Optical Illusion Lesson

Art Lesson with Simple Materials

I have seen this lesson before but didn't know that it would be one for fifth graders.  

Here, Mrs. Fillmore, shows you step by step how to create this optical illusion drawing. And not only that, students learn about the artists, Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley, in the process.

Her students took 5 sessions of 40 minute classes to complete this. I'm thinking that not just any sub could teach this well, but if you know your sub has the skills, this might be the lesson for you.

If you need a lesson that uses simple materials and has all the visuals you need, check out the blog post by Art by Mrs. Fillmore.

Silly Sandwich Art Lesson Plan

 Art Sub Plan for Elementary

Writing lesson plans for a sub when you are sick or stressed, is just the worst!!!! I'd venture to say that it is one of the most frustrating parts of teaching art. You want  your students to be engaged while you are absent but you know that unless a substitute teacher is an artist, they may be uncomfortable teaching an art lesson. This lesson, Silly Sandwich, alleviates that problem.

This art lesson is beloved. My students and subs loved it so much, I offered it up in my TeachersPayTeachers shop. It is fully scripted, uses simple materials, and is full of visuals. Just email the file to the school office and you are done.

Reviews of the "Silly Sandwich" Art Sub Plan

Here are some comments from teachers who have used this lesson: 

"The students really enjoyed this activity. I used it as a 'get to know you' activity and had them put all of their favorite things inside of the sandwich."

"Excellent art piece to leave for subs or even for those days you want to do a silly type of art lesson. Students were engaged and had fun with it." 

"I used this for a day I had a sick child at home and had to come up with a last-minute sub art lesson. This was a lifesaver! Thank you!"

"Great activity that kept students engaged for guest teacher! Very detailed instructions, minimal prep/materials/clean-up."

"This was perfect for a sub, really made my life and the subs life so much easier and the kids all had such creative ideas."

Where to Buy This

As of this writing, this complete lesson costs only $4. All you need to do is hand this to a sub and your planning is done. You can buy this lesson in my TPT Shop, Art Sub Lessons. 

Easy Art Sub Lessons for Spring

21 Art Sub Lessons for Spring

Here are 21 elementary art sub plans that are easy enough to be taught by anyone. Some are full lesson plans; some ideas; some links to good lessons. It is a good reference for both emergency absenses and planned leave.

15 Art Sub Lesson Ideas - Valentines and Winter

15 Art Sub Lesson Plan Ideas for Valentines Day and Early Winter

Here are lessons that would be great to use as sub lessons around Valentines Day.  Some have full directions and some could be easily adapted to use.

Halloween Art Sub Plan

Halloween Art Sub Plan for Elementary and Middle School

I always hated creating art sub lessons. It was always so much work.  Whenever I planned to take a day off from work, I wondered if it was worth the hassle. When I retired from full time teaching and decided to sub in art, I found that some teachers left good lesson plans, but many were too bare boned to be very helpful. That's why I decided to create my own shop to sell art sub plans.  All of my lessons are affordable and are full and rich for a sub to teach. They will save you HOURS!!!

This Halloween art lesson is fun for students and easy to teach. The prep for this is minimal. Students will need paper; one black crayon per student; and assorted other crayon colors.

 These are provided to help your sub teach with confidence:
-3 1/2 pages of script so all your sub has to do is read and follow the directions
-5 pages of visuals that accompany the script
-5 pages of supplemental visuals that your students can refer to for details

Here is a preview of what you would get.

 This is a Print and Go lesson so you do not need a projector. However, since it was created with PowerPoint, you could project it if you turn the slides in a different direction first. There is also a .pdf version in this file.

Teaching European Explorers in Elementary Art

Teaching European Explorers in Elementary Art Class 

"There Be Monsters!" is a fun and open-ended elementary art sub lesson that integrates the study of early explorers with mapmaking and sea monsters.  

There are 21 slides that include many from maps from the age of Columbus.  There are lots of strange sea creatures on these maps!  The students will talk about what they see in the slides and then create a map of an imaginary place with their own unique sea monsters.

It was written with an art sub in mind, but can be taught by classroom teachers and art teachers as well. 

You can find this lesson in my Teachers Pay Teachers store:  Art Sub Lessons.

This particular lesson was written for 3rd through 5th grade, but if you are interested in an early explorers art lesson for middle school, check out this lesson:  Explorers and Sea Monsters

Easy Elementary Art Sub Plan

"The worst part of my job is preparing for a sub." That is a statement we can probably all agree with. You need to spend tons of time to describe even the tiniest of directions. That quote is from "Art Project Girl." She made it a little bit easier for you though, by posting this art sub plan. 

It has written instructions, visuals, and uses simple materials. 

It works well as a lesson to use in February as it uses warm and cool hearts as the subject.

The Dot - Relief Teaching Ideas

Art Lesson for Relief Teaching

This lesson idea is from "Ms. Brown's Art Class."  I think it could be adapted for kindergarten art sub plans up to fifth-grade ones.

Ms. Brown uses block tempera in her classroom.  If I had a sub, I might use those same plans or either draw with Sharpie and then fill in with marker or crayon.  She has nice instructions on her page.  She also uses the book, "The Dot."  (Thanks for all the lesson plans on your blog, Ms. Brown!)