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 Minutes – Students begin with Artists’ Choice

15 min – finish the face & color with oil pastels

15 min – Draw fish from reference

 10 min – Color best fish in expressive colors & blend

5 min – Cut the fish outline

 10 min – Trace fish & add details

10 min – Color the mirror fish

 5 min – Teacher finishes making fishes

 3 min – Show how you’ll hang them later

2 Min – Everyone helps

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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.

Kneel down so that you are on their level. Bending over emphasizes the differences in your height, while kneeling makes them feel more important. Have tape and marker ready so you can stick some tape on the table by each student and write their name on it as they sit down.

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.

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Have students finish the 2nd half of the face, but just with the lines. Use a black marker or colored pencil. This is a mirror image, symmetrical drawing. Most of the lines are shown as light gray guidelines, but there are some lines missing. Students should go over all of the existing guidelines, and also fill in the missing parts by looking at the right side and drawing them in mirror image on the left.

Color and blend with oil pastels

Then have everyone color the face with oil pastels, in any way they like. Rainbow colors or unusual colors, such as blues or greens, or in normal realistic colors.

Layer colors together and blend.

Sign name & set aside to take home

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Let Students pick a fish and draw it on card stock in bathtub position

Use a sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ card stock paper turned to the bathtub (horizontal) position. Draw this fish using a light yellow marker to make a guide line. Make sure students do not fill in areas. Just draw the outline and any lines needed for fins, mouth and eyes. Pencils can be used if needed, but colored pencils are best. Graphite can mix into the colors and make them look dirty.

Write name on back and select a second fish to draw(trade in the first one.)

Have everyone trade their fishes for a new one as soon as they finish the first one. 

Draw the second fish on a new sheet of card stock

Write name on the back and save the 2 fishes for next step

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 Choose a favorite fish and color with bright hot OR cold colors

Students choose one fish they like best.

Color the chosen fish in expressive wonderful colors, with layering of several colors and blending with white and blending sticks. Do not blend hot withcold colors, but keep them separate.

It’s ok to make the fish have different colors and patterns than the pictures! Anything goes.

Blend the colors together

Even a paper towel can be used to smear colors together. It’s ok to go outside the lines since you’ll be cutting these out anyway.

 Early finishers may color the 2nd fish

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Explain how to cut

It helps to have a fish drawing so you can show them as you explain:

 Students cut their own fish with lazy cutout, then cut accurately to finish

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Place the fish drawing face down on new paper

Students place the fish cutouts colored side down, on new sheets of card stock paper.

Hold the fish down firmly with the hand you don’t draw with and trace around the fish cutout.

Help them understand they need to be careful. Do not let the fish move at all while tracing. Trace the fish. Pencil lines need to be accurate around the fish, but accidental marks outside the shape will all be cut away so don’t worry about these extra lines.

Remove the colored fish and place right side up

Students should set the fish they colored above the traced outline with the color side up so they can see it

Draw the details in reverse using marker

Everyone needs to put down their pencils and switch to the yellow markers. When finished, write names on back of drawing.

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Color in oil pastels and blend!

Students can color the mirror fish like the first side, or you make it completely different!

Move around the room, asking permission to help and encouraging your students.

Teacher(s) should cut out new fishes as students finish them

Teachers should cut the 2nd side of the fish to keep it accurate like the first one.

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Fish Steps(tap any image to open viewer)

Cut out any remaining fish shapes

Teachers should cut the 2nd side of the fish to keep it accurate like the first one.

 Staple the 2 matching fish along the top edge – blank side facing inwards

Stuff the fish with a paper towel

Puff the fish up a bit with the towel. One should do it. You can twist it some to make it fish shaped.

Staple the around the rest of the edges to finish 3D fish

 Find the balancing point and punch a hole on the balance spot close to top edge. Then, tie a piece of string or yarn to the hole

Balance the fish for a second and you’ll see the best spot to punch the hole for hanging it.

We like blue yarn because it’s like water.

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Hold a fish or two up by the strings

Show students how you’ll hang the fish from the ceiling to create an aquarium in the air! Explain that you’ll hang the fish later.

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• 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

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

Week 23: Radial Balance

Students discover that a flower has a special kind of symmetry, magically being symmetrical in any direction! Then they work on creating their own radial symmetry artwork on 2 paper plates. To finish the day, the plates are joined like wheels using a toilet paper cardboard roll holder as an axle. The designs roll across the table and radial designs spin.

Week 24: The Most Important Spot

Emphasis is one of the most important aspects of good composition. However, this is a lot of abstract thinking for kids, so we say, “every artwork needs a Most Important Spot!” The lesson helps students think about what is in artwork, and to distinguish between wallpaper type designs and art that has that important spot that you see first. We begin with a fake art show using textures on paper but nothing else on them. Then we do some exercises with color. The end of the class has students taking the art show down and fixing the work by adding an important spot.