Dragon Eyes.

Since a lot of my 4th and 5th grade students like the “Wings of Fire” book series, I had them create their own dragon eyes! Here is how the lesson went:

Day 1: As a class, we looked at pictures of dragon eyes found online and studied them. We talked about the multiple colors in the iris, the shape of the pupil, and the texture of the eyelid and skin around it. I gave the students a sketch piece of paper to sketch out how they would want their dragon eye to look.

Day 2: As a class, we reviewed pictures of dragon eyes found online, paying more attention to the multiple colors in the iris and the shape of the pupil. I gave the students a clear glass gem (the kind you fill vases with) and had them trace the gem onto a 2”x2” piece of white 80# paper. Then, I had them draw a pupil for their eyes using a sharpie. Next, they chose 3 analogous colored pencils to color in their dragon eye. We talked about how the edges of iris are darker then the rest of the eye. I showed them that they can place their clear gem on top of their design to see how it will look once we glue it together. Once they were done designing their eye, I had them cut it out and paint a light layer of glue using a paintbrush on the top of the colored part of their eye and glue it to the flat part of the clear gem. (see examples below)

Day 3: We reviewed pictures of dragon eyes found online, paying more attention to the texture and design of the dragon’s skin surrounding the eye. After demonstrating different ways of how they could make their dragon eye, I had them practice creating the surrounding skin of their eye using play-doh. Using play-doh will help prepare them for when they use model magic the next week. I gave them back their gem eye to give them a better idea of how it would look. This also allowed time for the students who were absent the week before to create a gemmed eye.

Day 4: I gave each student a packet of white model magic, their sketch of their dragon eye from day 1, and their gemmed eye. Next, I showed them how they can color their model magic using markers (flatten out the model magic, color onto the model magic using a marker, squish together, repeat until desired color is reached. This was also a good time to talk about tint since they are mixing their markers with white model magic.) If they are using 3 colors, they will break up their model magic into 3 parts. If they are using 2 colors, they will break up their model magic into 2 parts, etc. If majority of their dragon eye is red and they are using 2 colors, one of the model magic parts will be a bigger broken up piece then the other, etc. Once they reached their desired color(s) for their model magic, they finally were able to sculpt their dragon eye with model magic and gemmed eye.