5 Back to School Art Sub Lessons

Art Sub Lessons that Anyone Can Teach

Back to school time must be the hardest time to think up art Sub lessons. Here Are 5 Art lessons that are easy enough for art subs and classroom teachers but can be used by art teachers as well.

Lines, Lines, and More Lines by Jan Johnson at Art Sub Lessons

Minions by Miriam at Arte a Scuola

Dot Day by Ms. O'Hanley at Tales from the Traveling Art Teacher

Collaborative Creatures by Katie Weymouth at Briargrove Elementary Art Page

Back to School Art Sub Plans - Dot Day

Dot Day for Back to School Art 

Teachers love to integrate Dot Day into their Back to School lessons since, for many, they happen around the same time. (September)

 

Here are Dot Day lessons from Ms. O’Hanley, Tales from the Traveling Art Teacher  She’s got a video link and multiple lesson ideas that a sub could do.  

 

One of my favorites is this radial symmetry design done on a paper plate.  Check it out! 

Art Sub Plan for Back to School - Emoji

Back to School Art Idea

***Note: The original post that I linked to here no longer exists. Actually, so far as I can tell, the whole blog is gone.  But here is my original post.***

Kids would love to do this if they had a sub in art.  You could print out samples of emoji and have the students create new ones.  This plan could easily be adapted to crayon.  Check this idea out over at:  Room (: Art!

Easy Art Plans for Subs

Easy Art Sub Plans

Here is a free art sub PowerPoint plan for you at my  Teachers Pay Teachers shop: Art Sub Lessons.  This lesson is one I use with kindergarten.  We do lots of moving around making the shapes of lines as we look at the slides. TeachersPayTeachers requests that you make your free PowerPoints smaller than your "for pay" ones, but this is still full of good images and information for your students and subs.

Here are a couple of "easy sub lessons" from Dali's Moustache.  One is a third grade lesson about Jackson Pollack's action paintings.  The other is a fourth grade lesson called "crayon fireworks."

Another easy way to prepare for an art sub is to go to my shop, Art Sub Plans. I have created complete lessons in which all your sub has to do is read the slides and follow the directions.  They are full of visuals and are created to be used with the most simple supplies.  Pencils, paper and crayons are all your students will need to create imaginative works of art.

These are perfect for those emergency absences when you do not have the time to write detailed plans but want to leave quality plans for your subs.

Patterned Landscapes - Art Sub Plan Elementary

Patterned Landscapes for Elementary Art Sub Plans

Here are some visuals for a landscape lesson that anyone could teach. It could be great for an art sub.

I have drawn 4 stages of a patterned landscape lesson that you are welcome to use in a lesson with your own students.

Here is a video that you could use with older students.  Patterns and Landscape Video.

Other Lessons Idea on my Blog about Pattern

Easy Art Lesson for Elementary and Middle School

Put a Pattern on It

Complete Lesson at My TPT Shop: Art Sub Lessons

The Colorful Art of Bruce Gray

***Originally I had linked to a lesson about patterned landscapes on a site called "Relief Teaching Ideas," but that site no longer exists.

Art Sub Lesson for Kindergarten - Bugtown Boogie

Kindergarten Art Sub Lesson for Bugtown Boogie

You should check out this art lesson.  When I first saw it, I missed that a good chunk of the lesson was lower down on the page, so don’t overlook this. There are a good number of instructions down there.

This sweet lesson was inspired by the book, Bugtown Boogie, by Warren Hanson. 

If you’d like to check out this book, you can find it performed on YouTube here:  Bugtown Boogie

The version of the lesson that this Mom uses with her son involves rolling a dice to choose bug body parts. You can find this lesson at:  Deceptively Educational.

This reminds me a lot of my sub plan, Ugly Bug Ball. 

If you’d like a fun elementary art lesson about bugs, that’s all ready to hand to a sub, check that one out at my TPT shop. It’s no prep; fully scripted, and full of visuals. It would work best for 2nd grade through 5th grade.

Here's another primary lesson you might like at my TeachersPayTeachers shop.

Be Kind to Your Sub

What a different experience it is between teaching in my own classroom and substitute teaching in someone else's.  I am venturing out into the world of substitute teaching these days and am getting a new perspective into the world of subbing.

I have seen rich and full lessons left for subs and I have seen overly simplistic ones. The intent of giving a sub a super simple lesson plan is kind.  Teachers don't want to give someone a plan that is beyond the sub's capabilities to teach.  However, when I look at some of the lessons I have been left, I know that some are wildly inadequate.  Recently, I was given a page out of School Arts magazine about "expressive line."  It was a lovely idea, and I have incorporated it into lessons in my own classroom.  However, as a stand alone lesson, it was not appropriate for an hour long lesson for 6, 7 and 8 year olds.  If I had taught that lesson, I can imagine that even the most engaged kids would have lasted 15 minutes or so.  I find it hard to picture the more fidgety kids doing more than a line or two.

What will happen in your class when your students have 45 minutes...or 30....or even 15 minutes left after a lesson? When you set up sub plans, ask yourself if you would teach that same lesson.  Ask yourself how long your students would actually be engaged in that activity and what will happen with the extra time left over.  Is it really an age appropriate lesson? Leave books and activities for the students to use when they are finished with their work.  Leave a dvd player and art videos.  Leave books for the sub to read aloud.  Prepare for that unencumbered time when problems are prone to occur.

Instead of rushing around at the last minute, why not work now to set up a folder of good lessons or a "sub tub"?  Get yourself prepared for that emergency sick day.  It doesn't have to take hours and hours to get this together.  You can get tons of lesson ideas from this blog.  There are tons of Pinterest boards linking to sub plans.  If you want fully formed, age appropriate art sub lessons, check out my shop at TeachersPayTeachers.

Be kind to your kids and your subs.  Please plan well for them.

Clowning Around - Emergency Art Sub Lesson

I have left this lesson with my subs for a couple of years now.  They seem to do well with it.

I have uploaded it to TeachersPayTeachers here:  Art Lesson for Subs - Clowning Around

As with all my sub lessons, all you need to do is to print out this 20 page PowerPoint and leave it for the sub.  The only materials they will need are paper, pencil and crayons.  All the directions and visuals for your sub are included.  The sub just needs to read the questions and comments on each slide, and that will direct your students.

The lesson begins with photos of clowns through history.  In order to make an art history connection, I have included a medieval masterpiece of a court jester. Each slide includes questions and statements for the students to think about while creating their drawings.

This lesson would work well as an emergency sub plan as the materials are basic and the directions are complete.  The lesson will save you great amounts of time over the years.

Take care.

Art Sub Plan - A Tree House for Me

A Treehouse for Me

As I am entering the later part of my art teaching career, I am trying to figure out how I can both continue in art education and fund my retirement.  Plus, in a year or two I will probably start subbing in art classrooms and will need an arsenal of good lessons to teach.  I've started putting together art sub lessons in PowerPoint as if I were going to substitute teach from them.  They've taken hours of work to put together and most of them have been tested in the classroom.

I am going to be selling them cheaply so that when you need an emergency lesson plan you can buy one from here:  Jan's Shop at TeachersPayTeachers  A lesson that has taken me hours and hours to work on, you can download in a minute.  You don't have to spend all those agonizing hours writing your own art sub lesson plans.

The lessons all use the most simple supplies:  crayon or marker, pencil or pen, and paper.  All your sub has to do is to read each slide.

Since my subs most likely don't feel comfortable using my technology, I have created the slides so that you can print out each slide.  The sub will just bring the class close as if they were reading a book to the class, and they will show each slide that has been printed.

This particular lesson was written with third, fourth, and fifth grade students in mind.

Ugly Bug Ball - Elementary Art Sub Plan

 Ugly Bug Ball - Art Sub Plan 

I created this lesson for its ease of use.  It is complete with visuals and simple directions.  The materials needed are very simple.  It is for sale at TeachersPayTeachers.

This lesson was created with an art sub in mind. All of the directions have been included for their ease of use. You may print this out so that the sub may present it up close on paper or show it as PowerPoint presentation.

The materials needed for this lesson are the most simple: paper, pencils, and crayons or markers.

The lesson begins with discussion questions regarding a masterpiece by the artist, Balthasar van der Ast. This painting includes many interesting insects crawling around a beautiful still life. The lesson then leads the students to create an imaginary scene of insects at a party. Each slide includes questions and statements for the students to think about including in their drawing.

I have taught this lesson to all levels, K through Fifth. My subs who have used this lesson have left feedback that they and the students thoroughly enjoyed the lesson.

I hope that this will be a well-loved lesson for you and your students and that it helps you when you are in need of a sub lesson.

Elementary Art Sub Lesson - Ugly Bug Ball

 I created this lesson for its ease of use.  It is complete with visuals and simple directions.  The materials needed are very simple.  It is for sale at TeachersPayTeachers.

This lesson was created with an art sub in mind. All of the directions have been included for their ease of use. You may print this out so that the sub may present it up close on paper or show it as PowerPoint presentation.

The materials needed for this lesson are the most simple: paper, pencils and crayons or markers.

The lesson begins with discussion questions regarding a masterpiece by the artist, Balthasar van der Ast. This painting includes many interesting insects crawling around a beautiful still life. The lesson then leads the students to creating an imaginary scene of insects at a party. Each slide includes questions and statements for the students to think about including in their drawing.

I have taught this lesson to all levels, K through Fifth. My subs who have used this lesson have left feedback that they and the students thoroughly enjoyed the lesson.

I hope that this will be a well loved lesson for you and your students and that it helps you when you are in need of a sub lesson.

Kindergarten Art Sub Plan - Gingham Dog Calico Cat

Kindergarten Art Sub Plan

This is a lesson that I created years ago and it has been an old favorite. It goes with the book/poem "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat." I wrote it specifically for primary art subs. It's over at TeachersPayTeachers.  

I tried to make it as simple as possible. If you have the book and simple supplies, you are ready to take a day of leave. = )

This is a great solution to a day when you have an emergency and need a sub lesson immediately.  Everything you need is here.

The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat

This is an art sub lesson that I created years ago and it has been an old favorite. It goes with the book/poem "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat." I wrote it specifically for primary art subs. It's over at TeachersPayTeachers. I tried to make it as simple as possible. If you have the book and simple supplies, you are ready to take a day of leave. = )