for the second grade. For example, second graders are expected to be
able to answer questions about how the land changes and what makes
plants grow. In second grade math, students learn measurement and
number sequencing. For the art component we focused on growth
narratives to align with second grade Language Arts standards.
To create the spiral, they drew an arc from corner to corner in the first
square, continued into the second square, then completed the arcs in
each square to reveal the spiral.
Spirals in Nature followed Art in Action’s standard structure for student
engagement:
● Observe: look at artworks that relate to the theme.
● Interact: discuss with the students what they are seeing.
● Learn: introduce vocabulary and history through art. Do: create
an artwork that reflects the new knowledge gained.
4. Develop the Art Project
For the art project, we wanted to ensure that basic materials would be
on hand at the school. Materials:
● Colored pencils or watercolor pencils
● Brushes and water (if using watercolor pencils)
● For each student:
○ - 9 x 12 - 1⁄2 inch graph paper, cut in half to be 6 x 9
○ - Black construction paper 1-12 x 18 inch
○ - White construction paper cut in: 2-1x1 inch squares, 1-2x2
inch square, 1-3x3 inch square, 1- 5x5 inch square, 1-8x8
inch square
The Spirals in Nature art lesson began by using the Fibonacci
sequence to create The Golden Spiral. The students were given graph
paper with a pre-drawn 1 x 1 square. They then graphed the Golden
Ratio by continuing to add squares based on the Fibonacci sequence.
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