Plastic Gardens

Planters Created with Recycled Plastic 
2nd Grade 

Students will work with recycled plastic containers, such as water bottles and milk jugs, to create planters. They will talk about the impact of plastic on the environment, and the importance of recycling and sustainability in both art making and everyday life. The students will study the work of Anna Garforth, and the Rosenbaum design firm, both of whom create gardens and sculptures in this way. Students will decorate their container, plant seeds and help them to grow.

LESSON: RECYCLED GARDENS
I. Topic: Recycled Gardens
Content Area  

• Big Idea: Art and Sustainabilty
  

Content Statement/Concept Statement

• Students will learn to utilize recycled materials for
  

II. Objectives / Expected Learner Outcomes

• Students will learn about art categories: community art and public art
  
• Students will learn about the importance of recycling plastics and practical ways to do it in everyday life - they will repurpose old milk jugs to create planters
  
• Student will learn how to plant, raise and care for of plants
  
• Students will learn about contemporary artist: Anna Garforth
  

III. Standards of Education
• Related National Standards for Visual Arts Education
Related Virginia Visual Arts Standards of Learning

• 2.10 The student will create three-dimensional works of art, using a variety of materials to include clay.
  
• 2.16 The student will express opinions with supporting statements regarding works of art.
  
• 2.18 The student will distinguish between objects that occur naturally and objects made by people.
  
• 2.19 The student will identify public art and its value to the community.
  
• 2.20 The student will describe the meanings communicated and feelings evoked by works of art.
  

Related Virginia Standards of Learning for Science

• 2.4 The student will investigate and understand that plants and animals undergo a series of orderly changes as they mature and grow. Key concepts include...b) plant life cycles.
  


• 2.7 The student will investigate and understand that weather and seasonal changes affect plants, animals, and their surroundings. Key concepts include a) effects of weather and seasonal changes on the growth and behavior of living things;
  


• 2.8 The student will investigate and understand that plants produce oxygen and food...and provide benefits in nature. Key concepts include … c) plants provide oxygen, homes, and food for many animals;
  

IV. Student Group Targeted

• Grade 2
  

Prerequisite skills/knowledge

• Students have familiarity with plastic containers and some idea of how recycling works.
  
• Students have painted before and have some color recognition knowledge
  

V. Time Required
4 30 minute sessions

SESSION 1
Objective: Students will view the work of Anna Garforth and the Rosenbaum design firm and discuss their use of recycled plastic as an art medium. They will use colored sharpies to design their planters.
SOLs

• 2.10 The student will create three-dimensional works of art, using a variety of materials to include clay.
  
• 2.18 The student will distinguish between objects that occur naturally and objects made by people.
  
• 2.19 The student will identify public art and its value to the community.
  
• 2.20 The student will describe the meanings communicated and feelings evoked by works of art.
  

VI. Materials and Resources

• plastic containers (milk cartons, juice cartons that have been cut so they can hold soil with the cap at the bottom or the bottom at the bottom)
  
• colored sharpies
  

VII. Itinerary and Instructional Strategies
Key terms/vocabulary to be introduced

• Recycling
  
• Biodegradable
  
• Public / community art
  

Questioning strategies/discussion

• Show students a copy of the sheet they took home and have them guess what the project is going to be.
  
  • **if they did not take home a sheet, start with section below**
    
• What happens to plastic when we throw it away? - It goes to a landfill.
  
• Then what? - it stays.
  
• Leaves and fruits and other natural materials break down, but plastic doesn’t. It isn’t biodegradable. (nature can’t break it down and turn it back into dirt like it can with organic material)
  
• If we can't get rid of it, how can we use it again to help us make the environment grow? (by using it as planters)
  
• Show slideshow: Show work of anna Garforth and design firm. Students will talk about public art - art that is displayed in a public place, so everyone can see it. Examples: murals like the ones in richmond, sculptures like Anna Garforths, etc. The work you make doesn’t have to look like the work by these artists, but I want you to design a planter that we can plant in at the end of this unit.
  

Demonstration/guided practice

• I will demonstrate drawing a design on the planter. It can be of something (like a face or body) or completely abstract (like a pattern or random designs).
  
  • You don’t have to make a design in black and color it in, use color and black to draw.
    
  • It smears if you touch it immediately, so wait a few seconds before touching it.
    
• Students who brought in bottles will get to come up and pick bottles from the community stash.
  
• Students will be called up by table to pick a plastic container they would like to re-use.
  


• Helpers will pass out colored sharpies to all tables.
  

Student independent practice/activity

• Students will put their names on their bottles.
  
• Students will begin drawing with sharpies on their bottles, knowing they will have next week to continue.
  

Checking for understanding

• class discussion
  
• walking around and having conversations with individual students
  

Time flow

• 10 - discussion / slideshow / demo
  
• 20 - drawing on bottles
  
• 5 - clean up
  
• 5 - closure (review)
  

Closure

• Students will review the artists we learned at the beginning of class.
  
• Students will tell what issues they had and the teacher/peers can help to come up with solutions.
  

SESSION 2
Objective: Students will review the artists introduced last week and continue to work on their plastic planters.


SOLs:

• 2.10 The student will create three-dimensional works of art, using a variety of materials to include clay.
  
• 2.16 The student will express opinions with supporting statements regarding works of art.
  
• 2.18 The student will distinguish between objects that occur naturally and objects made by people.
  

VI. Materials and Resources

• started plastic containers
  
• colored sharpies
  

VII. Itinerary and Instructional Strategies
Key terms/vocabulary to be introduced / reviewed

• biodegradable
  
• Anna Garforth
  
• Rosenbaum Design Firm
  
• planter
  

Questioning strategies/discussion

• Students will review what we talked about last class
  
  • What happens to plastic when we throw it away? (it never breaks down)
    
  • Why are we using plastic? (to give it a second life that promotes new growth)
    
  • What artists did we look at? (Anna Garforth, Rosenbaum Design Firm)  
    

Demonstration/guided practice

• I will review what happens when you don’t let sharpie ink dry before touching it - it smudges
  
• I will demonstrate overlaying colors and shapes on the surface of the plastic bottles, and using different colors on the inside and outside to create new colors and effects.
  
• I will pass out bottles and ask a handful students to share their work if they think they have an interesting design, or have tried a technique I didn’t show.
  

Student independent practice/activity

• Helpers will hand out sharpies
  
• Students will finish decorating their containers
  

Checking for understanding

• class discussion
  
• walking around and having conversations with individual students
  

Time flow

• 5 - discussion
  
• 10 - demo / crit
  
• 15 - drawing on container
  
• 5 - clean up
  
• 5 - closure (show+tell and review)
  

Clean up

• Students will put all sharpies in their container in the center of the table and place their bottles in the center. I will pick up after students leave
  

Closure

• We will talk about planting seeds next class.
  

VIII. Evaluation Strategies

• Class discussion
  
• behavior
  
• sketches
  

SESSION 3
Objective: Students will plant seeds in their planters and make a card describing their care needs.

SOLs

• 2.10 The student will create three-dimensional works of art, using a variety of materials to include clay.
  

VI. Materials and Resources

• complete, decorated plastic containers (milk cartons, juice cartons)
  
• dirt (potting soil)
  
• seeds (wildflower or some other low-maintenance seeds)
  
• water
  

VII. Itinerary and Instructional Strategies
Key terms/vocabulary to be introduced / reviewed

• soil
  
• sun
  
• water
  
• public art
  
• guerilla gardening
  

Questioning strategies/discussion

• Discuss student knowledge of gardening and the way plants grow and thrive
  


• Discuss how to plant and care for plants
  
  • how do you know how often to water it?
    
  • How much sun does it need?
    
• Discuss Anna Garforth and the Rosenbaum Design Firm - where did their
  

Demonstration/guided practice

• I will demonstrate writing directions for plant care then students will get a small piece of paper on which they will write directions for how to care for their seed.
  


• I will demonstrate shoveling dirt into the container, putting in the seed, covering it with dirt and watering it
  
• Students will up to the front of the room (where I am) and scoop dirt using measuring cups. They will take a seed and bring their planters back to their desk.
  

Student independent practice/activity

• Students will plant their seeds
  

Closure

• Students will view videos of Anna gar forthand the rosenbaum design firm if there is time.
  
• We will further discuss the term biodegradable and how plastic never goes away, and where it goes. We will see images / videos of plastic stuck in the environment.
  

Time Flow

• 5 discussion
  
• 20 - guided practice
  
• 5 - clean up
  
• 10 - closure/videos