This exploration features former Dayton Public Schools Art Educator Ardella Reliford teaching students how to re-use and recycle items to create art projects. When Ms. Reliford taught at Fairview Elementary many years ago, she was given a budget of only $100 for supplies to teach art to 500 students. She knew she had to be extra-creative and find cost-free ways to help the students learn art. Using plastic bottles, cardboard, cardboard cylinders, and shoe boxes, she taught them how to make dolls, stick ponies, and bricks for a pyramid. From that experience, the Art of Recycling exploration was born.
This exploration can include up to 35 students. The cost is $100 regardless of number of students up to the maximum capacity. The timeframe is one class period, approximately 45 minutes.
Materials will generally be provided by the students, e.g., soda bottles, paper towel tubes, etc. from home. Ms. Reliford will discuss the projects and needs with the teacher(s) well ahead of time for the students to have adequate time to collect materials. She may provide specific items for each project as well.
Suggested Standards/Benchmarks:
VISUAL ARTS, SCIENCE
CAN ALSO BE ALIGNED WITH MATHEMATICS, LANGUAGE ARTS, SOCIAL STUDIES, ETC.
During this exploration, students will apply their artistic skills while learning to be good stewards of the environment. This exploration is intended to be an integrative and interdisciplinary hands on approach to introducing the concepts of reusing and recycling nonrenewable resources. Composition, planning, designing, brainstorming and reflection are all skills that will all be utilized.
This exploration is extremely adaptable to the needs of the teacher and classroom. Ms. Reliford enjoys aligning the chosen art project with the subject matter being taught at that time. For example, if a unit is being taught about ancient Egypt, the recycled art project for this exploration could be the creation of shoe boxes painted in hieroglyphics, then stacked to create a pyramid in the style of ancient Egyptians. If students are studying solutions to reduce the impact of humans on natural systems, they could weigh the different materials and relate their findings to one’s ecological footprint. They could use information to generate the amount of carbon emissions that were saved by using recycled materials, rather than buying new.
Art projects can be created to align with almost any subject matter and with nearly any core classroom subject – Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, etc.
Visual Arts:
K:1PE-7PE 1PR-6PR 1RE-8RE
1:1PE-6 PE1PR-6PR 1RE-8RE
2:1PE-7PE 1PR-6PR 1RE-7RE
3:2PE 6PE 1PR-6PR 1RE-5RE
4:2PE,5PE,6PE 1PR-6PR 1RE-6RE
5:1PE-5PE 1PR,4PR,5PR 1RE-6RE
6:1PE-5PE 1PR-6PR 1RE-6RE
7:1PE,2PE,4PE,5PE,6PE 1PR,2PR,3PR,5PR 1RE-6RE
8:1PE,2PE,4PE,5PE,6PE 1PR-5PR 1RE-6RE
HS I: 1PE-6PE 1PR-6PR 1RE-7RE
II:1PE-6PE 1PR-6PR 1RE-7RE
III: 1PE-6PE 1PR-6PR 1RE-7RE
Science:
MS-LS2
MS-LS2-3
NGSS HS-ESS3-4
NGSS HS-ESS3-2
To book this exploration:
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