Positive/Negative hearts 1/2

This is an easy, beautiful lesson that I originally saw on artsonia and decided to do with my grade 1/2 classes. I needed something that could be done in only one class, as I won't be seeing some of them again before Valentine's day.

We started off by talking about positive and negative space, and I showed them examples of the hearts that I had cut out (they'll be using these to do the project.) Students were each told that they'd be getting one positive heart shape, and one negative heart shape. This is how they'll use them:

They began by placing the positive heart on the piece of paper, and tracing all around it using chalk pastel. Then, they used a kleenex to pull the color away from the heart, creating a negative imagine of a heart on their page. They did this several times, until they had covered the paper with pastel and white hearts.

Next, they took the negative heart shape, and traced it on the paper, over their other hearts. This time, they pulled the chalk pastel inwards, creating a positive heart shape. They added as many as they wanted to, until they felt their project was finished. They looked beautiful, and were easily finished in one period. Such a great Valentine's project!