Creating Biomes

This fun lesson was about 3-D paper projects. The activity focused on background, middle ground and foreground concepts to teach students how to create depth in their artwork. Science was integrated with this project by talking about world biomes. To start off the activity have students choose what biome they will be creating. Then, have them choose the color of construction paper they want, explain that the color they pick will play apart in the background. After they have chosen what they will be representing have them make their background. Do this by making the objects they want smaller, to seem like they are farther away. Then move on to the middle ground, this is going to make up most of the picture, so any grass or trees anything that best sets up the scene. Last, the foreground, this is was is closest to the viewer and this will be what is 3-D. It is important to stress that the most important part of the picture will be the foreground. I chose to do the Savannah and my foreground is the baby lion on the rock, the birds and sunset are my background and the grass and giraffe are my middle ground. To make the foreground 3-D take a small strip of paper and fold it accordion style, then glue it to the back of the object and to the paper. This technique will make the object pop out.

An extension activity for this project will be focused on using the 3-D aspect to create paper trees. All you need is a small brown paper bag. Cut the top of the bag like fringe, thin, lengthy continual cuts. Next, open the bag so the bottom is flat. Then, using your hand hold the bottom of the bag down and with your other hand grab the bag just above the bottom and twist. You will need to keep twisting working your way up just until you get to the fringe that you cut. Next, fan out the small strips at the top of the bag and twist those individually. These small twisted strips will be the branches. When it is all done either take construction paper or tissue paper and glue on the leaves.