Earth Day Art Lessons Your Students Will Love

For art teachers, it's a happy coincidence that Earth Day happens in late spring. The time of year when the tiny scraps of recycled paper are overflowing. You may have a mound of them sitting to the side of your paper cutter right now. Here are some of my favorite ways to recycle every last bit. Let's face it, with our budgets, we can't afford to toss any scraps.

PAPER POTTERY / MAGAZINE BOWLS

Is your librarian ready to toss this year''s magazines? You can make bowls, dishes or vases using nothing more than tape. Bowls can be permanently sealed into position with mod podge. Original post here. I have a recorded video lesson for students working from home here.

PULP PAINTING & PAPERMAKING

When the pile of scrap next to your paper cutter is overflowing, it's time to make paper! Two fun ways to do that are traditional papermaking and pulp painting.

  

PAPER WEAVING

Those long 1" strips are just perfect for tiny fingers to practice their weaving skills. In spring time, a woven sheet of 9x12 or 12x18 becomes the perfect picnic blanket background. I like to talk about geometric vs organic shapes as they add items onto their plate.

PAPER MOSAICS

When those weavings are done, go ahead and trim those 1" paper strips into squares (or better yet, let your early finishers do it for you) and start paper mosaics. I'm serious about using every last bit of paper. This project is loved by children of all ages, and I find the sweet spot to be grade 2.

For a quick organizing tip, I use small containers and sort the paper by color. During the pandemic you could have students cut their own paper strips into squares and keep them in a baggie.

PROFILE PENDANTS

Invite your artists to bring recycled plastic to class. These Arcimboldo inspired pendants would make an amazing Mother's Day gift. Original post with more info here. This could also be done at home with the help of an adult for shrinking the plastic in the oven. Only sharpies are needed.

PAPER COLLABORATIONS

Put those 1" leftover weaving strips to use with this Suzan Shutan inspired paper sculpture. Students can practice folding, curling, gluing and stapling.

 I have kinders add a dot of glue, pinch the loop and count to ten. I show them how not holding it tight for 10 seconds will cause the loop to open up. They can bring their loop forward, point to where they want it added and you can hand over hand help them learn to staple it to join the collaborative sculpture. 

They love to "find" their loop in the larger work. Original post about kindergarten paper collaborations may be found here.

MARKER PRINTS

If you're a fan of The Speckled Sink, then you already know how I feel about marker prints. This year, most students can successfully wrestle up a piece of foam and either a marker for printing or maybe a crayon to do a rubbing.  I have successfully done this with K-12 (yup, all the ages) and it never fails to delight. Corn, Gingerbread, Surrealism, Snowflakes, Fish. It really doesn't matter what you choose. They will love it!

ROBOT DESIGN

Put all the things you're trying to get rid of and let the students go to town. Can they make a robot? A shoe? A utensil? Can they build a bridge? Great steam integration.

What is your favorite lesson for Earth Day? Here's a bundle of some of my favorites.