Introduce second grade students to early art history creations such as cave paintings to gain an understanding that art has been used throughout history to communicate ideas. Have students study the simple contour lines of cave drawings that portrayed useful information to people then and for future generations.
After they have studied some early artwork, have students create simple line drawings or paintings that tell a story. Encourage students to use strong lines and little color. Point out shape, patterns and texture they may utilize as additional elements of art that help artists communicate their ideas visually.
Expose children to a color wheel representation using an online resource. Utilize a source that offers a variety of color types so that you expose children to the idea of many color variances. This serves only as an introduction. Children should experience color mixing to gain an understanding of how colors occur.
Give children a paper plate containing a small amount of red, yellow, blue and white paint. Do not use black at this time as it overpowers all other colors in most cases involving young children. Challenge children to come up with as many new colors as they possibly can by mixing small amounts of the colors together to create colors never before seen. Remind them to mix only small portions of the paint together so that some remains for further experiments.
As a fun twist to the activity, have them imagine they own a paint shop and want to gain business by having colors no one has ever seen. Give children a paper to decorate with a sign saying "New Paint Shop Colors" and have them create and name as many colors as possible with unique names.
Provide an art and problem-solving lesson in one. Use books or the Internet to expose children to a variety of sculpture types. Explain that they will create a sculpture of their own. Give students plenty of clean, recyclable products, adhesives and paint.
Provide them with the directions to create a sculpture that symbolizes something meaningful to them. Second graders will inevitably ask for more direction--but avoid giving any. Remind them that artists interpret the world through their own eyes and that their sculpture should be completely original and unique. This may take several sessions, particularly if you wish the children to paint the sculptures. Provide a gallery walk viewing when all the sculptures are complete so that they can experience each other's work.