One of my favorite things about this project is that half of it is completely open-ended. Students get to cover large pieces of paper with paint in any way they want: brushes, sponges, blot-art, rollers, etc. Once dry, the pieces are ripped up to form the waves or cut up to create a sun, moon, clouds, etc.
Here's how we did it:
1. Students spend part of one crazy day making their collage paper (as mentioned above). Supplies: tempera paint and whatever tools you would like them to use: brushes, rollers, sponges, etc. I asked that they create at least one page blending only WARM colors and one page blending COOL colors.
2. The following day, students drew their sailboats with pencil on small squares of colored paper (each a different size, as part of this project is to teach PERSPECTIVE). I used this how to draw:
They did the first one with me step-by-step and the next two on their own. Next, they colored them in with pastels (Sharpies would have been even easier as some details were lost in the transition) and cut them out.
3. Students used the side of a crayon or pastel to color in their sky, but I think paint or construction paper would look fine too.
4. Next, students ripped and pasted their COOL colors down to make waves, while leaving space to slide their boats into the waves. Biggest boat - closest to the front; smallest - furthest way.
5. They cut out suns, clouds, and anything else they wanted in their sky and glued them on. I put out black pastels for adding birds and any last minute details (again, Sharpies would have been easier).
Troubleshooting:
If you can, use paper that is the exact same size for painting and ripping up as the piece you are going to glue down on. That way, students can rip the pieces from side to side (not up and down) and get an exact fit.
If you want a straight horizon line, students will need to use the straight side (top or bottom) of the paper after their first rip, and glue it down to the middle of the page. (They can also use the other end as their last piece for an exact fit on the bottom edge.) Difference shown below:
Objectives: Teaches perspective, warm & cool colors, collage techniques, and blending colors.
This is a fun one!