WOW!!! I am absolutely astounded by how 4th grade's totem pole collages turned out! Whenever I teach this lesson, most students pick simpler "safe" animals, like a lion or puppy, but not Irvington's artists! These students took creative risks & it certainly paid off :] Snakes, pigs, sharks, giraffes, & peacocks are not normally seen in that stylized, totem pole fashion, but they look spectacular!
So how did we make them? We looked at many pictures of totem poles & discussed the reasons & process for making them. Aesthetically, students pointed out that the totem animals normally have basic color schemes, symmetrical balance, & are made of geometric shapes. We also talked about how animals can represent certain personality traits & then we wondered which animals would represent each of us. After deciding, the 4th graders practiced drawing a stylized version of their animal on paper, & then got started on the collage. You can see these amazing totem poles on display in the Irvington cafeteria!
I am the art teacher at Irvington K-8 in Portland, OR. I get to enrich my students' lives by introducing them to art. Read more about me 
These Totem poles look great! I am having the students I work with make a Totem pole for our classroom while teaching the about Native American heritage month. I can't wait to see what our students come up with
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