Under Hawaiian Seas

Use your ears, eyes, hands and imagination to create a colorful underwater scene as described to you by a partner.

• 1.

  Explore the concept of Hawaiian seas through a shared read-aloud experience, video, or learning game. Imagine and then write detailed descriptions of underwater animal and plant life using Crayola® Colored Pencils. Which shapes do you see? Colors? Lines? Light? What is moving? Use vivid adjectives and lots of detail.

• 2.

  You and a partner read your descriptions to each other, listening carefully to build a mental image of the other child's scene.

• 3.

  Use Crayola Washable Watercolors, Watercolor Brushes, and Markers on watercolor paper to create the underwater scene described by your partner. Experiment with different effects on wet and dry paper using techniques such as these: <li>Bubbles-Create bubbles by leaving small circles of white paper. Surround the bubble with black marker. <li>Outlines-Outline objects in black marker so they "jump" off the page, or leave white edges around lines. <li>Color blending-Mix colors before or after placing paint on the paper. For intense colors, blend two dark colors with very little water.

• 4.

  Compare your painting with your partner's written description. Discuss how words affect perceptions.

• 5.

  Mount paintings on black construction paper with Crayola Washable Glue Sticks to make an aquarium-like frame for exhibit.

Benefits

• Students research deep-sea environments in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, identifying plant and animal life.
• Children write descriptions of an imaginary scene in deep Hawaiian seas, and read their reports to partners.
• Students create mental images as they listen, then use art materials and techniques to express their perceptions.

Adaptations

• Visit a local aquarium to give special needs students and less auditory learners a more visual experience prior to listening and writing experiences.
• Children can rewrite their descriptions after discovering details that were missing or misunderstood by their partners as evidenced by their partner's drawings.
• Have children use watercolors and markers to draw their <b>own</b> scenes before or after writing their descriptions. Then compare their drawings with those of their partners.