Grade 5 - Animals of the Tropical Rain Forest Biome Drawing

Animals of the Tropical Rain Forest Biome Drawing - Grade 5

Learning Goal:  Students will be able to use pastel drawing techniques to create a drawing of an animal of the tropical rain forest biome.

This was an interdisciplinary lesson connected to the fifth grade science curriculum.  The science curriculum includes a study of biomes which are large ecosystems including many habitats.  Students learned about the various types of animals that live in the Amazon Rain Forest of Brazil.  Students read the book, The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry and viewed the illustrations.  They also participated in a Visual Thinking Strategies discussion of a painting, The Tropics, by French painter Henri Rousseau. Students then compared the painting with Lynne Cherry's illustrations from The Great Kapok Tree. Each student chose an animal from the Amazon Rain Forest as the subject of their drawing. Some of the animals chosen were sloths, jaguars, monkeys, toucans and parrots. After learning pastel drawing techniques, students created their pictures.Students drew lines with black oil pastel and then applied chalk pastel colors using blending techniques.