When I saw these cool surrealistic rooms on Pinterest, I knew it would be a great project for my 4th graders. We began by talking about perspective, space, and Surrealism. Students loved the works by Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte and were particularly inspired by Magritte’s Les valeurs personnelles (Personal Values).

They noticed that Surrealism artwork is dream-like and has aspects that are both real and fantastic. We also talked about perspective and creating the illusion of space. This video showed students step-by-step how to create a space for a room in 1-point perspective. This project aligned really nicely with the 4th grade math unit that was going on. They were studying angles and this knowledge came in handy when they began to draw their rooms.

After the basic framework was made, 4th graders used markers, crayons, and colored pencils to color the walls, floors, and ceilings. They even added a window and a door. Students were also given magazines to cut out pictures to add to their creations. They loved flipping through the magazines and finding silly advertisements or pictures of luxury items to add to their artwork.

The kids really loved this project; it allowed fro so much creative freedom and personal expression. Many of them designed their “dream room” with themes ranging from boy bands to video games. Overall it was a great project!

 There was a great connection here to pop cultural and visual references. Some students probably could have spent several more weeks adding details to their designs but they are excited to begin weaving when we return from Spring Break. 🙂