Circus ABC.

Circus ABC. From Agile Acrobat Document exchange software from Adobe that allows documents to be displayed and printed the same on every computer. The Acrobat system created the Portable Document Format (PDF), which is widely used in commercial printing and on the Web. See PDF. to Zany Zebra, with a Cavorting Clown, Daunting daunt?tr.v. daunt��ed, daunt��ing, dauntsTo abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay.[Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin Daredevil, Portly port��ly?adj. port��li��er, port��li��est1. Comfortably stout; corpulent. See Synonyms at fat.2. Archaic Stately; majestic; imposing.[From port5. Peanut-vendor, Sinuous sinuous/sin��u��ous/ (sin��u-us) bending in and out; winding. sinuousbending in and out; winding. Snake-charmer and WilyWire-walker thrown in for good measure, my sixth graders created acircus alphabet using applique and stitchery. This colorful lessonlinked the visual arts with the language arts language artspl.n.The subjects, including reading, spelling, and composition, aimed at developing reading and writing skills, usually taught in elementary and secondary school. . The unit began with a traditional figure drawing lesson. Studentshad learned in fifth grade how to draw figures in a full-face andprofile view using proportions based on the size of a head. In sixthgrade, we concentrated on action figures in a front view. Three axislines, spine, shoulder and hips were drawn first. The body contour wasthen added to this "skeleton." Once the students werecomfortable drawing a variety of action poses, we moved on to thecircus. Circus posters, prints by artists who used the circus theme andcircus books were put on display in the art room. These provided themotivation and research tools for the circus alphabet. In order toensure a complete alphabet, I made index cards lettered from A-Z.Students then drew a card. This letter provided the inspiration for thecircus performer--which was the emphasis of the applique--to be created.Animals and objects could be included to give the letter meaning, suchas a Kicking Kangaroo kangaroo,name for a variety of hopping marsupials, or pouched mammals, of the family Macropodidae, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. The term is applied especially to the large kangaroos of the genus Macropus. boxing with a clown (action figure). Studentscould use the reference materials or brainstorm with peers to decide ontheir performer. Students began with a sketch on 9" x 12" manila paper.The performer had to show action and fill the compositional space, thusshowing balance. This sketch included any animals or props. The sketchwould be the template for the finished design. The sixth-graders chose a9" x 12" piece of colored burlap for the background. Eachstudent received a piece of 9" x 12" tracing paper to use as apattern for cutting the felt. The sixth-graders also made a paperportfolio from 12" x 18" manila paper. These folders were usedto store the sketch, tracing paper, felt, burlap and any other work inprogress for the length of this lesson. These portfolios later proved tobe a good tool for students to assess their work at the end of the unit.They were able to see how they made drafts, revised their ideas andedited the final project. The second class period began with vocabulary, definitions andexamples of appliques. A demonstration was presented on the appliqueprocedure. Using the tracing paper and a pencil, students traced thefurthest back part of the performer's costume. I used the analogyof thinking how you get dressed Verb 1. get dressed - put on clothes; "we had to dress quickly"; "dress the patient"; "Can the child dress by herself?"dressprimp, preen, dress, plume - dress or groom with elaborate care; "She likes to dress when going to the opera" . What goes on first? This will help youdecide what piece to trace first. This traced piece was cut and thentransferred to felt using chalk. Chalk eventually wears away anddoesn't leave an outline on the finished applique. The felt wasthen cut and glued to the burlap in the same position as the originalsketch. The students continued to "dress" their figures bytracing, cutting and gluing. A variety of felt colors were used for themain parts of the performer's costumes. Once the main parts of the figure were completed in felt, anassortment of ribbons, lace trim, rickrack rick��rack?n.A flat narrow braid woven in zigzag form, used as a trimming for clothing or curtains.[Reduplication of rack1. , buttons, sequins andfeathers were added to decorate the circus performers. Now it was time to add linear details with stitchery. Many studentshave never sewn before, so I showed examples of stitchery, pointing outthe variety of stitches. I demonstrated how to thread the blunt tapestryneedle, where to place the knot and how to hold and move the needle whenstitching. We started with the running stitch. I told my students tothink of the needle as a marker and the yarn as the line that followswherever you place the needle. This really helped them to visualize theprocess. I showed them how to keep the needle only on top of the burlap, touse the table top for support and to always start and stop on the backside of the burlap. I demonstrated a row of running stitches that were ahalf-inch long, using a thumbnail as a measurement guide. To make therunning stitch seem like a continuous line, only two burlap threadsshould be picked up with the needle as it "ran" only along thetop side of the burlap. I also showed how to curve the running stitchand to make it zigzag. I then asked them for ideas on where to use thestitches. Frames or outlining the figure were some ideas, while otherstudents suggested making the circus ring, tent, tightrope or liontamer's whip. I also gave them a preview of the next two stitchesthey would be using so they could plan ahead. Each student was given a small practice square of old burlap. Theyhad to show me at least five "good" running stitches, stitchesthat were the same length. They also had to do a curved line and azigzag line. Once they gained confidence in their sewing ability, theymoved on to their appliques using many colors of yarn. Each day the sixth-graders came to class, a new stitch was learnedand then practiced. Students learned the satin, cross-stitch and lazydaisy stitch Noun 1. lazy daisy stitch - long chain stitches arranged in flower patternschain stitch - a looped stitch resembling the links of a chain; used in embroidery and in sewing . Some students were shown individually the chain andblanket stitch. Students had to use at least three different stitches ontheir appliques. Some made balloons, stage lights, hair, trapeze swingsand even words. It was great fun for all to see how my students tookthis traditional craft and made it their own. I had originally wanted the students to stitch the alphabet letterand the name of the circus performer right onto the applique. Due to thesmall size of the burlap this did not seem feasible. Instead theapplique was mounted on 12" x 18" colored construction paper.The paper margins provided the space needed for the circus alphabet. The students were directed to think of an adjective that describestheir circus performer and starts with the same letter. Thisalliteration alliteration(əlĭt'ərā`shən), the repetition of the same starting sound in several words of a sentence. Probably the most powerful rhythmic and thematic uses of alliteration are contained in Beowulf, technique led to MATERIALS * 9" x 12" and 12" x 18" manila paper * 9" x 12" tracing paper * 12" x 18" colored construction paper * 9" x 12" assorted colored burlap * 9" x 12" assorted felt pieces * Scissors * White chalk * Pencils * White glue and glue sticks * Fabric trim (ribbons, laces, buttons, sequins, feathers,rickrack) * Blunt tapestry needles * "Special" papers (metallic, velour, glazed, wallpaper,origami The code name for Microsoft's Ultra-Mobile PC. See Ultra-Mobile PC. ) * Construction paper scraps LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will ... * create an applique that shows balance through the use of a circusperformer that fills compositional space and uses a variety of textures. * develop the skill of stitchery to show lines. * be able to draw a full-face action figure that shows proportion. * practice and cut block letters block lettersnpl → letras fpl de moldeblock lettersblock npl → majuscules fplblock lettersnpl . * connect visual arts and language arts. RESOURCES * Block Lettering handouts * Reproductions of actual circus posters and works by artists whopainted the circus, such as Demuth, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, Picasso,Chagall and W.H. Brown * Books on circus history, the circus as represented in art,picture books on the circus and books on stitchery * Dictionary and thesaurus