Fifth Grade: Native American Art

In Fifth Grade we are learning about Pueblo Indians and the homes that they live in. The Adobe houses  are built out of clay that is made from earth and straw and baked in the sun until it hardens (just like cement). We discussed different shapes and colors that are found in the Adobe Architecture and how the colors and shapes reflect the area that the Pueblos live in. The Adobe houses supply a great shelter from both the rain and the hot desert sun. The homes are constructed with wood frames first.

In our drawings, our main objective is to utilize and understand perspective. We drew one home coming towards us and one house going away from us. We then had to add at least one door, a ladder, support beams (circles at the top of the house) and windows.

Once the drawings are completed and incorporate all the necessary components, the students then began to trace over the lines with black glue (a mixture of Elmers School Glue and Black Tempera paint). The black glue acts as a resist to give raised texture to the drawing as well as retain the oil pastels. The finished look is glossy black lines that are raised on the surface of the paper.

After the glue dries the students may then start applying oil pastels to the drawings. We discussed color choice options and how they relate to the Adobe houses and what materials the Pueblo Indians use to construct their houses. Since the houses are constructed of logs to give support, the logs are colored in brown. The houses are made out of clay and straw mixture so the students chose to color them in yellow and brown. They even chose to make the building coming toward the viewer lighter than the building that is going away from the viewer to add more dimensions to this two dimensional work. We chose red roofing to add a splash of color and discussed how Pueblo Indians used this on some of their housing but not all, but as Artists we are choosing to exaggerate this detail in our own artwork. The doors are teal and blue because the Pueblo Indians painted the doors teal and Blue.