North Carolina Symbols: T-Shirts or Calendars

Each student will draw a symbol or point of interest of North Carolina. Pictures will be completed in black ink and adapted to size needed for either t-shirt or calendar. Calendars can be printed at school. Shirts will be done outside of school at local screen printer's business.

A lesson plan for grade 4 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies

By Diana Dalton

Learn more

Related pages

• Bartering--A System of Exchange: By participating in a game called "Barter Bag" students will be introduced to the concept of trade. This introduces students to the concept of bartering.

Related topics

• Learn more about social studies.

Legal

Learning outcomes

Students will:

• draw images in pencil to portray their idea of a North Carolina symbol or point of interest giving it their own personality.
• work together to make design placements of pictures on a shirt or on calendar pages.
• learn to follow a project from idea, to paper, to finished product.
• learn how cooperative effort with a business partner can further preserve their art in t-shirt design.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2 hours

Materials/resources

• 4×6-inch white drawing
• paper
• pencil
• black fine-line marker
• North Carolina resource books from school media center
• school copier
• copy paper
• heavy duty stapler and staples
• posterboard backing

For calendar — scanner, if available, and printer. If a scanner is not available, a copier can be used to reproduce student drawings and rubber cement to adhere drawings to first page before making copies. To back calendars, posterboard or matte board can be used.

For t-shirt project — students would need to purchase a t-shirt from the printer, as most printers would prefer supplying and using like materials. This enables students to learn about the cost of the shirt, plus tax.

Technology resources

Computer, scanner, printer, if available.

Pre-activities

Students look at available North Carolina resource materials from media center and from teacher collected materials.

Activities

1. Students will select an idea to present for calendar or t-shirt.
2. Students will have 4×6-inch paper and can turn it either vertically or horizonally, depending on suitability of design — vertical for lighthouse, or horizontal for turtle, for example.
3. After the design has been completed, student will trace over the design with black fine-line marker.
4. For T-Shirts: Using size limitations usually given by printer — usually a 12 x 12 ” layout, 13 x 13 inches — students and teacher will take two pages, one for front and one for back of shirt, and make preliminary placement of the students’ drawings.
5. Once the design placement looks visually appealing, a title for the shirt is decided upon and placed in an available space. Suggested titles could be
   • Memories of N.C.
   • Traveling Trough N. C. Artistically
   • Viewing N. C. through Art

   This should be on the front of the shirt. On the back of the shirt should be the year and name of the class; for example, 1999-2000 Mrs. Dalton’s 4th Grade.

6. Next the design should be given to the printer for his part of the project. By having the class get the design ready to be scanned, the cost of the project usually eliminates the screen fee.
7. Teacher and students select the color of the shirt for the class as well as the color of ink to be used. Using one color of ink keeps the cost of the project to a minimum. Printing one color on both sides of the shirt, plus the cost of the shirt, will usually add up to no more than $7.00 per student.
8. For Calendars: After all pictures are completed, teacher and students decide on the format (see assessment).
9. Either use a calendar page already numbered, or use a calendar program on the computer to design pages needed.
10. Decide how many months will be used, either a 12- or an 18-month calendar is suggested. If the project is initiated during the second semester, for example, a class may decided to include the summer and the next school year.

Assessment

When working with the class on t-shirt design, I have limited students to one person per idea; for example, one Hatteras Lighthouse, one box turtle, etc.

When working on calendar design as a group, the teacher and the class need to decide how many pictures they want per calendar (month) page. For example, in a class of 28 students, there would be more than two pictures per page. Students decide which pictures visually would look good on the same page. For example, would two lighthouses look better together or a turtle and an emerald? This is where cooperative decision making would be important.

Supplemental information

None

Related websites

Official State Symbols of North Carolina
http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/nc/symbols/symbols.htm

North Carolina: State symbols and emblems
http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/nc_symb.htm

Ernest H. Robl stock photos: North Carolina symbols and icons
http://www.robl.w1.com/pix-nc/

Comments

Ideally students could take a short field trip to the screen printing business to observe first-hand how the printer scans the class composite drawing, how the screen is made, and how the shirts are printed. If this is not possible, invite the printer to come and describe the process with as many visual props as possible. If a field trip is able to be included, increase the time of this lesson plan.

This lesson combines many disciplines. Students are very proud of their process and product. If purchasing the printing is too cost prohibitive, the calendar project is just as effective. Sharing their creative talent with their families and the community is a great way to show everyone how important art can be as a part of our life.