Simple printing to learn line directionThis is a simple printing project that helps you very young students learn line direction: horizontal vertical and diagonal. It also helps assess if students are able to recognize and create a pattern using lines. This project is the first part of a unit of printing with the cardboard strips. There are

Kindergarteners "built" their houses by printing lines from cardboard strips. Students were encouraged to make houses like the ones seen around their neighborhood.  Students then were taught techniques to color in neatly and completely. Students were encouraged to color in as neatly and completely as they could.


Simple printing to learn line direction this is a simple printing project that helps you very young students learn line direction: horizontal vertical and diagonal. It also helps assess if students are able to recognize and create a pattern using lines. This project is the first part of a unit of printing with the cardboard strips.

Upgraded iPad lesson

Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold 

Her is a great lesson that I have upgraded using iPads in my school. Each of my students has their own iPad so this lesson works very well.   I've adopted this lesson from a traditional tar beach drawing lesson. I've use the iPad as a light board.

Materials needed
iPads with Google Map App installed
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
12 x 12 drawing paper with 2 inch borders
pencils
colored pencils
masking tape
a towel or piece of cloth
scraps of fabric
bottled glue

A Playlist of One Day Projects

For those days when you need an emergency sub or just one extra project for a class that gets ahead of the other sections here are some simple one hour long projects for elementary.

Remember you can see all my video on my YouTube Channel at TheAwesomeArts

First day of kindergarten

The first week of kindergarten is always a difficult week to teach an art. I like to start off nice and easy with a simple marker project. It is amazing the wide variety of skill level we have entering kindergarten. Student skill level can be everything from not ever having held in crayon or a marker before to being little master artist. This project helps the teacher learn the names of the kindergarten students and also to assess their abilities as they are entering school.  Once the students are done I go around and take the picture of them holding up their name tags that they've created. I then use this to help learn their names as I take role throughout the year.

Materials:
Pre-print name tags
Markers
A camera to take the students pictures

Time for lesson:  30 minutes

Welcome 32,000 BC! 

 I am so excited about this new art experience I just created for my students.  I brought in an exhibition about cave art from teachersdiscovery.com so that the whole school can be taught a unit about prehistoric art.  I wanted the kids to really experience rock art the way that it is meant to be experienced, the way that the artist originally painted the art.  That is to say, not on a flat surface, and in a cave.

 Here is how I made a cave for my students.  Starting at the art room door I hung sheets from the ceiling using clothes pins and string, to basically make I giant sheet tent.  (kind of like at home when my kids and I need to make a fort).  Then I put a digital projector on the floor in the back of the rectangular tent and angled it up to project on the walls and ceiling on the tent.  the uneven surface of the sheets clothe-pinned together was very effective.  I found that the structure of the tent needed to be wider towards the back so that there weren't big shadows cast.  There is an awesome website that is a virtual tour of Lascaux.  [Note: on PC computer the F11 key will hide the Internet tool bar, making the virtual experience even cooler] The virtual tour only lasts about 10 minutes and that's if you click and explore all of the different images available.  To make the experience last I put together a slide show of prehistoric art from around the world, which lasts about another 15 minutes.  This has been a great end of the year activity.  Next week I'm going to line the halls with crumpled up butcher paper and let the kids make drawings using charcoal and chalk pastels, then they can sign there art with a hand print.  That way I can take down and pass back all of the artwork, without leaving the walls of the school hallways bare for the last 2 weeks of the year.

Cut Paper Ocean Envroment

After learning about the art work of Wyland students make there own under the sea scenes. While doing this, students are learning about overlapping, tucking, foreground, middle-ground and background.

Materials Needed

• Glue
• Scissors
• 12x18 blue construction paper
• Construction paper scrapes
• Crayons

Student Examples

Abstract Expressionist Sculptures

Materials Needed

• 2 pecies of white construction paper
• Watercolors or Temprea Cakes (and cups and bushes)
• Liquid Glue
• Paper clips

Winter Project: Cup of CoCoa

Students will use a verity of lines and shape patterns to decorate a paper coffee mug. Students will learn about landscapes. They will then practice their cutting and gluing skills to assemble their artwork.
---Materials Needed Coffee Cup template
Window template
markers
crayons
6x12 fabric scrape for table cloth
1x5 strips of fabric for curtains
12x18 construction paper

Student Examples

Aboriginal Bark Drawings (perfect low budget project)

Materials Needed:

• Brown Paper: 
• You can use paper sacks, cheap brown roll paper, or even construction paper, but I'm not a fan of construction paper for this project.
• Pencils
• Markers

Student Examples:

Native American Pottery Drawings

  Student will learn about the Southwest Native American Pottery and create paper pots that look 3-D. See more info for list of materials

**Note***

I suggest stopping the video at the Next Step Chapter for the first session and then showing the second chapter during the next class session.

---Materials Needed----

• a verity of size and shades of brown construction paper
• a 12x8 piece of paper
• brown, white and black colored pencils
• #2 pencil
• scissors
• glue stick

Student Examples:

Dreaming with Miro

I did this with 2nd Grade but it could be use grades 2nd-7th
Materials Needed:

• pencil
• sharpies
• crayons
• watercolors or tempera cakes (not liquid tempera)

Student Examples:

Color Circle Experiments

Material Needed

• an assortment of lids, found at any recycling site or collect from home
• 1 black oil pastel for each kid. 
• watercolor paints (no substitute) I prefer Prang brand
• water cups
• Brushes

Student Examples

Kindergarten Stain Glass in 5 easy steps

This is a great lesson for kindergarten that requires them to draw lines from one edge of the paper to the next, which is a pre- literacy skill.  It also teaches them how to color in a space without scribbling.   Step 1:  Talk about Stained Glass, show some example pictures and ask if anyone has see Stained Glass before. (offend time in church or temple) 
Step 2: Show the video to the students.
Step 3: Pass out the materials.  Don't forget paint shirts for this project, because they are small children with permanent markers. Then students may start on their project.  This project my take 45-70 minutes depending on the child's fine mortar skill.  I typically just stop them after 45 minutes and fill in the rest for them ( I tell them it was the Art Fairy that comes at night to help good little students get finished.) 
Step 4: After collecting the projects write their name in the corner with a fine tip permanent marker, like a a Sharpie.
Step 5: Display these in a window that gets direct sun light.  The light passing through will cast beautiful colors on the floor and walls inside.  Use a little piece of Scotch Tape to put them up.

Materials:

• Transparency paper
• Pencils (to write their name on the back) 
• Permanent Markers
• Paint Shirts  
• a fine tip Sharpie (generic is ok)
• Scotch Tape

Design Elements: Space. Positive and Negative Space

3rd - 5th Grade 

Click here to view video on YouTube

There are 7 elements of art. The elements are color, line, shape, form, texture, value (shading) and space.  There is positive space, the space with focus on, and negative space the surrounding area. This is a quick project that exemplifies this element.  It also looks great in the hallways.

Materials:

• 12 x 18 White Construction Paper
• 6 x 9 Black Construction Paper
• Scissors
• Glue Sticks

Student Examples

A great first painting project for Kindergarteners.

 Click here to view video on YouTube

Step 1:  Read to the students "The Dot" By James H. Reynolds.  Then tell the students that they are going to paint just like Vashi did in the story.  

Step 2: Set up the paints, paint cups and brushes.  This might be a good time to model to the student how you want the paints passed out and set up.  

Step 3: Show the video to the students. 

Step 4: Pass out the paper to the students.  Have them put their name on the back of the paper, or you can have it written on the paper by an adult ahead of time.  Once their name is on the back they can start making their dots on the front.  The painting time should be limited to 15-20 minutes.

Step 5: Model how you would like the paints and paintings to be put away.  This is the time to practice the clean up procedure.

Materials Needed:

• 12x18 White Construction Paper
• Tempera Cakes (click here to buy these on-line)
• Water cups
• Paint brushes

5 Easy Steps to Making an Expressionist Self-Portrait.

Grades 4th-9th

In this lesson students will create a self-portrait in an Expressionist style.   

Step 1:   Students should first learn about the Expressionist movement and study works of art by Edward Munch, especially "The Scream."

Step 2: Before this studio and before you show the video you need to take digital pictures of your students making some kind of expression.  Then print them off on a full 8.5x11 size paper.  This can be printed in black and white. 

Step 3: Make sure that you have all of the materials listed below.  Also you should practice making the prints a few times before hand.  That way you are much less likely to mess up a students drawing.

Step 4: On the day of the studio set up a printing station.  At your desk or in the back of the room at a spare table would be fine.  You don't need a lot of space. 

Step 5: Show this video to your students, and then let them do their project.  I have found that it takes about 45 minutes for the whole class to do the drawing and complete all of the monoprints and then another 45-50 minutes to color it in. 

Materials

•  An 8.5x11 photo of each student making some kind of expressive face
• One piece of transparency film per student
• One black vis-a-vis per student
• A fine mist bottle full of water, I use an old Fabreze bottle
• A box of tissues
• a rolling pin
• Crayons for the students, with plenty of color choice

Student Examples