The Big Umbrella.

I found this lesson on Deep Space Sparkle, but in summary, my kindergarten and 1st grade students read the book, “The Big Umbrella,” by Amy June Bates. After reading the book, we discussed as a class questions like, “How did The Big Umbrella make people feel?” “When did someone make you feel like that?” “How can you/we make people feel like that?” This discussion/lesson was great for SEL (Social Emotional Learning).

After discussion, the K & 1 students drew a big umbrella on a 12”x18” painting paper with directed step by step instruction, as well as a horizon line at the bottom and people (or animals) underneath the umbrella. After drawing, they traced over their pencil lines with oil pastels. Next, they used watercolor to paint their artwork, learning about the wax resist technique. Finally, they took a white oil pastel and drew raindrops and puddles.

Note, due to this being the last project of the year, some students did not finish and some students did not paint, but rather just only use oil pastels.

Click here for the PDF of this lesson from Deep Space Sparkle!