I love incorporating literature into my art projects whenever possible. Here is a great and easy project third graders created after reading Tar Beach by Faith Ringold. We used painted paper, pastels, and fabric scraps for the borders. The results were stunning!

My classes will be doing a collage project based on the book, Tar Beach by Faith Ringold. It follows the 8 year old Cassie, as she lets the stars take her wherever she wants to go. She claims the buildings as her own as she hovers above New York City. I especially like this passage: "anyone can fly. All you need is somewhere to go that you can't get to any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying among the stars." To create our collages the children will first paint a base of deep…

Learn how to draw Cassie from Tar Beach with an easy step by step tutorial. Free PDF download available. #howtodraw #artprojectsforkids #faithringgold #blackhistory

Using literacy as a "jumping-off" point for a lesson is wonderful, especially when you have a self-contained class of ESE students. These students often want to know WHY they are doing something and how it relates to the world (as in "the big picture"). Part of my National Board portfolio focused on how to make art relevant to a student's life, which makes Faith Ringgold's book Tar Beach such a wonderful catalyst for creating artwork! On day one we talked about the book and where we would go…

Art sub lesson and video about Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold

Tar Beach is a wonderful book written and illustrated by story quilt artist Faith Ringgold. In the story, Cassie Louise Lighfoot, a poor gir...

Inside you'll find an easy step-by-step Faith Ringgold Art Project and Coloring Page. Stop by and grab yours for free.

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Second graders have been working on these wonderful "Story Quilts". We read "Tar Beach" and learned about artist and author Faith Ringgold. My students really loved the book and imagining that they could fly was really fun! For the pattern squares around the picture, students made their own patterns on a two inch grid paper using AB, AAB, ABB, ABC, and random patterns. They were able to make about 18 squares on a piece of copy paper. They cut out these patterns and glued them around their…