Lesson At A Glance

Here’s a brief overview of the complete lesson. It’s also on your prep page in the Ready, Set, Go! section (below the lesson).

Colored buttons jump to each section in the full lesson plan below.

15 Min – Artists’ choice and color name game.

20 Min – Students will color and put together a puzzle

10 Min – Students create a paper pouch to hold their puzzle.

20 Min – Students will mix paints to match color swatches.

10 Min – Students will create their own crazy creature from PDF.

13 Min – Students will color and outline their creature

2 Min – Everyone helps

Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.

SCROLL & TEACH

LESSONPLAN

Each section is a different color. Read over once and then you can SCROLL & TEACH using any device you like. It’s designed to work well with your phone.

All materials are suggestions and may be modified as you see fit. We have tried many items, and these seem to allow the most versatility for the cost.

Students guess color names. Guessing a color that is anything close to the fun name is a winner! (don’t make it too hard).

Begin with a fun guessing color name game. The new color name will be their name for the day! Cut out the color name tags and without letting kids see them, tape one to everyone’s back as they enter. Explain right away that no one should tell their friends what their new color name is. Everyone must guess! Don’t let students pull their shirt around to peek.

Kids can ask only yes or no questions, but they can also give each other hints as much as they want. Teacher needs to help with hints so no one gets really frustrated.

Always try to greet students as they come in and kneel down when you can, so that you are on their level.

Artists’ Choice

Encourage students to work with one piece of paper for a while. If someone uses the phrase, “free draw”, explain that artists’ choice is something only artists can do, while free-draw is something anyone can do. You want to use the phrase to elevate the students’ expectations of their work.

Everyone should take their time with the work and make a finished piece of art. Limiting the paper can also help kids focus on the work. If someone finishes in super-fast time, ask them what more they can do to the existing paper. Ask again several times – unless they appear overly frustrated; then you can allow them to move on to a new work.

Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.

Students color the BIG SHAPES

A jumbled puzzle PDF must be colored with either markers (faster and easier) or with oil pastels. Then the pieces cut out and put together to finish the puzzle. Make sure to use card stock.

Talk about how the picture is made up of just a few really Big Shapes if you look at the same color pieces as if they are one shape.

Follow these 3 steps

The puzzle pages have the 3 steps:

1. Use 2 or 3 pastels to blend colors in each outlined puzzle piece. Try to get something similar to the dot near each piece as indicated with an arrow.
2. Cut (rough cut out) along the dashed lines.
3. Finally, cut each piece out as carefully as you can.

You may need to help cut some of the details.

Four BIG Shapes

There are lots of small shapes, but they combine to make 4 big shapes.

Original is different

Point out how the reference is similar, but artists sometimes simplify or add things they like.

Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.

Make Card Stock Pouches.

Students create a paper pouch using staples and a folded sheet of copy sized card stock paper. Then they decorate it with markers and store their puzzle pieces inside.

This works best if the card stock is folded along the middle on the long axis, so that the pouch is 11″ wide, and 4.25″ deep.

Students decorate their puzzle pouches.

Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.

Brushes should be nylon for springiness and durability. Round brushes are the most versatile.

Paint pigment list:

• Napthol or Pyrrol Red
• Hansa or Light Yellow
• Pthalo Green (blue shade)
• Cyan or Cerulean Blue
• Ultramarine Blue
• Dioxazine Purple
• Magenta
• Burnt Umber
• Raw Sienna
• Titanium White (professional grade only)

Set out bowls of basic colors and white, and then explain how to mix.

1. The bowls are for getting pigment paint.
2. The trays are for mixing the colors to match.
3. Use more than one pigment paint to make the colors.
4. You don’t need much paint because the circles are small!

Use Tempera to mix & match and paint on printed card stock

When finished, write names and set aside to dry

Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.

Provide Print

Students draw their own crazy creature using cartoon creature parts from a PDF. Anything goes! Create your own parts too.

Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.

Marker Colors

Use markers to color the creature.

Black outlines

Outline with black at the end.

Use this button to jump down to the preparation section.

Students clean up their work area.

• Wash hands
• Super-wash brushes if used
• Put art supplies away
• Wipe tables & toss trash
• Remove any smocks (last)
• Check for items on floors and tables

Try to get photos of your student’s artwork. Find a good spot for quick lighting without highlights or shadows from your hands and device. Ideally in-between two strong lights on each side

Print all of your PDFs from the lesson plan and cut any references apart as needed.

Week 37: Still Life Slide

Students draw 3 still life objects and color them with oil pastels. They’re cut out and the children have fun sliding them up, down, right and left until they find a good spot for each of them, one at a time. All are glued into place for a nice still life artwork. Then the objects are turned into silly cartoons and colored with markers for a fun finish to the lesson.

Week 38: Party Bus!

For our final lesson of Year A, we’ll be making and decorating a big box party bus! It’s great fun and students learn to work together. Then everyone gets to redesign their school bus, and invent a mobile house bus for the summer.