Monday, February 26, 2018
Olympic Medal Relief Sculptures - 4th and 5th Grade
This was a fun lesson my student teacher gave to the kids during the winter Olympics. Each student made a cardboard relief sculpture then covered it with tin foil. After that, they added a patina effect to the metal using sharpies and steel wool. This project could be turned into just plain relief sculptures that have nothing to do with the Olympics as well.
We first had students sketch out what their medals would look like. Students thought about elements from their culture or family traditions to give them ideas. They designed a front and a back, then labeled foreground, middle-ground, and background:
Then students began cutting posterboard medal shapes (Circles, squares or whatever they wanted) and then cut out smaller pieces to glue to the surface. They layered objects on top of one another to created depth:
Once finished building, students sprayed the pieces with Elmers spray glue then lay aluminum foil on top. Then students press down using their fingers and or erasers to smooth out the edges trying not to let any wrinkles develop. Finally, they trim the edges with scissors:
To add the "patina" to the medals kids cover them with sharpie. We used black and gold, but any colors could be used. Once the color is applied, they took steel wool and rubbed the metals in a circular motion.
For the last step, students made their ribbon by finger weaving or braiding yarn or string together. They also had the option to use actual ribbon.