My Footprint

The "My Footprint" project is a great way for you and your students or classmates to get to know more about each other. Make sure each student has a sheet of construction paper on which they can trace one or both of their feet. Have them cut their footprint out and direct them to decorate their footprint with things that describe them. To ensure that the student experiments with different art mediums, require them to use at least three different mediums (ie. markers, colored pencils and found objects). Let them know that they should be creative and the only other requirement is that they include their name on the project. When the students finish their footprint projects, have them use their footprint to introduce themselves to you and the class. This project is a way to let the students be creative and also learn more about them for the future.

An extension activity that you could use with this lesson would be to have each student do a "Who am I?" collage. This activity consists of each child making a side portrait cut-out of themselves. The instructor may have to help with this, depending on the age. Each student will find a partner and using the overhead projectors light shining on one partner, the students will trace their partner's portrait outline onto a sheet of black construction paper. Once they have their portrait, they will be asked, "Who are you?" and "What's in your head?". The teacher will then provide the students with magazines in which they can cut things out of that fit with their personality. They students will use these magazine cut-outs to create a collage inside of their traced portrait. You could then integrate this into a language arts lesson in which the students write about what they put in their collage. They would explain what each cut-out means and then present this writing to the class.