It's a good thing there are lots of stories to tell: there are so many art techniques to use to tell them! Any art method-pottery or print-making, papier-mache, or plaster molding-can be used to recite, review, or reinforce a story. Art projects offer an excellent way to educate, children for content; but, more importantly; they provide an opportunity for young people to explore and express their thoughts and feelings through participation in the process.

 

The ten ideas presented in this article are only a starting point. Numerous otner art methods should be incorporated into lesson planning and presentation. For example, a rebus story activity suggests drawing illustrations to represent words in the narrative, a creative writing exercise, might recommend naving the children make, a collage of tneir reactions and response; and a puppetry project could direct the group to paint interesting characters, props, and scenery. Regardless of the method used, try telling the story through art!

 

Acquire the Art

Save and use art from a variety of sources: teaching pictures from current and outdated curriculum; illustrations from children's papers; pictures from books, book covers, and bulletins. Mount the pictures and use them as illustrations while telling a story, on bulletin boards to introduce a theme, or even as flash cards to help the children review a lesson. Include art throughout history, found in prints, textbooks, and reference materials. Help learners observe how artists through the ages have portrayed the events of various stories.

 

Communicate With Chalk

Do a chalk talk on a traditional surface such as a chalkboard or on a unique background like a window. Use many panes to depict various portions of the story. It may be helpful to sketch the design on paper before beginning the work on the windows. Use wet chalk to draw on the glass. Pictures may be drawn at an appropriate point in the telling, as an introduction to the theme, or as a review of a lesson or unit.

 

Design a Dial

Turn two paper plates into a story dial. Make the center section by cutting the rim off one of the plates. Divide this circle into equal sections, which may be small or large, depending on the number of scenes required for the story. Illustrate each section by drawing or gluing pictures on the segments. Center the pictures on top of the other plate. Attach them by inserting a metal paper fastener in the middle of the two pieces. Draw an arrow, point down, at the top of the outer edge. As the story is told, turn the dial to the appropriate picture. Larger or smaller story dials, for group and individual projects, may be made from posterboard or various papers.

 

Do a Diorama

Recreate the scenes of a story by constructing individual or group dioramas. Each child may make his or her own shoebox scene, or one may be built by the whole class in a large cardboard carton. Review the story with the learners and help each person decide which part of it to depict.

 

To make a diorama, set the box on its side so that the bottom of the box becomes the back of the scene. Cover the outside of the carton with paint or paper. Create a background on the inside of the box by painting, drawing, or collaging a scene. Illustrate the story with paper cutouts, clay sculptures, or clothes-pin people.

 

Flip the Facts

Illustrate the main parts of a story on full sheets of posterboard or newsprint and make a flip chart out of them. If diagrams or patterns are used, project the designs on a wall with an overhead or opaque machine. Trace the shapes into the paper. Create a 3D effect on the pages by adding textured fabric, paper, and other materials. Punch holes in the top each picture and tie the sheets together with yarn or string. Flip the pages to tell the story. Invite the children to review the message by making mini-flip charts on Post-It notes.

 

Form Some Flannelgraph

Construct the background for the story by covering a piece of cardboard or plywood with felt, flannel, or indoor-outdoor carpeting.

 

Staple the material in place.

Prepare figure patterns by cutting pictures from magazines or coloring books. Trace the people onto pellon, a stiff material used in sewing (available at fabric stores). Color and highlight the pieces and cut them out. Children's drawings or other paper figures may be used instead. Back them with sandpaper or felt to make them adhere to the background material. Commercial sets, in large sizes and bright colors, may be purchased.

 

Make a Mobile

Make a mobile and use the pieces to tell a story or to help children make their own mobiles to review a story. Cut shapes from construction paper or posterboard. The shapes may represent the message or symbolism of the story. Write, draw, or cut and paste such information on the pieces as: title, Scripture reference, symbols representing parts of the story, and scenes from the story.

 

Punch a hole at the top of each shape and string a length of ribbon or yarn through it. Tie the pieces to a hanger and display the mobile.

 

"Piece a Puzzle

Cut a large shape or symbol associated with a significant part of a story. For the account of Noah, the obvious one is an ark. David's early life may be illustrated by a sheep, and the Christmas Scriptures could be represented by a manger. Cut the large shape into jigsaw puzzle pieces. Place the pieces for each puzzle in a separate envelope.

 

Put the puzzle pieces together while teaching the lesson. Ask the participants to connect the symbol and the story and to name the object being made and the story being shared.

 

Sequence the Story

Depict the details of a story by making a mural. Individual sheets as well as rolls of shelf, butcher, or tablecloth paper work well for the background, which should be taped to a wall or hung on a bulletin board. Illustrate the scenes in sequence with figures torn from paper; objects cut from fabric; pictures taken from magazines; or items drawn with markers, crayons, paint, or chalk. Use the mural to set the mood, sequence the events, or see if the children story's message.

 

View a Video Box

A video box is a technique that combines a series of drawings which tell a story with a method for showing them that is similar to a television screen. Begin constructing a video box by tucking in or cutting off the flaps of a carton. Using a mat knife, cut a large square out of the center of the bottom of the box, leaving a two- or three-inch border around the entire area. Turn the box on its side, so that the bottom now becomes the front, or viewing area. Make a set of parallel holes on the top and bottom of the box on both sides of the window. Place a dowel rod through each set of holes. secure them in place with tape or a cardboard or wooden stop.

 

Select a story and illustrate each part of it on individual papers or a roll of shelf paper, adding machine tape, wrapping paper or tablecloth. Attach the beginning of the mural to one dowel and the end to the other. Wind the mural through the box to tell the story.

 

Copyright Peter Li, Inc. Apr 2004

Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved