1st Grade Paintings of "My Favorite Thing to Do In My Neighborhood"

Hannah, 1-107
My favorite thing to do in my neighborhood is walking

1st Graders have been working on a painting unit the past several weeks. Students began by exploring brushstrokes (e.g., thick, thin, curvy, straight, zig zag, etc.) and color mixing (e.g., primary, secondary, adding white and black, etc.) for three weeks. 

The following explorations were made by students in 1-107:

After learning through exploration, I read the book "Jacob Lawrence In the City" by Susan Goldman Rubin with students and we discussed the art of Jacob Lawrence. I chose this artist because of his bright, graphic, lively paintings of New York City (particularly Harlem, where he lived) and to connect to the 1st grade Social Studies curriculum in February, when students were learning about famous African Americans as a part of Black History Month. This also connected to their study of community (i.e., community workers, places in the community, types of communities, etc.) that they were also learning about in their classrooms. Students looked at the painting "Brownstones" in particular, and identified the narrative of the painting (things people do in their neighborhood) as well as colors, shapes, and lines they saw.

Brownstones

1958

Collection of Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries

© Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence. Courtesy of the Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation.

After this, students considered their favorite thing to do in their neighborhood and listed "playing ball in the park", "riding my scooter on the sidewalk", "walking", and "getting ice cream from the ice cream truck" among their favorites. Students created a sketch and wrote a sentence describing this favorite activity to help them plan their paintings, then began under-paintings in wash (paint mixed with water) the following week. Next, students spent three weeks adding color to their paintings, concentrating on using a variety of brushstrokes and mixing various colors. The results are fantastic! Please enjoy first graders' "Me in My Neighborhood" paintings:

Jeremiah, 1-107
My favorite thing to do in my neighborhood is skateboarding

Makayla, 1-107
My favorite thing to do in my neighborhood is to play in my backyard

Jayden, 1-107
My favorite thing to do in my neighborhood is to get a treat from the ice cream truck!

Emily, 1-107
My favorite thing to do in my neighborhood is to go to the park and play with my friend Jestine

Brandon, 1-107
My favorite thing to do in my neighborhood is to go for a walk on the sidewalk

Sherlynn, 1-107
My favorite thing to do in my neighborhood is to play ball in the park