Tracimals – The easy print and prep classroom resource you need!
It doesn’t matter what grade you teach in elementary school. Our easy-to-print paper puppets are a great solution that your artistic students will whole-heartedly embrace.
We call our paper puppets, “Tracimals”. They are called Tracimals because…well…you trace them and they are animals! The parts of the animals are printed, cut and assembled using eyelets or the round-headed, split-pin connectors we call “Brads”. Once assembled, they can be moved action poses.
Here are five coloring lessons with dogs at the park with one free resource.
Now that the animals are assembled and the background pieces are cut out, the students can place and trace the pieces to make the outlines of their picture. Then, they remove the pieces, fill in the details in pencil, make a few edit, and begin colouring with confidence!
Getting the outline right is often the hardest and most discouraging part of making forms. When students use our Tracimals, they become engaged with filling in the details and following the success criteria of the lesson. Think of all the different activities you can use these Tracimals for! In the meantime, as we build our lesson plan library, here are five examples of how you can use these amazing, evergreen, teaching resources!
Grade 1
Space
Students use a horizon line and place smaller objects at the top of the page to show distance. You get a rough idea how far it is between the Labrador Retriever and the buildings near the horizon line.
Colour
Students start mixing primary colours and make contrast between warm and cool colours.
Learning Goal:
To draw a picture of a dog in a park that shows a city far away and to colour the picture using warm and cool colours.
Success Criteria:
#1 – I can make a horizon line that makes a background and a foreground.
#2 – I can place and trace my paper Tracimal pieces with care.
#3 – I can use warm and cool colours together to make interesting art that I can be proud of.
#4 – I can cover the entire page with colour.
Grade 2
Space
In grade 2, Space is implied by overlapping two Tracimal pieces. Notice how the Yorkipoo has a tree behind it and that the tree is in front of the building.
Colour
Students use secondary colours in grade 2. Notice how the orange, green, and purple makes such a great contrast.
Learning Goal:
To overlap and colour objects to demonstrate space between the two objects.
Success Criteria:
#1 – I can choose the right Tracimal pieces and overlap them on the page to show that one object is in front and the other one is further away, in the distance.
#2 – I can colour the entire page using bright secondary colours.
Viktor Lowenfeld’s Stages of Creative Development
It is important to know what to expect. In any classroom, you will have students across a wide spectrum of visual spatial intelligences. They aren’t all going to be Creative Picasso’s after all. Still, it’s a guarantee that our Tracimals will help everybody make great outlines so they can better show you what they need to work on. Be patient and remember that every student is going to develop their creativity on a similar trajectory that you can teach and assess. Please regard the free poster below to help you evaluate and report on your students’ progress.
Grade 3
Space
In grade 3, students develop a foreground, middle-ground, and back-ground to show Space. The tree and recycling can are break up the space between the distant horizon line and the Pug.
Colour
Students start to use warm and cool colours ro show emotion. A night sky with warm colours can make someone feel peaceful.
Learning Goal
To use warm and cool colours that show emotion and demonstrate proportion between the background, middle ground, and foreground using Tracimal pieces.
Success Criteria
#1 – I can place and trace Tracimal pieces that accurately show background, midlle ground, and forground.
#2 – I can use warm and cool colours in specific areas that show an emotion.
Grade 4
Space
Now transitioning into the Dawning of Realism Stage of Creative Developments, students better understand and demonstrate Space in their choice and placement of Tracimal pieces.
Colour
In grade 4, students make monochrome artwork. The use of blues creates a great night-scene in this example.
Learning Goal
To make a really good monochrome picture of a dog in a park.
Success Criteria
#1 – I can choose several Tracimal pieces of different sizes and place them on the page to make a realistic picture of a dog in a park with a city in the distance.
#2 – I can carefully and thoughtfully trace and colour my picture using a monochrome scale.
Grade 5
Space
Students will continue to make their artwork more and more realistic. Shadows and shading become a new skill to help show perspective, space, and size.
Colour
Complimentary colours will help students show contrast and details in grade 5. With oil pastels, students can use etchings to add texture as the elements of art can start to come together to make increasingly more interesting and realistic pieces of art.
Learning Goal
To use complimentary colours with Tracimals to make a realistic image of a dog in a park with a city in the background.
Success Criteria
#1 – I can use a colour wheel to determine where to best apply my chosen complimentary colours.
#2 – I can use all of my knowledge of the elements of art to make a piece of art that I am pround of.
Four great reasons to use your free gift:
#1 – Speed up aesthetic and intellectual development
#2 – Develop fine motor skills
#3 – Encourage problem-solving
#4 – Teach spatial awareness
Conclusion:
There is a progression that children go through when building their sense of spatial awareness and understanding of colour theory. You can use these examples and our free Tracimals download to teach Space and Colour to assess and plan out your art lessons throughout your career.
About the Author:
Hi there! My name is Mark.
I teach Primary grades mostly now, but have lots of experience teaching grades Kindergarten though grade 8. I have spent over 10 years developing a hybrid pedagogy that combines Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory with the simple game of Tic Tac Toe. Basically, I provide up to 8 activity centers at a time in my classroom so every student will have at least a couple of activities that they can confidently take on to show what they know and learn about themselves along the way.
For the time being, I am introducing my Tracimals product to the world as my Creative Picasso center go-to resource.
I can’t wait to bring you more of our great ideas. Please follow along as I bring you lesson plans and resources for your classroom!
Peace out!
