Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Symmetrical Butterflies

1st graders learn about the life cycle of butterflies in science.  They learn about symmetry in math.  In art, I combined the two and created this project.  We discussed what makes a butterfly an insect and the difference between butterflies and moths.  We talked about symmetry and how a butterfly's wings match when folded.
We started our project by folding a large piece of paper in half.  Then, using oil pastel, I showed students how to draw half a butterfly with a semi-circle for the head, thorax, and abdomen.  We drew one forewing, one hindwing, and one antennae.  Then we opened the paper and refolded it with the drawing on the inside.  We rubbed the paper with the handle of scissors to transfer the oil pastel onto the other side to get a perfectly mirrored image of the half of the butterfly we just drew!  Then, we darkened the transferred image with our oil pastel.  The last step was to paint with watercolor, symmetrically.