CALDER fish shape drawing

Here is an easy, quick and technique-rich

lesson to do with your first and second
grade students. The project can be
completed in one 40-minute session, but if
you want to extend the lesson, consider
adding a background.

What You’ll Need: To start the project, show pictures of Alexander

• 12 x 18 white paper Calder’s Fish Mobile. Point out the simple
• Black marker or crayon shape of the fish so children can see the basic
structure.
• Crayons, oil pastels or colored broad
Ask children what they see when looking at
tip markers
Calder’s mobile.
• Scissors
What colors do they see?
• 12 x 18 watercolor or sulphite paper What objects did Calder use when making the
• Watercolor paints or cake tempera fish?
paints Looking carefully at Calder’s fish will help
• Large paint brush & water children create the shape they want to add in
their drawing.

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 FISH SHAPE DRAWING

• Start by drawing a simple fish shape on white paper using a black marker, crayon or oil
pastel. Add a circle for the eye.
• To make the fish-like netting designs inside the fish body, draw short lines from the top
line of the body towards the center of the fish body. As a guide, the line can be about the
length of a child’s finger.
• Connect two lines with a chevron arrow.
• Draw more lines and arrows. When the children get to the bottom of the fish, the lines
may become muddled. That’s okay. The goal is to create a section to add shapes to the
sections. Bigger sections are better, so encourage the children to think about this rather
than making the grid.
• Once the grid is done, switch to markers or crayons and start creating the shapes.

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FISH SHAPES COLORING
MEDIUM CHOICES
There are many options for mediums to
complete this project. Depending on your
age group or what supplies you have on
hand, you can choose from a few options:
• Crayons are an easy choice. Create a
shape with color and outline with a darker
color in the same family. For example:
yellow shape/orange outline, turquoise
shape/blue outline.
• Colored markers can be used in the same
way as crayons. Older kids (2nd grade and
above) will take the time to color in
carefully.
• Draw fish onto colored paper, add black
marker lines for grid, use jewels or buttons
to glue inside grids.

BACKGROUND
Wet watercolor paper with water. Brush
colored watercolor over wet paper. The paint
will spread and easily.

If you are using regular drawing paper, you

can still use watercolor paints. The paints will
not spread or blend as easily but will offer a
nice color coverage.

Cake tempera can be used in lieu of

watercolor paints.

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 WEB RESOURCES

There are some great Alexander Calder resources online. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Calder Foundation Website. Click on CONTACT then scroll down to TEACHING GUIDE for
a great script and explanation on how to talk to children about Calder’s work with sculpture.
Images of his works can also be found here.

The National Gallery of Art has a Calder virtual tour online. It’s meant for an individual to work
through but if you have time before teaching this lesson, it’s worth taking 15 minutes or so to
familiarize yourself with Calder’s wide body of work.

The Whitney Museum has a few audio guides and a video on Calder’s Circus. They are both
fascinating. You can download transcripts from here as well.

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NATIONAL CORE ARTS STANDARDS -kindergarten

CREATING
X Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work — Imaginative play with materials—
art-making in response to an artistic problem.
X Organize and develop artistic ideas and work — Experiment to build skills in art-making—
identify safe and non-toxic materials-create art of different environments
X Refine and complete artistic work—Explain process while creating art

Presenting/producing
Analyze, interpret and select artistic work for presentation— explain why artwork is
chosen for portfolio or personal display
Develop and refine artistic work for presentation — explain the purpose of a portfolio or
collection
X Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work — explain what an art museum
is and why it is different from other buildings

Responding
X Perceive and analyze artistic work- identify uses of art within one’s personal environment-
describe what an image represents
Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work — interpret art by identifying subject matter
and describing relevant details
X Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work— explain reasons for selecting a preferred artwork

Connecting
Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art- create art that
tells a story about a life experience
X Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen
understanding —create art that tells a story about a life experience

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