Give each intermediate art students an 8-by-11-inch photograph. Students may bring a photograph from home, if desired, for this activity. Ask each student to place a piece of tracing paper over the photograph and gently trace the basic shapes they find. They should not outline specific details of their photographs, only the shapes they find. Afterward, they can see the flat shapes that made up their photographs. Give each student a piece of heavy paper to draw three to five of the basic shapes they sketched from their photographs. They can manipulate the shapes somewhat to give movement and balance to their new work while keeping true to the basic shapes they uncovered. For practice, your intermediate students may draw their shapes on newsprint and pick their best design to transfer to the heavy paper. Allow your students to use just one color to practice their watercolor techniques and give depth and color to their impressionistic shapes inspired by their photographs.
Lead your class on a discussion of how modern sculptures rely on movement, balance and repetition to create a pleasing look. Emphasize the role of shapes in creating sculptures. Hand each of your intermediate art students some heavy colored paper, wire, scissors and glue to create their own 3D art piece based on shapes. Instruct your students to cut out shapes from their colored paper and connect them with the wire. Show them how to create 3D shapes by interlocking pieces together such cutting into half of two circles and mounting them together. As they start to combine their pieces together ask them to consider the overall balance of their work and encourage them to create the illusion of movement in their pieces.
Ask your intermediate art students to find shapes in basic items they can bring to class from their homes. Remind them to look in recycle bins for common items such as cans, boxes, cardboard rolls or plastic containers. Have available everyday objects such as aluminum foil, string, feathers and sticks to enhance what your students bring from home. Assemble all the items together and ask your students to come up with a way to re-imagine these items for an art piece that represents something from their lives. Encourage partnerships among students as they make their art pieces.