Texture Tiles

1. Invite students to discover a variety of appealing textures, such as a dog or cat's tongue, powder puff, bunny fur, bricks, or tree bark. Compile a list of descriptive words for each of these textures. Write this list on a classroom white board using Crayola Dry Erase Markers.
2. Once the children have exhausted their list of descriptive terms, have them cover work spaces with recycled newspaper. Provide each student with Crayola® Model Magic. Instruct students to roll or press the Model Magic into a smooth 3/4-inch (2 cm) slab. Measure with a ruler and then cut a 3-inch (8 cm) square tile with a craft stick or other modeling tool.
3. Texture can be added to tile using these or other creative modeling techniques:Press textured surfaces (such as bark, screen, wood, or lace) against the tile surface for a "fossil" effect.Use modeling tools (plastic dinnerware, craft sticks, household utensils) to make indentations or patterns on the surface. Add texture with fingertips or found objects such as leaves. Build up the tile surface with additional Model Magic.

LA: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade level topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

LA: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships.

LA: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

LA: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

MATH: Solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit.

SCI: Investigate and explain how internal and external structures in plants serve functions of growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.

SCI: Construct explanations of how structures in animals serve functions of growth, survival, reproduction, and behavior.

VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

VA: Explore and understand prospective content for works of art.

VA: Select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning.

Working in small groups, if possible with adult leaders or older students, investigate the texture of a cat's tongue, bunny fur, bricks, and/or tree bark. These are all representations of structures of either animals or plants that assist with the organisms' survival and behavior. Students explore how each of these works and discusses the connections to this art lesson plan.

Create a classroom center that has several feeling bags, each with a different object secretly placed inside. Students reach into each bag with their hands and feel the object. The students describe the feeling of the object orally and sketch a picture of their interpretations using Crayola Colored Pencils. Once all students in the group have experienced all feeling bags, share results and discuss sketches. Disclose the contents of each bag to verify accuracy of sketches.