Suggested Activities > Image Specific Activities

“Downhill Daring” “Downhill Daring” is from a series called “Young Love” which includes “Beguiling Buttercup,” “Downhill Daring,” “A Scholarly Pace” and “Flying High.” The series was used in a Brown & Bigelow calendar. Rockwell included dogs in many of his illustrations. He believed that dogs from the pound had more character than others, so he used them as models. Published in 1949

Suggested Activity: “Downhill Daring”

Objectives

Students will:

• Use visual-thinking strategies to analyze the “Downhill Daring” image.
• Listen to a winter story.
• Discuss winter and snow activities.
• Write a poem about winter and draw a picture.
• Look at the picture. Write a story about what happened before and after the ride down the hill.

Academic Standards

Supplies needed

• Selected Rockwell image for students to view
• Art supplies (paper, colored pencils, etc.)
• Writing supplies
• Scanner or digital camera

Optional:

• drawing software
• word-processing software

Procedure

1. Use “A Teacher’s Guide to Looking at and Talking About Art” to introduce visual-thinking strategies to your class. Complete this activity with the following “Be an Art Detective” activity.
2. Read a book involving snow such as “Snowflake Bentley,” by Jacqueline Briggs Martin or “Snowy Day,” by Ezra Jack Keats.
3. Discuss winter weather and snow activities.
4. Write a poem about winter.
5. Draw a picture to accompany your poem.
6. Convert student work to digital format.
7. Make an e-scrapbook.

Enrichment Activities

• Discuss the dog in the picture. Does he belong to the children? What is his personality like? What kind of dog would you choose as a pet? Write a description of your dog and draw a picture of an activity you would like to share with your dog.
• Imagine that school was closed unexpectedly one day. What activities would you do for the day?

• Books
  
  

  K-2 • THE SNOWY DAY. Ezra Jack Keats. • SNOW ON SNOW ON SNOW. Cheryl Chapman. • SNOW IS FALLING. Franklyn Mansfield Branley. • IT'S WINTER! Linda Glaser. 3-5 • SNOWFLAKE BENTLEY. Jacqueline Martin Briggs. • SNOW AMAZING: COOL FACTS AND WARM TALES. Jane Drake. • SNOWY DAY: STORIES AND POEMS. Edited by Caroline Feller Bauer. • HELP! I'M A PRISONER IN THE LIBRARY. Eth Clifford.



• Web sites
  
  

  Kidspired Frosty Readers 2004 Kidspired Frosty Readers 2005

Family Learning Home Connection

• Draw a picture of another winter activity.
• Look at the picture. Discuss sledding today as opposed to sledding when your mom and dad were younger.
• Discuss the sledding attire you would wear compared to what your parents would have worn.

Assessment

K-2 checklist

3-5 story rubric