Add Literacy to Your Art Program Easily
As an elementary art teacher, I try to include a literacy component in many of my art lessons. As a result, I have used the Please Mr. Panda series with my younger grades from time to time. I travel to multiple schools, but one thing remains the same: the push for improved reading and fluency among our students.
I try to include reading and content from age-appropriate books in my lessons. I’ve discovered that no matter the age group, kids like to be read to (this includes high schoolers, believe it or not). Books like Ish, The Dot and Sky Color are all great books with art-related themes, but I find that it is nice to branch out into other subjects too.
Please Mr. Panda
Please Mr. Panda is a children’s book written and illustrated by Steve Antony. In the book, Mr. Panda is trying his best to give away a box of donuts. However, every animal he crosses is rude and demands donuts without saying “please”. Mr. Panda changes his mind after each encounter and decides that each animal shouldn’t have his doughnuts. When all hope appears lost, a polite lemur appears and says “please”. Mr. Panda happily gives him all of the donuts.
I chose to read Please Mr. Panda to my early elementary students (K-2) after Christmas break. I find that as the school year wears on, students start to get relaxed about how they speak to adults and each other. This art lesson is used a gentle reminder to my students to stay on track with how they treat each other.
I enjoyed the color scheme in the book, which is mostly black and white with pops of color. Because the color scheme is so simplistic, it is a great way to talk about neutral colors, contrasting colors or even color mixing (shades and tints would be great). I also enjoyed the charcoal look of the Panda, too. Based off of the illustrations seen in Please Mr. Panda, there are several different art lessons that you could spin off of the book.
To view a step-by-step video of this lesson, visit the Unschooled Art YouTube channel by clicking here.
The Please Mr. Panda Elementary Art Lesson
For this particular Please Mr. Panda elementary art lesson, I choose to use watercolor pencils, charcoal pencils and permanent markers to complete my artwork. This lesson could be easily completed using traditional watercolor paint, tempera paint, acrylics, markers or even crayons. I chose to use watercolor pencils for more control of color in the fine details of the drawings, while still achieving a painterly look.
By simplifying the panda, students are able to draw it using basic shapes like ovals, circles, half-circles and rainbow shapes (aka curved lines). To make geometric circles for the donuts, I traced a cup. These circles may also be drawn freehand for a more organic look.
When I taught this to students, I used 2 45-minute classes. During the first session we read the book aloud, drew the panda bear using simple shapes, added an outline to the panda, applied charcoal and drew in our donuts. My speedsters were able to start coloring their donuts, too. During the second session, we colored our donuts, blended/smudged the charcoal and painted the background. This was a super relaxed project that would also work well with a substitute or during the end of the school year when things are winding down.
About the Author of Please, Mr. Panda
Steve Antony is a British children’s author and illustrator, who has written and illustrated around twenty books. Antony grew up in Alamogordo, New Mexico and is currently living in Swindon, England. Steven Antony is color blind, which is one of the reasons he works in a limited color palette for his illustrations. The Mr. Panda series of books are his most popular books, having sold over 1.4 million copies. He has also written other books about issues he is passionate about, such as inclusiveness and kindness.
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