When it comes to buying art supplies for your classroom, how much does your budget influence your buying decisions? Do you sometimes choose your cheapest option just because, well, it’s the cheapest? There’s such a range of quality when it comes to student grade colored pencils and the difference in price doesn’t always make up for the difference in quality. The next time you … [Read more...]
Haiku Tunnel Books PDF Directions
This is one of my favorite resources in my TpT store... Haiku Tunnel Books! This project uses postcards to inspire students to write their own haiku poem and turn it into a tunnel book. A tunnel book is a three-dimensional movable book that you read by looking right through the middle of it. Originally from the mid-18th century, tunnel books are enjoying renewed popularity … [Read more...]
Feed Your Creative Soul – with a Sketchbook
Most art teachers I know struggle to find time for pursuing their own artwork.... so if that's you, you're not alone! Summertime provides a great opportunity for teachers to do things they otherwise set aside during the school year. But if we're trying to teach our students how important art is, should we really be putting off our own art until summer? (I'm speaking to myself … [Read more...]
Lettering Waves
My inspiration for this project came from the book, Hand Lettering, by Marci Donley & DeAnn Singh. The authors call this "Writing Between the Lines", but we've renamed it "Lettering Waves" since we live in a surfing community where waves are a pretty big deal! I taught this lettering style to my middle schoolers and the results were fantastic! You'll find so many … [Read more...]
Popcorn Drawing – Observation & Imagination
Have you ever looked at a cloud and seen an animal or some other random image? Most everyone has used their imagination to "find" things in clouds, and popcorn offers this same creative experience! This is a great lesson for 5th grade and up. Make sure you create a sample to illustrate the steps... a picture is worth a thousand words here! After doing this lesson, your … [Read more...]
Self-Portraits Inspired by Grant Wood
Grant Wood (1891-1942) was an American artist best known for his paintings of rural American life. My students were fascinated by the story of how his father died when Grant was only ten years old, and his mother had to move her family from their home on the farm to the big city. This was a hard move for Grant, who missed his farm animals and his life in the country. … [Read more...]
Thumbprint Self-Portrait
Here's a great idea I spotted on Pinterest.... I tried this lesson with my middle school students and they had so much fun with it! I originally used a copy machine to enlarge students' fingerprints. It was cumbersome and time-consuming. But then I figured out a faster, easier, and better way! For detailed instructions with photos, tips, writing prompts, a student gallery, and … [Read more...]
Line Designs with Shading
I'm not really sure what to call these drawings, but my students love them! I found this project on Art with Mr. E. (and added to his instructions just a bit) to use with my 4th & 5th graders for some end-of-the-year fun!! With this project, you can teach that shading and careful use of line can give a 2D drawing the "illusion" of being 3D. I loved the … [Read more...]
Haiku Tunnel Books
Tunnel books are fun and unique! We made ours using a postcard for a prompt and wrote a haiku to go with it. I've made these with grade 4 and up, but younger students could enjoy this activity in "centers", with the help of parent volunteers, or by having the various parts prepped for them ahead of time. There are lots of different directions you could take this … [Read more...]
Grade 4 Portfolios – “Ish” Drawings
There are lots of wonderful children's books available today, but "Ish" by Peter Reynolds stands out as one of my all-time favorites. This is a story that everyone (kids and adults!) can relate to.... in fact, it's so influential that I can literally see a "before and after" effect each time I read it to my students. This year, "Ish" is the inspiration for my 4th grade … [Read more...]