Lincoln & Washington Art Projects
Every February, teachers and students across the United States take a moment to remember our presidents. Feb. 12 marks the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday; George Washington's birthday comes 10 days later. When February rolls around, give students time to learn about the legacy of two past presidents and create pieces of art to remember their studies.
Other People Are Reading
-
George Washington Three-Cornered Hat
-
Make three-cornered hats like those George Washington wore with younger elementary pupils. Give pupils three copies of a three-cornered hat template photocopied on construction paper or heavy card stock (see Resources). Three strips of 4-by-10-inch construction paper or card stock works in place of photocopies. Invite pupils to decorate hat pieces with stars, stripes or other patriotic symbols. Help pupils staple the ends of the hat strips together to form a triangular hat.
Crossing the Delaware
-
Display a picture of "George Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emanuel Leutze. Discuss with older elementary, middle school or high school students the artist's use of darker colors to portray a dawn crossing, the river waves crashing against the boat to create movement and the smaller boats in the distance to create perspective. Invite students to re-create their own Delaware crossing pieces of art. Students may choose to create a shoe box diorama out of construction paper, a watercolor painting or try their hand at oil pastels. Encourage students to focus on their use of color tones, movement and depth perspective.
-
Abraham Lincoln Milk Carton Log Cabins
-
Invite younger pupils to create a miniature version of Abraham Lincoln's childhood log cabin. Collect enough milk cartons from the school lunchroom for every pupil in your class. Have pupils help rinse milk cartons and leave the cartons to dry overnight. Then have pupils get a milk carton, a plastic knife or craft stick, a handful of stick pretzels and about 1/4 cup of chocolate frosting. Have pupils spread chocolate frosting on the milk carton using their plastic knife or craft stick. Have pupils press pretzel sticks into the frosting to simulate the logs. Encourage pupils to cover the top of the milk carton to make the roof. Use scraps of paper to create a door and windows. Pupils may use frosting to glue the doors and windows on the cabin.
Gettysburg Address
-
Display a picture of the original Gettysburg Address manuscript written by Abraham Lincoln. Discuss out how the paper has aged over time and turned yellow. Point out the longhand script Lincoln used to write this speech. Hand out a sheet of white paper to students. Invite students to re-create the Gettysburg Address by spraying green tea from a spray bottle on the white paper. Coat the paper thoroughly and let dry overnight. For students who want darker yellow papers, allow them to dip papers in a green or black tea bath. To create a tea bath, pour tea into a 10-by-18-inch glass baking dish. Let papers dry overnight. Post a copy of the Gettysburg Address on the blackboard or overhead projector. Have students use black pens to copy the speech, using their best script, onto the aged paper. Allow students who wish to write their speech in a script similar to Lincoln's to do so.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit statue of george washington image by Rob Hill from Fotolia.com
