Sand Garden Activity
Making art through accumulation, observation and manipulation
Grade Level Focus: Kindergarten - 2nd
School: 21st Century Primary
Teaching Artist: Jordan Knecht
Classroom Teacher: Andrea Mele
Materials: clear plastic containers, colored sand, watercolor, brushes, paper, rocks or other materials for garden
Class Periods: 3 Unit Connections: Colors, Shapes, and Symmetry
Habitats and Homes
SummaryCreate and document sand gardens made from colorful sand rocks or found objects
Lesson SequenceLesson 1: Discuss the empty space within a container. Fill it about one quarter full with layers of colored sand to create horizontal bands of color.
Lesson 2: Share Japanese dry gardens. Design dry gardens by placing rocks or other found objects on the surface of the sand compositions created in the previous lesson.
Lessons 3: Use watercolors and paper to document the colors and designs of the sand gardens. Share documents and sand gardens in an exhibition.
Next Generation Science Standards
2-PS1-1
2-ESS1-1
National Visual Arts Standards See National Visual Arts Standards for specific grade level content for these Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 1
Anchor Standard 2
Anchor Standard 3
Anchor Standard 5
Anchor Standard 11
Artist Connections
Robert Smithson
Yayoi Kusama
Noh
Kengo Kuma
Additional Resources
Sedimentary Rocks
Geology 101: national geographic kids
Ma: The Japanese Concept of Space and Time
The Zen Garden | Chicago Botanic Garden
Lesson SequenceLesson 1: Discuss the empty space within a container. Fill it about one quarter full with layers of colored sand to create horizontal bands of color.
Lesson 2: Share Japanese dry gardens. Design dry gardens by placing rocks or other found objects on the surface of the sand compositions created in the previous lesson.
Lessons 3: Use watercolors and paper to document the colors and designs of the sand gardens. Share documents and sand gardens in an exhibition.
2-PS1-1
2-ESS1-1
National Visual Arts Standards See National Visual Arts Standards for specific grade level content for these Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 1
Anchor Standard 2
Anchor Standard 3
Anchor Standard 5
Anchor Standard 11
Artist Connections
Robert Smithson
Yayoi Kusama
Noh
Kengo Kuma
Additional Resources
Sedimentary Rocks
Geology 101: national geographic kids
Ma: The Japanese Concept of Space and Time
The Zen Garden | Chicago Botanic Garden
The Basics of the Zen Garden
Work examples:
![discussing container space]()
![choosing colors]()
![adding objects]()
![creating layers]()
![placing rocks]()
![documenting artwork]()
![documenting artwork]()
![sharing gardens]()
Use these links to learn more about these activities.
Use these links to learn more about these activities.
