Serving Art Educators
and Students Since 1994
Three Art Lessons
These three lessons are from the early days of IAD. They were submitted before digital cameras and scanners were available to teachers. Because of this, some samples have been digitally created and may not be the best representation of the actual art work.
Snips Scissor Cutting
Submitted by: Becky Alexander, elementary art teacher at Porterville, CA.
Ages: 4 - 5
Materials:
Procedure:
Cutting is fun. My first scissors lesson is called "snips." The kids cut little construction paper pieces (not pre-drawn in any way) and paste them creatively on a contrasting paper. Very interesting results! Kids love it and learn to use scissors. You can also use gift wrapping paper, newspaper, and anything else they can cut.
[NOTE: This lesson needs beefing up. If anyone has anything to add to this lesson- including images- please click on the "Submit a Lesson" link in the menu on the left.]
My Morning Picture
Submitted by: Ken Rohrer
For Ages: 3 - 6
Materials:
Crayons
Procedure:
This lesson introduces children to the variety you can create with a simple line. They will discover that you can make fat, wavy, textured, and thin lines.
The teacher begins the lesson by saying something like, "Boy did I have a crazy morning! I'll do a picture to show you what I mean."
The teacher then takes a crayon and draws randomly on the paper while describing their morning. The lines the teacher draws mimic the actions that occurred. For example, if the teacher were to say "First, I got out of bed," the teacher would draw a line like the one in the image below as they hop out of bed.
"Then I went in the shower. Shhhhhhh, went the water," while making scribble lines which mimic water falling.
"I then dried myself off and blow-dried my hair - whooossh!" while making wild crayon marks which indicate wind. I then brushed my teeth."
The teacher fills up the picture with a variety of lines that follow the path of the morning. Once the page is filled, the space between the lines may be colored or textured.
Tell them to fill their own page and to change colors frequently. The more variety of line and motion, the better. Encourage them to use the side of the crayon to make fat lines also. Kids can fill in spaces between lines with color. If there is extra time, have the kids narrate their morning while pointing to the lines they made on the page.
Fun with Painting
Submitted by: Ken Rohrer
For Ages: 3 - 6
Procedure:
Make sure that the kids have bibs or smocks and an area where it is safe to make paint messes. Say to the children, "We are going to learn about different ways of painting. You are used to painting by just sticking your brush in the paint and then moving it across your paper. Today, we'll learn more ways to paint."
The teacher will then give a demonstration in front of the class. The picture should be on Easels
The teacher then says, "Look what happens when you wet your paper first and then paint over it. Look how the paints runs and spreads across the paper. Most artists use this style to paint the sky or water."
"Now let's look what happens when you squeeze the water out of your brush and then put it in the paint. You can make thinner lines, can't you? (This style is called dry brush) This is good for making small things or things like grass blades, leaves, hair, or branches."
"It is very important, kids, to clean your brushes with water every time you change colors. Do you know why? because if you don't your picture will end up looking like mud. Try mixing your colors on the paper by moving your brush through another color. What happens?"
Don't let the kids paint too long on one paper or they really will end up with a picture of mud. If they get done early, its better to give them a new sheet of paper to start a new paper. Set a time limit or monitor them closely so they don't over-paint. Part of being an artist is knowing when to quit.
Assignment:
Following the demonstration, the children will have the opportunity to experiment with paints using the techniques demonstrated by the teacher. The teacher may designate each table to be a certain style. For example, one table could be the dry brushing table. Another table could be the wash or wet-on-wet table. Students could then rotate every 10 minutes. If that isn't possible, then the teacher might tell the students which style they were doing and then at the end of the time period, they are told to change styles.
A new piece of paper should be given to the children after each style is used. The teacher has the option of continuing the lesson by having the children choose their favorite style and then coming up with a painting of their own.
Materials
Paint Brushes
Jars for water
Newspaper to cover the tables
Smocks
or bibs
White paper (Preferably Watercolor Paper
)
or 
NOTE: This lesson was submitted in the early days of IAD when teachers had no scanners or digital cameras to take pictures of student work.
