2nd Grade Aboriginal Portraits

Aboriginal art originates from Australia over 30,000 years ago.  Aborigines began painting on rocks and inside caves with earth tone or neutral colors.  Students learned that back then they couldn’t go to the store to buy paint; they had to find things in nature to make their own paint.  Today Aboriginal Art has three main characteristics, dots, symbols and/or animals.  Aborigines filled their space and did not leave any negative (empty space) in their art.  The Aborigines used symbols in their art to document their travels and experiences.  Students learned that different countries/cultures have different meanings for different symbols.   Students were also introduced to REPITION and UNITY and how to create/find that in a piece of art.

The 2^nd grade students were able to learn what a portrait is, and they each created their own Aboriginal Portrait using various lines, colors and dots.  Students also learned what symmetry is and created symmetry in their portrait.