they think they should apply a lot of pressure, or a little pressure to the fish or paper, and have them explain why.

- Explain that they will be taking turns printing the fish. Each child will get one turn and then pass the fish to the person next to them. If there's time, everyone can have a second turn.While students wait for their turns, they can create a deep water background for their fish by cutting out tissue paper kelp strands and gluing that to dark construction paper.

-Students will then cut out fish print and glue it onto the kelp construction paper. Let them know if they want they can add some tissue kelp over the fish to add depth to their work.

-After you've explained the process, students return to tables and get to work. Encourage them to experiment with process of printing and try out different techniques. Keep tables at 5 students max, if possible. Make sure each table has at least one fish. Be aware of how long students are taking to paint fish and set time limits as needed to ensure that all get a turn.

- Clean up and Wrap up. Have students who want share work. Ask them to share what worked best for them, and if there's anything they would like to try differently if they did it again.

Suggested timeline:

10 minutes discussion on rug

40 minutes working at tables

10 minutes cleanup and wrap up