This is a classic still life painting lesson that was co-taught by one of my practicum students.  Her background is not in art, so I suggested this project as it's fairly simple but allows for a lot of creativity for the students. This was taught to a mixed class of Grade 4 - 6 students.  I found the inspiration from the wonderful Deep Space Sparkle website  HERE and HERE.  Here is my quick demo showing how to draw a vase/vessel and then a variety of flowers- we also encouraged spring flowers such as tulips and daffodils. Student drew their good copy on 12 x 18 ..read more

In my high school. Grade 10-12 students get a Shakespeare unit (yes, they still study him!) where they have to complete a creative project at the end of the unit to show their understanding. It can be in any creative medium, and many students choose visual art. All the work is put on display on tables and all the classes walk around viewing the work. The Shakespeare work studied this time was Hamlet (1599), Twelfth Night (1601), and  As You Like It (1600).   ..read more

These cute and colourful geckos were made by Grade 4-6 students. I demonstrated on my easel how to draw one. Then students got to work on 11 x 17" copy paper (tabloid size). Then they drew sections throughout the body.  Within each section, they drew a pattern and outlined everything using black marker. Then they coloured them with markers The last step was to bubble cut around them, leaving a thin white border. So cute!   ..read more

This is one of those art projects that went viral on social media but I can't, for the life of me, find the original source. I think it's HERE, but I could be wrong. It's the website TES, which is a British based educational website.  Nonetheless, you can find variants of this lesson (different backgrounds) all over the internet.  Some templates are HERE and HERE.  This would make a great sub lesson if you're going to be out in the Spring as it can be, depending on which media you choose, low mess and low prep! Some finished artworks by Grade 3 students ..read more

Here's a messy but fun Easter themed project that my Grade 4-6 students recently finished. I showed them how to draw and shade an egg using chalk pastels.  I've posted this lesson previously HERE, where I normally use clear glue.  This time, to save time, we used black oil pastels for the drawing step. Students started by doing a quick practice sketch planning out their patterns.  Then they drew it on large 12 x 18" black construction paper and outlined all the  pencil lines with a black oil pastel. Then I showed them how to use a white chalk pastel to add the high ..read more

This is an abstract sculpture lesson using air dry clay. Perfect for teachers like me who don't have a kiln. My students really enjoy this project so I look forward to teaching it! See my previous posts on this lesson HERE and HERE. I buy one pack of air dry clay per student. I buy these at Dollarama (Canada). Most students don't use the whole pack, for whatever reason. I start off by showing them the work of Jean Arp and Barbara Hepworth.  We discuss what abstract art is. Then, I do a quick demo and tell them to make any type of abstract sculpture. The only rules is it has to have ..read more

My Grade 7-9 students recently finished their Chinese Dragons for Lunar New Year. This was an end of semester project for them. I gave them total free reign and said the only theme was "Chinese Dragon"- they could use any media they wished to illustrate this. I showed them a video about Lunar New Year celebration as well as one explaining the Chinese zodiac story. Some students shared how they celebrate with their families. I didn't do any tutorials other than showing them examples of dragons in Asian art.  Prior to the lesson, I hunted down some dragon themed Lunar New Year decoration ..read more

This is a charming winter landscape painting lesson that I saw on Art with Mrs. H's Instagram HERE. We have a lot of snow here where I live in Canada- yes, in March!! Grade 4-6 students started by painting a watercolour sky. That took one class. Next class, I demonstrated how to paint an evergreen tree using black tempera. I encouraged Grade 5,6 student to paint two trees; Grade 4 students only had to paint one.  Once that layer dried, they layered on gray paint.  The final layer was white tempera. Some added snow in the sky afterwards. I mounted these onto coloured cons ..read more

  Grade 4-6 students created these poster sized portrait paintings inspired by contemporary Canadian artist Sandra Silberzweig.   She has a rare condition known as "synesthesia". People Diagnosed with this condition, see, hear and taste color! Children growing up with this condition, may not be aware that others do not see or experience the world as they do. She uses her talents to create tribal-like colorful abstract portraits. Her influences come from  many sources. Picasso's art influenced  her work most of all.   I started off by showing a s ..read more

This was a quick but effective lesson on form and shading, using chalk pastels. I demonstrated how to draw a macaron to Grade 7-9 students.  I showed them the ruffled 'foot' part and how to do a soft highlight. They drew them nice and large on coloured construction paper. Then they coloured and blended them using chalk pastels. Finally, they were cut out.  Most students just managed to finish in our 80 minute block.  As you can see, strawberry was a favourite flavour!   ..read more