Hidden Safari

     In this activity, students will be creating a "Hidden Safari" using animals they think they would see if they were on a safari. The first step the students have to do it make special red glasses. To do so, students trace the stencil of glasses on to a piece of construction paper and cut it out. Next, the students glue a piece of red film paper to the glasses to create the lens part of it. The glasses are set aside to dry. These glasses will be used later to see their hidden safari animal!

     After the students have finished making their special glasses, have them start thinking of animals they would see in a safari. After a short time, give the students pictures of a few of the animals. The students are now supposed to chose one animal they would like to draw. Once they have chosen, they are to begin drawing their animal onto a piece of white paper using a blue (cool color) colored pencil or crayon. Remind the students to use a soft or light technique when drawing their animal. Suggest to the students that drawing the picture upside down sometimes helps when focusing on the different shapes in the picture.

     When the students are done drawing their safari animal, their next step is to hide the animal! To do so, they will use warm colors (red, orange, yellow). They can draw lines, patterns, shapes, etc. to cover their animal. After the warm colors have been applied, have the student put on their special glasses. They should be able to see their hidden animal! To finish, have the students glue their picture to a piece of construction paper. Along with their picture, the students need to write 3 clues about their animal so that other students can guess what it is before putting on the glasses.

Extension Activity: I would use this project in one of my social studies classes. I would have the students draw a famous landmark or statue. After that, they would cover the drawing in warm colored patterns or lines. Just like this project, I would have the students come up with 3 or 4 clues to what their picture is. Once their classmates have had a chance to guess what their picture is from their clues, they can then put on the special glasses and see what it is.