Art of Conservation- Ducks and Fish

This spring I gave my 1st-6th grade students a choice between the Jr. Duck Stamp program and the State Fish Art contest. Both programs have similar aims of connecting kids to nature and teaching conservation through the Arts. They are both integrate science- observational skills, anatomy, and learning about animals' natural habitats. Duck stamps are about conserving the wetlands and the State Fish Art contest educates kids about fish and aquatic habitats. (You can see an earlier post about this here.)

I am so glad that I decided to try the State Fish Art contest! Some of the students who weren't that "in" to waterfowl were very "in" to fish! I had a couple boys in 6th grade who I never even knew were really interested in Art suddenly spending any extra time in our schedule working in my room on their fish, before school and even giving up recess time! For some reason, the students also tended to have an easier time drawing fish than ducks or geese. Of course there were still lots of students excited about Duck Stamps. I think everyone found something they were interested in to work on while learning about conservation through art making. I also gave my intermediate students a few more choices with media this year. In addition to colored pencils, they could use watercolor pencils, watercolor paint, or graphite. Part of me wants to also give the choice of tempera, but I think most of them would become frustrated when they don't have the control to paint small details.

I always stress that the contest is not why we do these projects, it's just an extra part that can be kind of fun. The competition must have been fierce in the Kansas Jr. Duck Stamp contest this year but we did have a 6th grader get an Honorable Mention on her drawing of a Canada Goose.

I was also SO excited to find out that two students received 3rd place in their respective age groups in Kansas for the State Fish Art contest! The photo on the left is a watercolor pencil/watercolor picture of a Channel Catfish made by a 5th grader and on the right, is a 2nd grader's colored pencil drawing of a Bluegill. The K-3rd "Mighty Minnow" age group just turns in their artwork while students in the older age groups have to turn in a one page essay about their fish (description, behavior, habitat) and any conservation efforts for the species.

I have lots and lots of artwork to share so I'm going to do it over several posts. 

Jr. Duck Stamp Program
http://www.fws.gov/juniorduck/
State Fish Art Contest
http://www.wildlifeforever.org/contest

Jr. Duck Stamp Program

5th grade student, Honorable Mention

Ever since I took part in the Jr. Duck Stamp program in high school, I've been a big fan.  I know a lot of teachers don't do the program with their students because it takes so much time but  I had always planned to do it with my students and something the other elementary Art teachers in my district were already doing. (Check out last year's post to see a photo of wetlands in my area and photos of my high school duck stamp drawings.)

If you are not familiar with duck stamps, here's a brief summary, at least as brief as I'm capable of being (if you want a more in-depth look at duck stamps, check out the US Fish and Wildlife Service page.  Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, or "Duck Stamps," are sold by the government to raise money for wetlands conservation.  98 cents out of every dollar generated from duck stamps goes to purchase or lease wetlands.  A lot of people think it's all about hunting because those 16+ who want to hunt waterfowl are required to purchase a duck stamp but they are also bought by stamp collectors and people  who want to use them as a pass to get into National Wildlife Refuges.  Wildlife artists compete each year to try to get their paintings chosen to be printed on the duck stamp.  Jr. Duck stamps have been around since 1989 and the goal of the program is teaching "conservation through the arts." The students create a realistic drawing of an approved duck or goose to show that they have learned about the species and their habitat.  Students can enter their artwork into a contest at the state level.  In Kansas, they choose 3 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place winners and I think 12 honorable mentions in each of the 4 age groups.  All the first place winners are put together and the Best of Show is chosen to represent the state at the national level contest.  The national winner is actually printed on a Jr. Duck Stamp and the student gets scholarship opportunities.  I assume that all the states have similar processes.

The Jr. Duck Stamp program is a great way to incorporate science and observational drawing and ties into the curriculum for most grades as you can talk about the animals, their habitat, and environment.  I always start off by assessing prior knowledge of wetlands and habitats.  I then show the students some of the duck stamps my dad has saved for me and explain what they are all about.  I have lots of photos I have taken of ducks and geese printed out for the students to reference and some calendar photos that one of the teachers gave me.  This year I had created a PPT of me making an example drawing with photos of each step since I was gone on maternity leave when my 4-6th grade students had to start the project.  I showed the PPT to my younger students as well since it is a lot quicker than me demonstrating in person.  I did draw a few things up on the board like legs and feet and beaks/bills to point out that they are not stick legs and not plain triangles for the beak.  I told the students when we practice observational drawing we can pretend to be scientists and draw all the important details.  Each student chose a photo to reference when drawing but I encouraged them to change the background or something to make it their own.  I allowed three classes for each grade level to work on this project.  The first class was mostly introduction, passing out paper, labeling information on the back, and filling out an entry form.  I encouraged each student to take home an entry form for the art contest just in case they decided to enter. Some of the classes had a little time to start drawing in the first day.  I had the students draw out all the important details in pencil before starting with color.  This is a good time to talk about composition.  The students have to use 9x12 inch paper (must be horizontal) but the design needs to be appropriate for printing on a smaller stamp.  I tell the students to draw big so we can see the details and to fill the space.  Even if their reference photo has a whole flock of geese, I ask them to focus on drawing one or two.  So far I have just given the students colored pencils to work with but I may let them use paint next year.  I always preferred to use colored pencils when I entered because I felt like I had more control over the media and could be more detailed.  On the last day, I talked about ripples, reflections, and shading.  If any students finished early, I had them write a conservation message which is an additional contest.  Most of the students enjoy this project but a few complain about it being "hard".  I always tell them that just because something is hard doesn't mean they can't do it and that we learn more from challenges than doing things that are easy all the time.  Next year I may give the students a choice of Jr. Duck Stamps or the State Fish Art Contest since the goals for the project are similar.

If I remember correctly, I sent in about 300 entries between my two schools this year.  I ended up having 7 students receive Honorable Mentions and all I can say is that the drawings that placed higher must have been AMAZING because I am so proud of my students!

5th grade student

5th grade student

6th grade student

6th grade student, Honorable Mention

4th grade student, Honorable Mention

4th grade student

1st grade student, Honorable Mention

1st grade student/future Art teacher, Honorable Mention

2nd grade student

3rd grade student, Honorable Mention

(Kansas) Jr. Duck Stamp Program

I am all about ducks.  I first learned about the Jr. Duck Stamp program when I was a freshman in high school.  I wish I had known about the contest when I was younger because I definitely would have participated!  I only had it as an assignment in 9th grade but I enjoyed it so much that I elected to make a drawing for the contest in each of my remaining high school years.  (Photos of my duck drawings at end of post!)

Duck stamps have been around since 1934 with the first duck stamps designed by J. N. "Ding" Darling. Waterfowl hunters aged 16 or older are required to purchase a duck stamp.  The stamps cost $15 and 98 cents out of every dollar is used to either purchase or lease wetlands which become protected by the National Wildlife Refuge System.  Since the beginning of the program, more than $750 million have been raised to conserve over 5.3 million acres of wetlands.  (Questions about Duck Stamps?)

The Jr. Duck Stamp Program started in 1989 as an educational program with the goal of teaching "Conservation through the Arts."  Artwork created for the program must be 9x12 inches and in a horizontal format.  There can be no writing on the front of the artwork and the artwork should realistically represent a bird species from the list of eligible ducks, geese, and swans.  Each state has a contest with four age groups, the Best in Show is sent on to the national competition.  Click here for info on how to participate in the Jr. Duck Stamp Program or here to find information specific to your state.

I am so excited to have the opportunity to do the program with my students.  My 1-3 students are all finishing their duck drawings and my 4-6 students have the choice or birds or bugs (for Kansas Critters: Bugs.)

Here is my Jr. Duck Stamp Program Motivation Kit List!

• Real duck stamps- My dad saves his old duck stamps for me.  I have one that was on his hunting license from a couple years ago and the students were really excited about it.
• Jr. Duck Stamp Poster- If you can get ahold of one!
• Feathers- I recently added some feathers to my bulletin board display, the curled feathers from a mallard's tail.  Students very excited, of course.
• Examples- I brought my high school JDS drawings and a duck drawing from a couple months ago.  I showed each drawing and talked about the different duck species I drew which got the students excited.
• Reference photos- the guidelines for what reference photos can be used are getting a bit stricter as an attempt to teach students about copyright and plagiarism.  About 90% of the photos I put out as reference are photos that I have taken of ducks and geese at zoos, parks, and the wetlands near the school where I student taught.  I have a couple of photos from a calendar and pictures of decoys as well.  I talked to the students about trying to get the shape and markings accurate but changing the background.  I told them as long as the background was an appropriate habitat for the bird, it would work in their drawing.  (I think that middle and high school students have to cite their source photos now.)

Freshman Year- Harlequin Ducks

Sophomore Year- Hen Mallard

Junior Year- Canada Geese

Senior Year- Fulvous Whistling Duck

Follow the Leader Duck or Goose Drawing

Right now my 4-6th grade students are working on either the Jr. Duck Stamp program or a drawing for Kansas Critters: Bugs.  All of my 1-3rd grade students are working on Duck Stamp drawings.  After talking to the other elementary art teachers in my district, I decided to do a follow the leader drawing with my Kindergarten students to give them some confidence in their drawing abilities and good practice for Duck Stamp drawings next year.

I let each class vote on learning to draw either a Mallard Duck or a Canada Goose.  I taped a large piece of paper to the wall where all the students could see and used a sharpie for my drawing.  Each student was given a 9x6 inch piece of paper and a pencil to start with.  The papers were turned horizontally.  I always like to start with the head when I draw a duck or a goose and encourage the students to do the same.  Of course when they are drawing totally on their own, a few will always start with the feet and run out of room for the head.

After the outline of the bird, the beak/bill and eye, and a few lines were drawn for the wings and tail, I had the students put their pencils away and find one color of crayon at a time.  We all finished the body of the bird together with crayon to make them look realistic.  As realistic as Kindergarten drawings get anyway!

While I went around the room and wrote names on papers, I let the students add water or any other details they wanted to.

My philosophy of Art Education is still developing.  I try to give the students a lot of different experiences.  While part of me wants to just let them be free and make everything on their own, no limits to their creativity, I know that there are other skills I want to help them develop.  I guess I'm just trying to balance everything right now.  I want to help the students develop their observational skills and paying attention to details and I still give them as many opportunities for "free draw" as I can.

Daniel Pink was the Key Note Speaker at the Kansas Art Education Association fall conference this year.  Something he mentioned during his talk was that some universities have been taking their Med students to Art Museums where they discuss paintings to develop their observational skills.  I like to tell this to my students as a way to point out skills they learn in art class will serve them for the rest of their lives.