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Articulated/Moveable Paper Dolls
Students create articulated/moveable dolls, that fit a specific theme, using various forms of media, including recycled paper, jewelry, foil, and other items. They may choose to display their dolls on a background.
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Magazine Mosaics
Almost every teacher has a stack of old magazines lying around. Get creative and turn them into mosaics! That's right, this resource explains how kids draw, design, cut, and paste to create mosaic art from recycled magazines. Connect...
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Egg Carton Lobsters
Who doesn't love learning about the ocean? And who wouldn't want to help create an ocean themed mural? Little learners make lobsters out of recycled egg cartons, pipe cleaners, and paint. These are then used as part of a larger 3-D ocean...
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Snakes: Recycled Art
Make snakes with your class to demonstrate how recycled materials are perfect for art. Learners use colorful plastic cups, pantyhose, paper fasteners, and fishing line to make articulated snakes. This project would be great when learning...
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Middle-East Reflections
Practice symmetry and patterns with this Mid-Eastern art project. Your class will create beautiful, reflective mosaics that will brighten up the classroom! A list of necessary materials is included.
Education Outside
Natural Dye Tie-Dye
Up-cycle, or reprocess waste materials, into colorful tie-dye clothing or banners with an activity that uses fruits and vegetable juices as dye sources.
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Cool Inventions
Students explore inventions and inventors, focusing on the French-Candadian inventor of the snowmobile Joseph-Armand Bombardier. They brainstorm a list of inventions still to be created and then create their own invention from recycled...
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Milk Carton Houses
Create a village and learn about recycling at the same time! A materials list is included, as well as instructions for what you need to do to create a recycled carton village with your kids. Two great book links are included.
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Note Cards
This is a very simple idea, learners make note cards or stationery out of their recycled art work. Note: I have done a version of this, where I've had my special needs learners paint on card stock or watercolor paper. I then cut each...
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Making Paper: Recycled Art
The advent of paper has made a huge impact on society and we wouldn't be the same without it. This project allows learners to explore and create paper of their own using recycled materials. The how-to is all laid out, just follow the...
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Puzzle Piece Frames
Every class has a puzzle or two with missing pieces, don't trash them, use them for art. Great for framing a picture or self-portrait, this frame idea really comes together. Learners use old puzzle pieces to decorate a picture frame....
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Stamp Boxes or Jars: Recycled Art
With some canceled stamps, an old box, and some glue, learners create art from scraps. You save up or gather used postage stamps, the kids glue them onto a box or an old clean jar. All the steps needed to complete this project plus two...
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An Imaginary Creature And Then Using Describing And Action Words for a Creative Writing Exercise
You have to collect lots of materials (boxes, bags, toilet paper rolls, etc.) for this lesson to work successfully. After modeling how to create an imaginary creature out of the collection of recycled materials, let your class search...
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Life size figures - Moveable Murals
Young scholars create life-size human figures and decorate them in a collage style with torn colored pieces of pictures from magazines. They display them around the school, creating life-size murals.
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Art Savers
Need a cheap way to get all those fabulous paintings, collages, and drawings home? Learners use old paper towel tubes to create a handy art transportation device.
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The Art of El Anasui: Creating a Mural with Discarded/Recycled Objects
Students create murals that feature recycled objects. In this West African art instructional activity, students examine artwork by El Anatsui and his commentary on social issues. Students then create murals in the style of El Anatsui...
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Water Bottle Flowers
Learners create recycled art. In this visual arts lesson, students follow the provided steps to create their flowers made from recycled water bottles.
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Recycled Robots
Students create recycled art. In this visual art lesson, students use recycled products to assemble robotic pieces of art. Students also write stories about their robots.
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Garbage: A Puppet's Paradise
Students make puppets from recycled materials. In this puppetry and recycling instructional activity, students investigate different types of puppets and their uses. They make puppets using mostly recycled materials such as old socks,...
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Music of Puerto Rico
Seventh graders study about the musical rhythms and instruments of Puerto Rico. Then they construct their own instruments using recycled products. Students listen to different genres of music and define them. Students focus on the...
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Christmas Potpourri Hangers
Students create a potpourri hanger. In this Christmas craft instructional activity, students reuse materials to make a Christmas potpourri hangar for the tree or for a gift.
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Mixing Up Magic
Students explore the relationship between art and science through experimenting with color, design and recycled materials and creating their own art work.