Inspired by Marc Chagal

 These are block tempera paintings done by  my fifth graders.  It was based on an old lesson from my county's art curriculum.  The original lesson was a chalk drawing inspired by Marc Chagal.  My room this year is teensy weensy, and just not a good space for chalk.  (Think along the lines of me breathing chalk all day for a couple of weeks.)  So, we painted instead.

The kids discussed abstract art and what Chagal might have been thinking about when he painted "I and the Village" and several other pieces.  They then had to list people, places and ideas that were important to them.  Next, they represented those things in an abstract manner with symbols.  I directed them to break up the spaces with overlapping shapes.  They drew the work in Sharpie first, the filled in the color with block tempera.  I am pleased with the results, even more than I was with the chalk drawings.