Social Studies Art Idea By Teri

1. Buffalo Hides - All the students brought in a brown paper sack. Then we cut them along one of the seams to make them into one big piece of brown paper. Then we folded them in half and made a buffalo hide shape. We went to the bathroom (outside on the playground) and we got them wet. After the were wet, we rolled them in our hands for 10 minutes. Then we set them out on our desks to dry overnight. The next day they decorated them with crayons. (In retrospect, paint and/or chalk would have been a little cooler.) Anyway, the students really liked and enjoyed it.

2. Totem Poles - I gave each student a piece of card stock. They rolled them into circles and then tape or stapled them. Then they had to decorate them with three "things" that would describe them. They could use construction paper if needed.

Hope this makes sense. Its much easier when you see it. :-) I'll be interested to see what other craft ideas people post.