Fruitful Bounty

Fruitful Bounty lesson plan

Explore Thanksgiving and harvest traditions then create painted paper mosaic cornucopias.

  • 1.

    Work in small groups to find out what types of food are grown and harvested locally. How are they raised? Picked? Transported to market? Find out about the origins of Thanksgiving or other fall harvest festivals in your area. What myths surround the holiday? Prepare reports to share information orally with classmates.

  • 2.

    On white paper, use Crayola® Markers to make a simple line drawing of a cornucopia (horn of plenty, usually a woven basket). Inside and around the cornucopia, draw foods that are raised in your area.

  • 3.

    Cover a table top with recycled newspaper. To prepare to make your paper mosaic, use Crayola Tempera Paints and Brushes to paint several sheets of paper in the colors of the fruits and vegetables you drew. Be creative and mix colors! Think about the dappled yellows and reds of apples, the variations in green leafy vegetables, the mottled colors of weaving materials such as straw. Dry.

  • 4.

    Cut the painted papers into small, uniformly-sized squares with Crayola Scissors.

  • 5.

    Arrange your squares to make a paper mosaic of the cornucopia, fruits, and vegetables. Attach the pieces with a Crayola Glue Stick.

  • 6.

    Add finishing details to your Fruitful Bounty with with a Crayola Washable Glue Stick.

Benefits

  • Children research information about food crops that grow in their areas and seasonal harvests of these fruits and vegetables.
  • Children find out why the Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated, and what the origins of the holiday are.
  • Students depict local crops in an aesthetically pleasing cornucopia mosaic, expanding both their vocabularies and awareness of the subtleties of color in nature.

Adaptations

  • Create paper mosaic greeting cards by gluing painted squares on a folded sheet of paper. Use paper-mosaic techniques to decorate 3-D forms such as pencil holders or book ends.
  • Create a papier-mâché cornucopia and 3-D fruit and vegetables. Use it as a centerpiece for a harvest festival with farm workers in your community.
  • Visit farms to see how the fruits and vegetables are grown and harvested in your area. Prepare a feast for your families using local produce.