Author of the popular Henry and Mudge series, Cynthia Rylant teams up with illustrator Mark Siegel to create Long Night Moon, an engaging and beautifully illustrated book about the various Native American full moons. Students enjoy searching for the animals in the different scenes.

Students will "use a variety of materials and media, for example, crayons, chalk, paint, clay, various kinds of papers, textiles, and yarns, and understand how to use them to produce different visual effects." --Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework

Directions

Have students sketch an outdoor scene with charcoal pencils. Show them how to experiment with shading by rubbing a finger over the charcoal line to create smudging. Remind students to be careful that they don't drag their hand over the drawing, as this will cause unwanted smudging. When students are done drawing, be sure to display the drawings in a prominent location.

Lesson Extensions

Set up a still life of fruits or vegetables and give students time to sketch.