Kindergarten Art Sub Lessons | Imaginary Travel

Kindergarten and First Grade Art Sub Lesson

One good place to check when you need art sub lessons is KinderArt.

Here's an elementary art lesson that they recommend for ages 5 - 8.  They include a short write up of a lesson with a sample art work. Your sub would probably appreciate some supplemental material such as picture books that go with the theme. It is a sweet little lesson you can leave for your sub if you have time to add a few more visuals and maybe a book to go along with it.

Here's one of mine that has a similar theme, but there 17 pages with visuals; a script for the sub to follow; and instructions. 

Here are a couple of comments from teachers who have used this lesson:

"As a regular classroom teacher tasked with teaching art I love your lessons - makes me more confident that I am sharing some art insight."

" Great lesson for subs - easy, engaging, and very relevant in the art room! My sub loved it, and the kids did too. They all wanted to finish their images the next week."

Find my lesson is at TeachersPayTeachers shop: Art Sub Lessons.

11 Easy Art Plans Based on Children's Books

When I sub in art, I enjoy teaching lessons that are tied into children's literature. The instant tie into quality books helps capture the students' attention, which is crucial to teaching in a short term assignment.  

Here are some lessons that use children's literature. You may click on the image to go to the lesson.

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Lesson by Miss Young's Art Room

The Gingerbread Man

Lesson by Art Sub Lessons

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature, 

by Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes

Lesson by Sharpy Woman

The Pesky Rat, by Lauren Child

Lesson by Fairy Dust Teaching

Ish, by Peter A. Reynolds

Lesson by Art Project Girl

The BFG, by Roald Dahl

Lesson by Art Sub Lessons

Magic Trash - A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art

Lesson by The Old Paintbrush

A World of Your Own, by Laura Carlin

Lesson by Art Is Basic

Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold

Lesson by Art Sub Lessons

The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat

Lesson by Art Sub Lessons

The Night I Followed the Dog, by Nina Laden

Lesson by Art Sub Lessons

Easy and Free Art Sub Plans for Kindergarten

Here is a free art sub PowerPoint lesson 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 source for some free resources is here: Circle Art Lessons | Art Sub Plans Worksheets

This page in my blog links to free art worksheet printables, videos, and lessons that can be completed in one class.

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.