My 3rd graders are such a SCREAM!

Evdard Munch is not necessarily the most appropriate artist to study for elementary art students, but his series of 'Screams' is an instantly recognizable and hugely famous work of art.  In terms of the artist himself, I teach my kids some facts about his life and how Expressionism is a style of art that emphasizes color as a way to show the artists feelings as opposed to simply copying colors observed from real life.  I have included the PowerPoint I used for the project below:

 

Edvard Munch Presentation

More PowerPoint presentations from Artmuse

Overall, I LOVED this project...Out of all the projects I've taught over 5 years, this is definitely one of my favorites.  What was great about this project was that everyone came out with great results. Because the painting could be abstract and slightly 'messy', the end results were great no matter how neatly or precise each student painted.  My students that tend to rush through their projects or who don't necessarily pay attention to details in their work even had great result.  One of the most effective aspects of the project was the last step which constituted layering some oil pastels on top of the paint which really helped to emphasize line and movement within the work. Also, the photo's of the silly student faces really added humor and interest to the artworks. Here are a few of the finished pieces: