I will probably end up reading all of Eric Carle's books by the time May rolls around. They are just perfect for an elementary art class. First grade got to listen to "The Mixed-Up Chameleon" last week. I loved how the pages were color-coded, so it was the perfect way to lead into the color wheel. They have been learning about primary and secondary colors, so we arranged them into the wheel this week.
After we read the story, we talked about why the colors are arranged in a certain order on the color wheel. Then, we drew the basic chameleon shape together. It definitely wasn't a realistic depiction, but they looked just like Eric Carle's, and it was simple to draw for them.
I had them draw stripes on their chameleon to fill with the color wheel. Instead of using a 2-D medium, I had them crumple up tissue paper and glue it down with little dots. They had an absolute blast with all the tissue paper. It was kind of a mess, but they did a great job picking up after themselves. So, I was able to tolerate the mess for a brief period!
They were allowed to start with any color they wanted, as long as they went in order. If they had more than 6 stripes, I had them just start over and repeat the pattern. This little guy below belongs to a very gifted first grader. (She paints landscapes at home in her free time.) She very systematically glued each piece inside the stripe.
I think in the future, I would have them cut them out so they wouldn't be all on green paper. Nevertheless, I was so pleased with how this lesson turned out. It was perfect for a 50 minute class!
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