Twisty Trees Display
I used wrapping paper to cover the back and then used white paper and boxes to help build a little depth into the display case.

Twisty Trees lesson by Mrs. Dawn Sahli

In this lesson we talked about 2D and 3D design. Students create a 2D scene using tagboard, oil pastels and watercolor. For the 3D tree they used brown paper lunch bags and white paint as well as a smaller bag of sand. The sand is used to weight the tree down. First students came up with ideas for their scene. Once they had the ideas for the scene, then they moved on to the tagboard and draw the winter scene with oil pastels so that they would wax resist the watercolor. Students were required to have a Wintergreen tree and then at least one wintery item.  Then they moved onto their 3D tree. student cut strips in the opening of the brown bag. They were required to cut at least 10 strips and or branches. Once their strips are cut then they open the bag and put the sand in the bottom of the bag. Holding the base students were asked to twist the bag to create the trunk of the tree. Once that was done students moved on to twist the branches of the tree. Once the tree was complete the tree was painted with white paint to represent snow.
As far as extension activities you could and more 3D snow with gluing cotton balls on the bottom of the scene. You could also choose any season and use this to make that season. With 2D and 3D you can used this in math by measuring 2D and 3D objects as well.

Pinch Pots lesson by Trey Frederick

Pinch Pots were made using clay that hardens while air drying. A kiln is not used with this clay. We talked about symbols that were interesting and we could relate to us. We then practice on drawing these symbols. Then we wedged the clay to make sure that all of the air bubbles were out of the clay. We worked on rolling the clay into a ball. Once we had the clay into a ball then we stuck a hole in the center and turned the pot while pulling the clay up an out. Once we had the clay into the shape and size of the pot we wanted, we then carved our symbols onto our bowls. Then the symbols and the bowl were painted and allowed to dry.
Another activity for this lesson could be to have the students also make coil pots. You could also talk about the first discovery of pottery from past civilizations as well as archeological digs, and how they are done and what archeologist find.

Dreamcatchers lesson by Mr. Robel

These dreamcatchers we made out of paper plates and string. We first learned about the dreamcatchers and what they symbolized in the Native American community. We were to draw four our five symbols that represented our lives around the edge of the dreamcatcher. Then we strung the string in the center of the dreamcatcher and finally added the feathers which were made with the inside of the plate.
As far extension ideas you could add real beads and feathers to the dreamcatchers like the real ones. You could also incorporate symbols from many of the Native tribes in the area and also talk about the meaning of common colors that Native Americans use. As far as other subjects history and social studies seem like the most logical subjects. Native American History, the tribes of South Dakota. Where the reservations are located in the state.

Printmaking lesson by Ms. Josie Whitley

For this lesson we traced our hand on brown construction paper to make the trunk. We then mixed our colors we mixed orange and green colors.  Then we practiced stamping corks and apples. After practicing we moved onto to our tree. We used corks to make the leaves on the tree using warm colors. Then we moved on to making pumpkins with the apples. All of these we fall or warm colors. We added green tops to the pumpkins.
As extension activities you could incorporate taking about the color wheel. You could also look at tints and shades of the colors as well. Another idea is to talk about the different seasons and which colors leaves would have in the spring, summer and fall. You can also talk about trees and the changes they go through in the year. You could also talk about pumpkins and how they start from a seed, using this for a science lesson.

Origami lesson taught by Mitch Moes

In this lesson we printed, using a jelly plate and acrylic paint, our own paper. And while that was drying we learned how to make a crane out of origami. We learned the history of origami, Japan and about the origami crane.  The most difficult part of the lesson was waiting for the paper to dry. This lesson was difficult in that it was hard to follow along for college students, but it is very interesting art form.
Some extension activities that you could do are to talk about the other types of origami animals, items and things and if they have a special meaning or not. Use social studies as a way to incorporate Japan more. Talk more about Japan the geography, the culture and the history of the country. You could also go more in-depth with the print making side of things. Talk about the different types of print making the history of it and even typography and design. It just depends on how in depth you want to take this project. You could then lead into printmaking as well.

Kimonos  Lesson by Davonte Robertson

This was a fun lesson which talked about Japanese culture, kimonos and symmetry. We talked about how the kimono is made specifically for the person wearing it. We used two sheets of construction paper and folded them into our kimono. Once it was symmetrical then we began painting our designs which we had practiced before. We were also required to use two primary colors and a secondary colors.
As another angle to talking about Japan, you could talk about geography and where Japan is located. Other ideas on how to incorporate this into another activity you could also talk about their writing.