Elementary Art Sub Plans | Romero Britto

Romero Britto Inspired Elementary Art Activity

This lesson is from the Elements of the Artroom blog. Mrs. Stacey provides many examples from this second-grade art lesson. I believe an art sub could teach a lesson based on this. 

Here is another 2nd or 3rd-grade art lesson about Romero Britto.  This one is at The Talking Walls blog.  There are plenty of instructions so you could easily translate this to an art sub lesson.  

I could see this used for second through fifth grades.  

If you would like to see a fully formed, lesson you can just email to your school office when you are out, check out this blog post:  Romero Britto Figure Lesson for K and 1

How to Draw a Turkey for Thanksgiving - Kindergarten

Turkey Directed Drawing for Thanksgiving

If you have an art sub who can lead a simple directed drawing, here's a super cute one for fall. Proud to be Primary has a lesson on her blog with complete directions.  Kindergarten kids will love it!  Of course, you might not want to leave paint with a sub.  (By the way, YOU DON"T WANT TO LEAVE  PAINT WITH A SUB!!!)  But, kids can draw this and color it with crayons and still end up with a lovely work to take away with them.

 Art Lesson Plan for Kindergarten

If you would like an early finisher activity about turkeys, I have this worksheet at my TPT shop: Art Sub Lessons.  "Create a Turkey in Disguise." Great for elementary kids.

If you are interested in a lesson on how to draw a simple turkey, check out this blog post: 

Art Sub Lesson: Thanksgiving Drawing.

How to Draw a Turkey in Disguise - Elementary Art Lesson

This is a complete lesson plan on drawing a turkey.  There are simple directions on the basic turkey shape and then examples for how it might be in disguise. This is a fun lesson for elementary kids and can be taught by anyone. 

You can find this lesson here in my TPT Shop:  Art Sub Lesson - Create a Turkey in Disguise

Insect Mandala - STEAM/STEM - Art Sub Lessons

Art Sub Lesson Plans for STEAM | Art and Math

Cool Classroom Stuff’s TPT shop has an art activity that could be used with an art sub, a center, or an early finisher activity. This could be used by elementary, middle, or high school students.  Create Insect Designs with Radial Symmetry - STEM/STEAM

This activity may be set up as a classroom learning center; an activity for early finishers; or as a teacher or sub led lesson.

This PowerPoint includes:

-Four drawing templates featuring spacing guidelines and lightly drawn insects. (Butterflies, spiders, crickets, and bees.)

-One drawing template featuring spacing guidelines without insects so that students may draw their own insects.

-Five sample drawings, showing a variety of media. They may be hung in the class as visuals for a lesson or hung in a learning center. 

-One sheet with a composite of the sample drawings that may be hung in a learning center.

-One sheet of sample ways to divide a circle into a design of radial symmetry.

-Three sheets that include information about radial symmetry and directions on how to do the design.

The designs may be created with pen, crayon or marker.

STEAM Art Sub Lesson with Insects

This lesson was created with an art sub in mind. All of the directions have been included for their ease of use. There are multiple ways to use it. It may be printed out so that the sub may present it up close on paper or shown as a PowerPoint presentation.
It integrates science with art in an “ugly bug ball.” Including art history rounds this out even more!

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The lesson begins with a discussion about masterpieces featuring insects by the artists Balthasar van der Ast, Nicolaes de Bruyn and then William Heath-Robinson. 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. 

The materials needed for this lesson are the most simple: paper, pencils and crayons or markers. Here's what another buyer had so say about that: "Great lesson to leave for a sub as everything needed was included and the prep was minimal and used things commonly found in the art room. "

Here's a comment from a buyer:  "The kids produced wonderful drawings and images. The sub used the plans for my intermediate groups grades 3-5 and she loved working with the kids as the plans were so meticulously laid out!"

You may find this lesson here:  TPT Shop: Art Sub Lessons

Bugs and Insects - STEAM Art Sub Plans

Bugs and Insects - STEAM Art Sub Lessons

Now that spring is here, people are interested in nature art lessons. Here are some related to bugs and insects.

Here is one on TPT that was written easy enough to be taught by anyone; art teacher, sub, classroom teacher, or random person off the street.  Ugly Bug Ball

This one is also on TPT.  It could also be taught by anyone. A multipurpose lesson, it could be used as a center activity, an early finishers activity, or an art sub lesson.  Create Insect Designs with Radial Symmetry - STEM/STEAM

This is a coloring/doodle/patterned Monarch Butterfly activity on TPT.

The images in this blog post are great.  As an upper elementart art sub lesson, you could do some step by steps of how to draw a simple insect and add a pattern chart.  Kids could do some beautiful drawings with crayons or markers. This is over at Laura Kelly's blog, Me and My Inklings.

Here's another good one with lots of visuals and instructions.  Still, for a sub, you might want to add a few more step by step visuals unless you have a person who is comfortable doing simple shape drawings.  I would also keep the lesson to just crayons or markers.  It is a nice lesson.  Visit the Laugh Paint Create blog.

KinderArt, always a good place to check out lessons, has a lesson called Bug In A Jar. It was written for middle school art, but could be adapted,  I'm sure.

Crayola is always a good place to get ideas. Often there are plans on their site  you could use as well. This one would need more detailed directions for a sub, but you could write up some step by step ones that would work with this. Crayola

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.

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

Silly Sandwich Art Lesson

Silly Sandwich Art Sub Lesson

This lesson idea has been around for a while and it is still as good as ever. Kids love "silly" and fun anything and this is no exception.  You can load anything you want on a silly sandwich. Food, toys, the kitchen sink. It's all good. 

If you have time, cutting 12” x 18” paper into 6” x 9” makes for a fun size.  This size really exaggerates how silly and big this sandwich is.

If you want to save yourself some time, I have this lesson fully formed in a PowerPoint in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  There are photos of real silly sandwiches and student samples.

It works great as a lesson to leave with your substitute teachers. All your sub needs to do is read the script and follow the directions. Classroom teachers and art teachers can teach it too, but subs love this one. The kids stay engaged doing it.

Oh! And I added a word find puzzle about sandwiches for those early finishers.  You can check it out here:  Art Sub Lesson - Silly Sandwich

Art Sub Plan - Imagination Drawing

Art Sub Plan Using Imagination

Here's one I haven't seen before!  Check out this lesson at Dansquare's Art Education.

It is based on this book, ““If.......”, by Sarah Perry. (Not an affiliate link, btw.). Here’s the blurb from the book.  “ Take a fantastical journey through an inspiring world where anything can happen: leaves turn into fish, cats fly with wings, humans have tails, frogs eat rainbows, and dreams become visible. 

First published in 1995, Sarah Perry’s delightful picture book of “surreal possibilities” was the Getty’s first children’s title. Twenty-five years later it remains a visual feast that children of all ages enjoy.”

That sounds like a book that would be a good addition to your classroom library in addition to having. Good lead-in for this lesson.    

Art Sub Lesson - Warm and Cool

Warm and Cool Art Lesson

Here's an easy one from Art Project Girl.  The main part of the lesson is about warm and cool colors.  She gives samples and a few simple instructions. A sub could easily teach this one.

Here is another post about using warm and cool colors for an art sub lesson:  Kindergarten Art Sub Plan - Klee’s “Cat and Bird”

Circle Drawing Game - Art Worksheets Printables

Circles Games - Art Worksheets Printables - Free

Teachers love art games and worksheets. I have created a free one for you called "Circle Drawing Game."

Art Worksheets for Free

You can go download this worksheet at my TPT Shop: Art Sub Lessons and it is FREEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The next one is another worksheet that I just added  and it is FREE TOO!  Click here to get this one: What Can You Draw from Circles?

The instructions are simply "What can you make from circles." There are circles of various sizes. Feel free to use these as you like. 

Here's another idea for circle drawing on a worksheet. Click here to see the YouTube video titled, "How to Draw different things using Circle Shapes." It is more of a step-by-step activity.

Here are a variety of places where you can find circle worksheets.

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/art-cover-lesson-bundle-11441307

http://nocornersuns.blogspot.com/2014/01/free-art-sub-lesson-circle-game-adapted.html

https://clubexperience.blog/2018/03/29/30-circles-challenge-creative-icebreaker-activity-with-free-download/

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.

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.