Educating the Kids on Australia

So this week's theme is AUSTRALIA. Our first project is exploring the ancient aborigine cave art that is found throughout Australia. 

I always, if I have the time, try to make a few examples of the activity to One: make sure the project works, and Two: Give students a springboard to generate ideas. 

There are almost every time, at least two students who just copy your work. This is, of course, not ideal...but nevertheless the Copying process can be beneficial also, so I usually just let it go. Not to mention, that that's how humans learn cognitively. I also, initially taught myself how to draw by copying comics. It isn't easy to generate original ideas when you are young, not enough life experiences yet. Once a person knows who they are, once some personal stories have been accumulated, original content comes a lot easier. 

I also almost always try to include an example that references current kid pop culture. Here is a drawing from the 'Aboriginal Dot Painting' activity we will be doing this week, featuring Perry the Platypus from 'Phineas and Ferb'.

Post Lesson Assessment: The kids freaked out when they saw Perry.