Value Rocks

This week the 5th grade started to learn about value shading. First we started by observing a drawing that had good examples of value shading. The students observed that the shading was black to grey to white. They also noticed that the shadows were all going one direction, giving the drawing one light source.

Next, the students practiced a value scale and then labeled it from with the numbers 10-1, starting with 10 being the darkest to 1 being the lightest. Next, the students were prompted to stick their hand in a fabric covered box to guess what they were going to be drawing next. I filled a box with interesting rocks for them to draw but did not want them to see right away what they were going to draw. The element of surprise hooked the students right away! They were so excited to put their hand in the box and guess what was inside.

After each student had a chance to feel inside the box, the students chose a rock to draw. Then I prompted the students to use their observational drawing skills to outline their rocks. After the outlining was completed I showed the student how to refer back to their value scales and add it to their rocks. Many of the students made a great connection, adding a range of values, using their numbers. "I am using a 10 here and a 7 here!" said one student as she showed me her sketch.

As an extension to the project, the students are I are assigning a super power to their rocks. After the students pick a super power and write down how it can be used with the rock they are going to create an ad for the rock. I can't wait to see how the ads turn out!