Sunset in the Egyptian Desert

Imagine standing in the Egyptian desert at sunset. Ahead of you are the magnificent Egyptian pyramids. Capture your dreams by creating a desert scene.

• 1.

  Look at books such as "Builders on the Desert: Stone Craftsmen of Ancient Egypt" by Janet H. Dunning Van Duyn or "Egypt in Pictures" by Jeffrey Zuehlke. Find out lots of information and look carefully at pictures of the Egyptian desert and pyramids.

• 2.

  On paper, use Crayola Colored Pencils and your imagination to sketch what you think the Egyptian desert looks like at various times of the day or night. Choose one time of day to represent in a painting.

• 3.

  Cover your painting area with newspaper. On construction paper, create sky and desert with layers of Crayola Tempera Paint. For a sunset, you might use shades of blue and purple for sky and shades of gold and brown for the desert floor. Mix colors with white to get lighter shades. Add yellow, gold, or even purple for shadows. Air-dry your painting.

• 4.

  Brush the desert floor with Crayola Texture It! Tempera Mixing Medium. It creates a rough, sandy effect. Air-dry the painting. Add more than one coat if you like.

• 5.

  Use a Crayola Marker to draw desert shapes such as pyramids, camels, or palm trees on sponges, recycled foam trays, or corrugated cardboard. Cut out the shapes with Crayola Scissors. Paint the tops and edges. Air-dry the sponges.

• 6.

  Attach the 3-D shapes to your desert background with Crayola School Glue. Cover any sandy shapes with mixing medium. Air-dry your painting.

• 7.

  On paper, sketch other animals or people you might see in the desert. Paint them and air-dry the paint. Cut them out and glue them to the scene.

• 8.

  To create a finished look, glue your painting to a larger piece of construction paper or cardboard to create a frame. Display your work with other projects and information about Egypt.

Benefits

• Students research, gather information, and identify north-African desert characteristics.
• Students recognize landmarks in the Egyptian desert and understand why they were built.
• Students create a 3-D, multi-stage, textured painting showing features of the Egyptian desert.

Adaptations

• Create the same scene in another part of the day. If you show the area at noon, for example, the sky and shadows would be done differently.
• Create a scene from a desert in a different part of the world. For instance, show the Arizona desert where you could include saguaro cacti and animals that live in this desert.
• Students with special needs may need assistance to cut the 3-D shapes.
• Assessment. Make sure children accurately portray landmarks, plants, and animals in their paintings. Observe whether they follow directions while being creative in each step of the project.