My 2nd graders were in WAY over their heads. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed that, although I've been teaching a million years, I don't like to repeat myself too often and I do like to try out new lessons. Hence my uber-challenging 2nd grade Op Art lesson, using geometric shapes, and intersecting wavy lines creating shapes to paint in complementary colors.
So, when the original shapes began to get lost as the kids attempted to paint every other space of a complicated design, I reminded them that it was just a sheet of paper, and that no matter how many mistakes they made, nobody would notice, because they would all still look great in the end. I was right, wasn't I? We solved the problem of the disappearing shapes by outlining them in black (painted with a giant Q-tip). We cleaned up messes by adding polka dots, and painted black and white frames (which the kids called "cow frames").
I think they turned out great in the end!
