Night Along the Water

Poetry is inspired by students' impressionist artwork of night along the water.

• 1.

  Go on an imagination journey. Close your eyes and picture yourself by water's edge at night. Listen to a recording of ocean sounds or Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Play an ocean drum to set the mood. Tap into your senses—what do you hear, feel, smell, and see? How does the moonlight fall? Imagine plant life, sky with moon and stars reflecting in the water, water lapping at a pier, animals stirring, boats rocking, and land forms (beaches, banks, rocky shore).

• 2.

  Cover your work area with recycled newspaper. With Crayola® Watercolor Paints, sketch the scene from your imagination on watercolor paper. Use color and lines to show movement. Create darker shades to depict shadows, and use lighter hues to show the shining moon.

• 3.

  In small groups, describe your paintings and share imagined sensations of walking by water at night.

• 4.

  With your painting displayed before you, rekindle your creativity by writing poetry about the experience with Crayola Colored Pencils.

Benefits

• Children visualize themselves standing by the sea or a river at night as part of a prewriting experience to generate ideas.
• Students paint their impressions of night near the water.
• Children write poetry based on ideas sparked by their watercolor depiction of the night scene.

Adaptations

• Suggest that families visit a river, beach, or pond at night so children can see and hear the sights and sounds of night along the water.
• Revise poetry as a class or with partners. Add more descriptive words and phrases. Publish and display with the watercolor paintings.
• Use the poetry as the beginning of an adventure story about a night sleeping outdoors by the sea.