Art Lesson Plans and Activities
Creative art-focused activities for your classroom. These lessons include resources for a variety of artistic mediums and subject areas such as special events and homework.
Your creativity and ideas can help other teachers. Submit your art lesson plan or activity today. Don't forget to include additional resource documents or a photo.
Art Lesson Plans
This indicates lesson plans located on The Teacher's Corner.
Sidewalk Chalk Activities Grades: K-6th
A few activities that use chalk to be creative and develop fine motor skills.
Crayon Activities Grades: K-6th
Grab a box of crayons for these fun activities.
Finger Painting Grades: All
A few activities that use finger paint as the creative medium.
Friendship Flags Grades K-6th
Dip coffee filters in colored water and string together to make a colorful flag or make a bulletin board in this lesson plan that expresses the beauty of diversity.
Submitted by: Jennifer
School Mascot Art Project
Every school has a mascot. Help students bring them to life with this 3D art project. To begin this project, take a little time to help students learn some basic information about the animal – habitat, location, food, etc.
Once students have some background knowledge, provide them with a variety of art materials – the more dimensional, the better! Using a single piece of construction paper, students will create the background for their mascot.
Finally, using construction paper, students will create one or more of the mascots. Using the same color of paper, they will need to accordion fold a small piece, attach it to the mascot and then attach that to the background.
Rainbow Fan Grades K-6th
Materials Needed: Approx. 12 paint sample cards for each student, yarn, hole puncher, scissors, brass fastener.
Lesson Procedure: Punch a hole in the top center and bottom center of each paint sample card. Lace the yarn through the hole on the top of the cards. At the bottom, place a brass fastner through all of the punched holes to hold the cards together. Fan the cards apart.
Submitted by: Jennifer
Rose-Colored Lorgnette Grades K-6th
Materials Needed: Half an egg carton, scissors, rubber cement, colored cellophane, scotch tape, and a seven inch stick.
Lesson plan Objectives: Child will construct an object that allows them to view the world in a variety of colors and will learn why certain objects in their colored environment look the way they do when certain colors are mixed.
Lesson Plan Procedure: Cut windows in the bumps of half an egg carton. Glue circles of colored cellophane over the windows with rubber cement. Tape on a stick for a holder.
Submitted by: Jennifer
Eye Holes in Mask Grades Various
Tip to help make holes in paper masks: If your class is making masks for art with paper plates, here's an easy way to make to the eye holes: Draw the eyes onto the mask, then poke one blade of your scissors into the center of one eye. From your center point, cut to the edge of your eye. Keep doing this until your incisions look like the spokes of a wheel. Once you've finished, just fold all the pieces backward into the mask. They should tear off easily. Ta da! You have an eye hole!
Submitted by: Patricia Pruim - Iskut, BC, Canada
My Colorful Apple Tree Grades K-1
This lesson plan will help students learn their colors. You will need a basic tree shape, along with a small apple. On each apple, write the color that you want students to know. They will first color their tree and then the apples. Students will then glue apples onto the tree.
"The Homework Machine" Visualizing Activity Grades Any
This lesson incorporates Language Arts into Art. I use this with primary students, but it could be used for any grade.
Submitted by: Patricia Pruim - Iskut, BC, Canada
Simulated Ink Grades Any
Make inexpensive calligraphy ink: An easy way to simulate art/calligraphy ink is to mix a small amount of water into black tempera paint. I've found that a ratio of about 1 part water to 4 or 5 parts paint works well.
Submitted by: Patricia Pruim - Iskut, BC, Canada
Classroom Window Decor Grades Any
Summary: Make tissue paper designs to place in the window.
You will need contact paper and different colors of tissue paper. Cut your contact paper into squares, peel it apart, and give one to each child. On Christmas, for instance, they can use different shades of green and red and stick them on the contact paper in a triangle shape to simulate a tree. The pieces of tissue paper can overlap. They could put a brown square near the bottom to represent the trunk. Once, they have completed their Christmas tree (or pumpkin for Halloween, or shamrock for St. Patrick's Day, etc), you simply put a second piece of contact paper over their art. They can then use scissors to cut around the edge of their design. The finished projects can be hung around the windows in the classroom, and when the light shines through, they look very pretty. This activity can also be done for a variety of other things such as, animals, fish, Valentine hearts, etc. This is an inexpensive way to decorate your class with some student personalization!
Submitted by: Cindy maerlyn@email-removed
"Eric Carle & Art" Grades K-3
You can find this lesson plan in the Reading section! It is a collaborative project between the classroom teacher and the art teacher.
Homework Hanger Grades Any
Summary: Create a artistic door hanger to promote a quiet working area.
Lesson Procedure: Create a doorknob hanger pattern (pdf). Then have each student trace the pattern onto a sheet of lightweight cardboard. Direct the student to cut out the hanger and write his name on the back. Collect and paint the from of each hanger with brightly colored spray paint. Allow the hangers to dry; then return them to students. Have each child use cut-out shapes and glitter to decorate his hanger with a design and message to promote a quiet working area. Encourage each student to use the doorknob hanger at home to create a homework-friendly environment.
Sponge Painting Grades K-4
Summary: Write poems on sponge painted paper leaves and hang them on a paper tree.
Using sponge paint, create a large tree trunk with branches. Have the children make a large leaf outline on a fall colored piece of paper (tan, yellow, red, orange, green), and write a poem pertaining to the wind, fall colors or weather. They can use fall colored sponge paint to outline their leaves. Cut the leaves from the paper. Take the finished leaf poems and attach them to your tree branches. It can be titled "Art in Autumn", or "Fun in the Fall"
Submitted by: Flashete@email-removed
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Art Activity Websites
This is a collection of other websites that contain art related lesson plans, activities and materials.
