This document provides a teaching guide for a printmaking and mail art lesson for 1st grade students. The lesson involves students creating their own postcards by drawing a picture on one side and including an address, note, and stamp on the other. The objectives are for students to define art vocabulary, create a postcard, write a short note, connect art to social studies, and appreciate writing. Materials needed include paper, coloring supplies, and small paper squares to use as stamps. Students will choose who to send their postcards to, then mail them by dropping them in a mailbox. Finally, the class will discuss the postcards they received and point out elements in the mail art.

1. ART Grade 1 Teaching Guide
Unit 3: THIRD QUARTER
PRINTMAKING AND OTHER MEDIA
Lesson 21: Mail Art: Postcards
Lesson Summary
Art History/
Connecting
Art Production
Creating
Art Criticism/
Looking and Seeing
Art Appreciation
Appreciating
Postcards are a kind of
mail art, except the letter
is shorter, and there is no
envelope. Postcards have
a picture on one side, the
front; and on the back,
there is space for the
address of the receiver, a
stamp, and a short note.
Postcards come in all
sizes, and there are many
different kinds of pictures
on them. Originally, there
was a picture of the place
from where it originated.
People bought them when
they went there on a trip,
and sent them to friends
and family to share their
one or two experiences.
Create Mail Art:
Make a postcard by
drawing or printing a
design on one side of
the card.
Create at least
4 postcards with
different designs that
are drawn or printed.
Look for the emphasis
and balance in
the images on the
postcards.
Which is better to
receive? A letter? Or a
postcard? Why?
Art is not just for
showing, but also for
giving.
Writing and art in the
same artwork can
make a person feel
good because the card
is especially made for
them.
Time Allotment: 2 sessions (80 minutes)
OBJECTIVES
The learner will:
1. Define the given art vocabulary.
2. Create a postcard.
3. Write a short note on the postcard they made.
4. Connect art to social studies (different features of different regions in the Philippines)
5. See that writing is like drawing; and consequently appreciate writing.
ART VOCABULARY
Postcard: A kind of mail art, without an envelope. Postcards have a picture on one side,
the front; and on the back, there is space for the address of the receiver, a stamp, and a
short note.
Modern post cards are not limited to pictures of a place. Some of them have
pictures of food or famous paintings, or artifacts. Some of them depict scenes or
pictures of local or regional fiestas. Some are designs, like prints.
Elements and Principles
1. Lines
2. Shapes
3. Emphasis
4. Repetition

2. ART Grade 1 Teaching Guide
Materials
1. Stiff paper
○ Index cards, old folders
○ Cut up brown cardboard boxes will work also.
○ If using cut up boxes that have a design on one side, provide clean paper (any
kind) so the students can cover up the picture to write the letter and the address.
2. COLORING MATERIALS
○ Crayons or paints (if you will use found objects to create a design)
○ Pencils or Ball pen
○ Markers or Pentel pen
○ Make sure the kind of coloring materials used will stick to the kind of paper being
used (anything will work on brown cardboard boxes)
3. Colored paper, or scrap paper (that looks different from the letter paper and the
envelope); pre-cut into 1” x 1” squares. This is going to be the stamp.
○ The size is a bigger that real stamps, but for first-graders’ hands, 1” x 1” is already
small.
○ If there are time limitations, the “stamps” can be randomly cut out of colored
magazine pages, so they do not have to draw on them.
4. Glue. Although for this particular project, a glue stick works best as it is less messy.
However, one drop of white glue will be enough to attach this “stamp” to the postcard
○ One small bottle will be enough. Teacher should be the one in control of the glue.
5. REFERENCE:
○ Actual postcards. If the postcards are newly purchased, the teacher should write
something on the back, and include an address (the room’s address may be used,
just as before) and a “stamp.”
● The photos on the front of the postcards should be a variety – from
fiestas to provinces to food. Some postcards even depict animals.
SET UP
Give each student a practice paper and 3 – 4 cards to draw on. Arrange them in groups so they
can share the art materials.
Motivation
Show different kinds of post cards. Explain that a different kind of Mail Art can be seen in
postcards. Explain the similarities and differences between a letter and a postcard.
Show the postcards, and have the students identify the emphasis of the postcards. Explain the
different types (particularly the ones that they are being shown) of images on the postcards.
Let students choose the person or persons to whom he wants to send the postcards.
Review, or if needed, read again, Kartero.
Once the postcards are finished, they can be delivered.
To save time, Students can be assigned to do this. Along with the teacher, one or two others can
help.
If there are helpers, separate or divide the letters according to the classroom seating
arrangement. Then choose a student to be the mail carrier for that area. The students
who sit near the teacher’s desk, for example, can have their mail delivered by the teacher.
When the excitement of receiving the postcards has died down, tell the students that they can
reply to the postcards with a postcard that they will make themselves.
Procedure

3. ART Grade 1 Teaching Guide
1. Do the MOTIVATION (above)
2. Distribute the stiff paper and the 1” x 1” squares.
3. Tell the students that before they draw the picture on the front, they can draw or create
the postcard format on the back (They can use marker or Pentel pen)
4. Explain where the note can be written, and where the address is written, and the location
of the stamp.
5. They can then proceed to turn the postcard over and draw their picture.
● A theme can be assigned for this. Some suggestions:
i. A particular fiesta
ii.A picture of the town, city, province, or baranggay.
iii. Food that is the region or province’s specialty.
iv. The theme may even be related to other subjects like science
(animals and plants) or social studies (towns, families, holidays)
v.A design that they can print.
6. Encourage the students to color the picture, and include the name of the image they drew
– the town’s name, the animal’s vernacular name, the name of the dish.
7. When the image is finished, they can go te “Post office” for the stamp, and to drop their
letter in the mail box.
8. After “mailing” their postcards, the students can then return to their desk. They should
return or pack away any drawing and coloring materials they used.
Processing, Evaluation
Talk about the letters that were received. Ask for a few volunteers to read the letter, and show it
to the rest of the class. Point out shapes and types of lines visible in the mail art.
Ask the student how it feels to receive the postcards.
NOTE
While the next session will not be mail art anymore, this is a very helpful learning tool for the
students. Exchanging postcards or letters can be done as learning activities for other subjects.
Set aside time, perhaps during homeroom, or during waiting time before school starts to deliver
and send mail. This activity can also extend to other sections or other grades. If there is more
than one section of the grade in the school, for example, each student can write each other
letters, using the classrooms as the return addresses.

4. ART Grade 1 Teaching Guide