African Landscapes

 

African Landscapes

4^th grade students learned about the African Serengeti during this African inspired Art project. The Serengeti is an area of land over 60,000 square kilometers that is found in Tanzania, Africa. This area of land is known for its animal migration that takes place twice a year.  The Serengeti has the largest animal migration in the world. Over 2 million animals travel in October from the northern hills to the southern plains. Then in April the herds travel back north through the west. We looked at the many different species of animals that are found on the Serengeti and learned facts about them. We also discussed the endangered species of Africa.  We then looked at different landscapes in Africa and how the land is different than ours. Students were able to choose an animal of their choice to create a silhouette landscape of the African Serengeti. They started by creating a watercolor sunset then created the black silhouette drawing. Students learned the importance of negative space (the empty spaces in art) and positive space (the filled spaces in art) while designing and drawing their silhouettes. Finally students studied African symbols and created a symmetrical boarder around their landscape, remembering to create their design using positive and negative spaces.