2nd Grade: Mondrian Lines & Color Blocks

I showed third grade examples of Piet Mondrian's work, as well as a clip from this episode of Arthur. Binky, one of the characters, is proven to be an "expert" on art when he uncovers that Mondrian's work is hung the wrong way!

I also show students examples of things that have utilized Mondrian's works:

This lesson deals with vertical and horizontal lines. I go over the definition of these words with the students. Each student is handed a ruler. I then instruct students, on their papers, to draw three vertical lines and two horizontal lines.  From there, students are to add their own lines. My only guidelines are that the lines must ONLY be vertical and horizontal. The lines must also start and end at either another line or the edge of the page.

The next step is for students to trace over their lines with a black crayon. After finishing this, students fill in each block with a color. Unlike Mondrian's work, students are not permitted to use the same color in two blocks adjacent to one another.

Here are a few examples. I did not take picture of the entire class's since they all look pretty similar! They are VERY colorful though!