Fifth Grade linoleum printmaking

Fifth graders have drawn owls in trees. The next step has been to redraw the picture onto a piece of linoleum. Now this linoleum is way different than what I learned on in highschool. It is soft, flexible, and not backed with anything. First I had to introduce carving and printing with a powerpoint presentation. The kids need a visual so they know the goals and procedures. Then we read through the Safety Pledge. The carving tools are sharp, and need to be handled safely. Students each then signed and dated their Safety Pledge, which they have saved and reviewed at every class. I, of course, hover and nag, and roam the room, making sure all are cutting properly.  The carving process is going smoothly and accident free! I love this lesson because it teaches the students to apply positive and negative space in a real way. They must remove the negative space in order to make a printing block that will produce a picture.