Elementary Art Sub Plan - Desert Cactus Directed Drawing

 2 in 1 Art Sub Lesson

In my quest to try and make a teacher's life a little easier, I created a lesson that can be taught in kindergarten through 4th grade. It is a directed drawing but with plenty of room for personal expression.

The lesson starts out with step-by-step instructions for how to draw a patterned pot with a prickly pear cactus inside. That is for the kindergarten and first grade students. 

After they are led through how to draw that and color in neatly, the lesson for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade begins. Those grade will add a desert landscape to their drawing. 

By combining them all in one, your substitute teacher only has to attend to one lesson plan all day. (I subbed for a while after I retired, so I know how important it is to make the sub's life as uncomplicated as possible!!!)

The drawing uses the most simple materials: paper, pencil, and crayon.

It is no prep. All you have to do is print out the lesson or set it up to be projected. It can be taught either way. 

Check it out here at my TPT shop:  Desert Cactus Creations: Patterned Pots and Scenic Backgrounds for K-4

Kindergarten Pumpkin Inspired by Piet Mondrian

 Halloween Art Lesson Plan

Perfect for spooky season! Let's jazz this up with some Mondrian flair. Here's a fun lesson for kindergarten:

Lesson Title: "Mondrian Pumpkins"

Objective:

Students will learn about the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, his use of geometric shapes and primary colors, and apply these elements to create their own pumpkin drawings.

Materials:

• White drawing paper (8.5" x 11" or larger)

• Pencils and erasers

• Black markers or crayons

• Primary color markers, crayons, or watercolor paints (red, blue, yellow)

• Rulers

Introduction (10 mins):

1. Briefly introduce Piet Mondrian, highlighting his most famous works.

2. Show examples of his art, focusing on "Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow."

3. Discuss how Mondrian used simple lines and primary colors to create complex, balanced compositions.

Activity Steps (30 mins):

1. Draw the Pumpkin Shape:

   • Have the students lightly draw a large pumpkin shape in the center of their paper using a pencil.

   • Encourage them to make their pumpkin big and take up most of the paper.

2. Divide with Lines:

   • Using a ruler and pencil, ask the students to divide their pumpkin into sections with horizontal and vertical lines, reminiscent of Mondrian's style.

   • Some sections should be big, others small; the goal is variety, not uniformity.

3. Outline with Black:

   • Trace over the pencil lines with a black marker or crayon to make bold, thick lines.

   • Ensure every section is neatly outlined for the Mondrian effect.

4. Color the Sections:

   • Fill in the sections with primary colors (red, blue, yellow).

   • Some sections can remain white, just like in Mondrian's works.

   • Encourage neat coloring or painting within the lines.

5. Add Finishing Touches:

   • If there's time, students can add a background or a stem, but it should still reflect Mondrian’s geometric and minimalistic style.

Conclusion (5 mins):

• Display the completed Mondrian Pumpkins around the room.

• Have a quick discussion about how using simple lines and colors can create interesting art.

• Encourage students to share what they enjoyed about combining Mondrian’s style with their pumpkin drawings.

Reflection:

• Ask students what they found easy or challenging about this activity.

• Talk about how art can inspire and be interpreted in different ways.

Voila! You've got a perfect blend of abstract art and autumn vibes.  

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃

If you need an emergency art sub lesson that is ready to print and hand to a sub, these might be just what you need. Save yourself hours of time writing sub plans when you least feel like it.

Draw a Haunted House or Doodle Monsters at Halloween

Art Sub Plan for National Dress Up Your Pet Day

National Dress Up Your Pet Day

Ooooooh, another holiday is coming up! January 14 is "Dress Your Pet Day."

Here's a blog post about it from National Today: Dress Up Your Pet Day

This would be an easy idea to turn into a lesson for substitute teachers. Use a few good photos of dressed up animals and show some books with illustrations of dressed up animals. The school library is full of them!!!!

Here's a little drawing I did of dressed up pets that you may use for your lesson, if you like, but the internet is full of photos of dressed up animals.

drawing by ArtSubLessons.blogspot.com

There are so many photos of dressed up animals on Flickr. If you search on Flickr, you can add to your search that you want photos using Creative Commons, which gives you permission to use the photo. You can break down that search to your more specific needs. Artists who post their photos will set them for the level of sharing they wish to give.

Photo by Richard Masoner. https://tinyurl.com/2tjz74sy. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Crayons and paper would be all you need for this one. Encourage adding details and a background.

From My Shop

If you are interested in some art worksheets that you could use for "Dress Up Your Pet Day," here are some that I have in my TPT shop:

Create a Dragon in Disguise

Create a Silly Monkey in Disguise

Create a Turtle in Disguise

Create a Frog in Disguise

Create a Penguin in Disguise

Create a Bunny in Disguise

Create a Groundhog in Disguise

Create a Panda in Disguise

Create a Yeti in Disguise

Create a Reindeer in Disguise