Print Making

In this lesson, the seventh grade students were asked to use print making, while creating a South Dakota background. The rail road cars were made by creating a stamp and roling the ink onto that stamp. We then pressed the stamp on a sheet of construction paper that would be the background for the rail road cars. The teachers also made us use some source of South Dakota grain or product for inside the rail road cars. I chose coal for in my cars and created a scene with corn, hills, and a barn to symbolize the South Dakota farming.

An extension to this activity could be to have students research more about print making and why it became so popular. I also believe it would be a great project to tie into a South Dakota unit and they could also write a page paper about their picture and background they created. The students could explain why they chose that background and its importance to South Dakota.