CREATE A CRITTER

CLASSY CLASSIFYING OF ARTSY ANIMALS: CREATE A CRITTER

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will explore animal attributes by creating a one-of-a-kind critter using the art technique of “exquisite corpse”. The synthesis of knowledge of animal classification in this visual way is both engaging and memorable. Students will write a description of their critter detailing the characteristics of each animal group they integrated into their design. Students will name their animal and present their animal to the class via a “Wanted” poster.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3,5
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

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"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a critter that integrates three different animal parts.
  • I can create an original name for my critter based upon the attributes.
  • I can create a “Wanted” poster for my unique critter that describes its animal characteristics.

Essential Questions

  • How can I apply my knowledge of animal classification to create a new critter using the “exquisite corpse” technique?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 5:

S5L1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to group organisms using scientific classification procedures.
S5L1.a Develop a model that illustrates how animals are sorted into groups (vertebrate and invertebrate) and how vertebrates are sorted into groups (fish, amphibian, reprise, bird, and mammal) using data from multiple sources.

Arts Standards

Grade 5:

VA5.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.
VA5.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3:

3-LS2-1. Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
3-LS3-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have inherited traits that vary within a group of similar organisms.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.
Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Vertebrate - An animal that has a backbone or spinal column, which is part of an internal skeleton that supports its body
  • Invertebrate - An animal that does not have a backbone or spinal column
  • Mammal - A warm-blooded vertebrate animal characterized by the presence of hair or fur, the ability to produce milk for its young through mammary glands, and (in most cases) giving live birth
  • Amphibian - A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that typically has a life cycle with both aquatic and terrestrial stages
  • Fish - A cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrate that lives in water and breathes through gills
  • Bird - A warm-blooded vertebrate animal characterized by feathers, beaks (instead of teeth), and the ability to lay eggs with hard shells
  • Reptile - A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that typically has scaly skin and lays eggs with leathery or hard shells
  • Insect - A small invertebrate animal that belongs to the class Insecta; Insects have three main body parts: The head, thorax, and abdomen
  • Classify - To organize or group objects, organisms, or phenomena based on shared characteristics or properties
  • Characteristics - The distinguishing features, traits, or properties of an object, organism, or phenomenon that help to identify or describe it
  • Organism - Any living thing, whether it's a plant, animal, fungus, bacterium, or microorganism, that exhibits the characteristics of life
  • Backbone - A flexible, column-like structure made up of individual bones called vertebrae
  • Warm-blooded - Refers to animals that can regulate and maintain a constant internal body temperature, regardless of the temperature of their surroundings
  • Cold-blooded - Refers to animals whose internal body temperature is largely determined by the temperature of their environment
  • Reproduce - The biological process by which living

Arts Vocabulary

  • Surrealism - A 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images
  • Exquisite Corpse - A method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled (much like a collage)
  • Line - Curves or marks that span a distance between two points
  • Texture - The feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface
  • Shape - The form of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, texture or material composition
  • Space - Any area that an artist provides for a particular purpose, this includes the background, foreground and middleground, and the distances or around, between, and within things
  • Subject matter - The topic dealt with or the subject represented in a work of art


Materials


Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Show examples of exquisite corpse artwork using https://www.britannica.com/art/exquisite-corpse or drawings by Surrealist artists.
    • Lead students through the See, Think, Wonder artful thinking routine for one of the images. Instruct students to look at the artwork or object for a moment.
      • What do you see?
      • What do you think about what you see?
      • What do you wonder about?
    • Tell students that exquisite corpse drawings were a form of artwork where one artist would draw one portion of a figure, another artist would add another portion without looking at the first portion, and so on.
    • Exquisite corpse drawings were part of the Surrealist art movement.

Work Session

  • Review characteristics/attributes of each vertebrate group (bird, fish, mammal, amphibian, reptile).
  • Tell students that they will be demonstrating their understanding of vertebrate groups through creating exquisite corpses.
  • Review procedures of working with groups and time constraints for the lesson.

Part I–Creating the Exquisite Corpse:

  • Show students how to fold paper so that there are three vertical sections.
  • Each student will roll a die. They will draw the body part according to the number they roll:
  • 1= bird 2 = fish 3 = mammal 4 = amphibian 5 = reptile 6 = invertebrate. For example, if “mammal” is rolled. the student could draw the head of a dog on the top section.
  • Students should focus on communicating the defining characteristics of that group of vertebrates, such as fur, a beak, scales, etc.
  • After a specified amount of time, the student will fold the paper so that only the middle section is showing (IMPORTANT–the student needs to continue the top part of the drawing slightly into the next section so that the next student knows where to start drawing) and pass to the next student. The students will again roll the die, and draw the torso of an animal that represents that group.
  • After a specified amount of time, the student will fold the paper so that only the bottom section is showing and pass to the next student. The students will again roll the die and draw the bottom (feet, tail) of an animal that represents that group.
  • The last student in the group will open the paper to reveal the three sections.

Part 2–Creating the “Wanted” Poster:

  • The student will take the created critter and develop a name for the critter using all three of the animals in the picture.
  • The student can now outline with Sharpies if desired, add color and an environmental background for the critter.
  • Each section of the critter should be finished using different textures and colors accurate to that group of vertebrates.
  • This paper will then be turned into a “wanted poster”. The student will write a description using some characteristics of all of the animal parts. (E.g. Be on the lookout for a missing “Ligerdile” (lion, tiger, crocodile) that has escaped.  It has fur, is warm blooded and might be near the eggs it laid. It was last seen…..)

Classroom Tips:

  • Encourage students to consider placement and size of each body part; center each part; draw large enough to show texture and details, etc.
  • The teacher should emphasize that while the drawing does not have to be realistic, it should include enough detail to show characteristics of the vertebrate group.

Closing Reflection

  • Students should reflect on the following questions at the conclusion of the lesson. This can be done as a discussion or in written form.
    • From using the exquisite corpse technique, what did you learn about animal classification?
    • How realistic was this–does this sort of cross-breeding happen in real ecosystems? Can we brainstorm some examples of this?
    • What sort of adaptations could we envision these critters having? How would these help them survive in their ecosystem?


Assessments

Formative

  • Class discussion
  • Teacher should check in with small groups as they work on their critter to ensure they understand the attributes of each animal group
  • Questioning

Summative

Project Rubric for the “Wanted Poster”


Differentiation

Acceleration: 

  • Students can use ChatterKids to make their critters come to life and share their descriptions and characteristics that they wrote.
  • Students can create a three-dimensional model of the critter by molding aluminum foil for the body and gluing textured materials on the surface.
  • Students can do additional research on the different types of vertebrate groups prior to making their exquisite corpse critters.
  • Students can write a story in which their critter is the main character.

Remediation:

  • Students will be provided with different pictures of invertebrates and vertebrates cut up into three sections (the head, torso, and legs). They will create a creature by gluing down the parts of the pictures they choose. Students will roll a dice. They will paste down the body parts according to the number they roll:
    1= bird 2 = fish 3 = mammal 4 = amphibian 5 = reptile 6 = invertebrate
  • Writing Accommodations:
    • Label critter’s characteristics directly on the poster using a word bank provided by the teacher.
    • Students may type their critter descriptions in OneNote using the “Dictate” feature. Students can then copy the description to their poster. (OneNote > Learning Tools Add-in > Dictate).
    • Students can write a longer description including how their critter’s characteristics contribute to their ideal habitat.


Credits

U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

Ideas contributed by: Sarah Weiss, Virginia Diederich, Abby Hernandez, Edited by Jessica Espinoza, Edited by Dr. Carla Cohen

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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