ADVOCACY Monoprinting Fliers The fliers were printed with turtle imagery using 5 x 7" (13 x 18 cm) monoprinting plates. I demonstrated techniques that students could use in their process, such as scraping, stamping, rolling textures, and color I hope to try this activity again in the future, branching out in the greater community to spread the word about our local shelled friends. variations. Some students focused on creating positive/negative turtle silhouettes, while others used 4" (10 cm) circle monoprint pads to create the turtle’s shell. Once the ink dried, students drew the head, tail, and legs around the circle. These beautiful turtle prints were the front of our fliers. For the back, students researched facts about turtles to highlight. They printed out the text and glued it to the back of the prints. We included specific facts about turtles from our area, things to do when you see a turtle, and a link to the World Turtle Day website. Beading Keychains Finally, we created keychains with pony and turtle beads. My students strung their beads on pipe cleaners, but string would work equally as well. I planned the lesson so that our creative work would be ready for World Turtle Day, which is May 23. When the day arrived, a group of students went out to distribute their educational fliers and keychains. We received a lot of positive feedback, and I hope to try this activity again in the future, branching out in the greater community to spread the word about our local shelled friends. Keriann Kirkeng is an art teacher at Genesee Lake School in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. keriann.kirkeng@geneseelake-school.com WEB LINK Students used two different monoprinting techniques to create their turtle awareness posters. Creating Visual Reminders O Keriann Kirkeng ur school is surrounded by marshland and a lake, and there are lots of turtles that cross the road during the spring. This inevitably ends in tragedy when a turtle gets hit by a car. Last year, we unfortunately experienced one of those tragedies, but when a kind staff member took the turtle to a local wildlife cen-ter, she discovered that the injured turtle was pregnant. Unfortunately, the adult turtle passed away from her injuries, but her babies sur-vived. After hearing this sad story, I felt the need to do more. The following spring, I talked with students, and we decided to take action to help our local turtles. Visual Reminders Students were excited to help the turtles, and we discussed many dif-ferent ideas. We ultimately decided to create fliers and keychains to pass out to faculty at our school to raise awareness about the turtles, espe-cially when driving on the roads. The fliers were created by students with art on one side and research facts on the other. The keychains that were given with them were created so staff members could have a daily visual reminder of the turtles. World Turtle Day: worldturtleday.org 22 MAY 2020 SchoolArts
School Arts Magazine May 2020: Page 24
