Lettering and Typography for Middle School Art

 

Elementary and Middle School Art Sub Lesson with Typography 

"Ms. Art Teacher" did this lesson plan herself with students and then also left it as a sub lesson.  It is based on the book Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types, by Werner and Forss.

The illustrator has filled in the shape of the animal with the name of the animal. I can imagine where this same idea can be applied to other images of things and using a variety of words to describe the image.

This is an alphabet book to help little ones to read, so your older kids won’t be so interested in that part. The illustrations are really interesting though. “Ms. Art Teacher” did the lesson with 2nd through 7th graders. She also left the lesson with a sub and found that was successful.

There are multiple read-aloud of the book on YouTube, so you can always fall back on that if you can’t find the book itself.

I found another interested item about lettering on the website graffitidiplomacy.com. That website seems to no longer exist, but this one worksheet I found seems to have survived.  

Kids want to know how to write in bubble letters. Some gets get it and some need a little help. Maybe I'll make a worksheet for the whole alphabet.  Hmmmm.....

Anyway, that could be another direction to take the idea of lettering or typography.

If you'd like a quick explanation for how to create bubble letters, here's a YouTube video that's just a little over 2 minutes long.  How to Draw Bubble Letters for Kids

If you'd like a video done with the balloon or oval method of creating bubble letters, check out this one from: Pin Koro, Very Easy! How to Draw Graffiti Bubble Letters ABC

Do you have any other lettering lessons you love? 

Art Sub Plans - Cows on Parade

Cows on Parade Art Sub Plans - Middle School and Elementary

How fun to watch a parade!!! It’s been a while since I’ve been to one, but I can’t wait to see another. My heart starts to pump hard when I hear that bass drum in the distance, and tears start to well up when the rest of the band comes into earshot.

I hope that your kids have gotten a chance to see a parade or two.

Here are some fun art lessons based on the events in multiple cities called a “Cow Parade.” Here’s a website for the main idea: Cow Parade 

These cow forms have been painted by all sorts of folks, including famous artists and designers. 

Here’s a blog post about how this teacher created artist themed bulletin boards with the theme of Cow Parade in mind.  Cow Parade at Middle Brook School I believe that her students also made small ones for themselves. 

You could totally form an art sub lesson around this. I would created cardboard cow templates for the kids to trace and them let them create their own designs inside. 

Get some images from the web about designs that have been used, or purchase some of the Cow Parade books. I think kids would have fun with this.

I wrote another post on the topic a few years ago. You can find that one here:  HerDabbles blog: Cows on Parade

Magical and Imaginary Characters Art Sub Lesson

Imaginary and Magical Creatures - St. Patrick's Day Art Plan

The month of March is a fun opportunity to teach lessons about imaginary and magical creatures. Subs will love you for leaving them a lesson like this that will keep the kids engaged.

When you can be picky about who subs for you, I would request one that could use a DVD player or computer if I wanted to show a video. If you know you couldn't get that picky, find a picture book with leprechauns or about St. Patrick's Day.

When I teach this lesson or leave it for a sub, I love to show one of the old Reading Rainbow videos about St. Patrick's Day to go with it. You might be lucky enough to have it; find it to buy, or find it on YouTube. There are other resources you can use too, though. As of today, here's a YouTube video for the reading of "How to Catch a Leprechaun" on the Happy Cultivated channel. If you have access to the book itself, it is a good one to go with this lesson. (If you go with a video, always preview it first.)

Supplies Needed
-black pens, if they know how to use them properly OR pencils
-crayons
-paper
-a book or video about leprechauns or magical creatures



Dear Sub, Thank you so much for coming in today. You will be teaching kindergarten through fifth grade and my classes are all 55 minutes long.

I expect the children to work with a minimum of noise. Whispering might be okay but loud play isn't okay. Use your own judgment on what you will accept. If the whole class does not respect the noise level, you can have them put their heads down for a couple of minutes. This usually takes care of the problem when it does happen.

The lessons for today show the theme of St. Patrick's Day. Ask the students if they know anything about the holiday. Show them the DVD about St. Patrick's Day. It is already in the DVD player under the projector. (Press the red button on the projector once. Press the play button on the DVD player. To turn off the projector, press the red button slowly two times.)

Ask them to tell you about the magical creatures they saw in the video. What did they look like? What did they do? Have them talk about their magic. What was at the end of the rainbow?



Since magical creatures are imaginary, we could invent our own lucky creatures. It could be an animal. It could look like a person. It could have wings. It could be a magic genie. What color would it be? What magic could they do? Would they have treasure? Where would their treasure be? Would they be like a dragon? Would they be a magic horse or some other animal?

Think up a lucky creature that you would like to find. Draw your magical lucky creatures and show what magic they could do. You might have a lot of lucky creatures that live together.

Send three at a time to the taller tables and two to the shorter ones. Pick one student from each table to get supplies. They should get the following:
black pens
crayons (in the blue boxes)
paper (they should line up in front of you and tell you how many sheets they need for their table)

They should begin by writing their name and class codes on their papers. They will draw and color what they would like to happen on their lucky day. Remind them to work hard and use their imaginations.

As students start to finish, you can start playing the videos on the disk related to St. Patrick's Day. Students who are finished can watch the videos. Ones who want to continue to work on their artwork may do that as well.

They may watch that until the end of class or you can have the children bring their artwork to you....and you show the art, one at a time, to the class. Students should clap for each other when you show each picture. (Remind them to clap for everyone!)

At the time for the end of class, line the children up to wait for their teacher.





If you would like to leave a worksheet activity that your sub could use with this lesson, check out this activity in my TPT shop: Create a Leprechaun in Disguise It is great for early finishers.

15 Art Sub Plan Ideas for Black History Month

Elementary and Middle School Art Lessons about Black Artists

In my search for art sub plans that could be taught for Black History Month, I found 15 that I think would work really well. Some are written out as lesson plans; some are art lessons via video, and some are biographies that would be great starting points for a lesson.

 

"Caldecott winning author and illustrator, Javaka Steptoe, reads his book, "Radiant Child: Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat."  Click here to see this video:  Jean-Michel Basquiat

Check out this video by clicking  here:  Becoming an Artist: Yinka Shonibare by Tate KidsYinka Shonibare @Tate Kids

Black History Icons - Group Drawing Project @WCPO9. Click here:  Group Drawing Project

Art Bytes for Kids: Kehinde Wiley @Detroit Institute of Arts. Click here to see this video:  Kehinde Wiley

Meet Hip Hop's Favorite Artist: Kehinde Wiley @ CNN.  Click here to see this video:

Hip Hop's Favorite Artist: Kehinde Wiley

Black History Month Art Projects - Art by Black Artists

I always like teaching art history as a part of my regular art lessons, so teaching black artists during Black History Month is a no brainer. Here are some fully prepared lesson plans in my TPT shop. They were created with an art sub in mind but could be taught by anyone.
Nick Cave - Art Sub Lesson @TPT Shop: Art Sub Lessons






This lesson includes many photos of Nick Caves's wonderful "soundsuits"; sample student drawings; a sample pattern sheet; templates for those who need it; a teacher script including directions, questions, and information about each slide. This could be taught by anyone.


Reggie Laurent - Art Sub Lesson @TPT Shop: Art Sub Lessons




This no-prep lesson was written so that it could be taught by art subs, but it could also be taught by art teachers, classroom teachers, and homeschool parents. Key topics include abstract art, organic, shapes, geometric shapes, and the art of Reggie Laurent. The materials needed are simple: paper and either crayon or marker. All directions for teachers and students are included.


Faith Ringgold - Art Lesson @TPT Shop: Art Sub Lessons







This kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd-grade art lesson is based on Faith Ringgold's, Tar Beach, which is a great read for Black History Month. (The book is not included.) This lesson uses simple materials; pencil, paper, and crayons. It can be taught by anyone, as it is fully scripted. It includes questions and directions too. This is aimed at primary-aged students.


Click here if you want to look at my whole shop: Art Sub Lessons



Black History Month Art Lessons from Museums
Aaron Douglas @The Blowing Rock Art and History Museum

The museum has two lessons based on the silhouette art of Aaron Douglas. They have a lesson for elementary students plus included one for preschoolers! (That's a rarity!) Also, they provide a video on the artist. You will find all three things here: Aaron Douglas Inspired Silhouette

Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, and Alma Thomas @The National Gallery of Art

This is a nice resource from the National Gallery of Art. It has lesson plans for all ages as well as downloadable materials. It includes lessons on Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, and Alma Thomas. (Some of the lessons are presented as painting lessons but could be adapted for drawing. If you are leaving a lesson for a sub, you RARELY would want to leave a painting lesson!!!)





Here is a link to

Art Tales - Pre-K resource which is a pdf with visuals and detailed lesson plans.

Click here to see this video: 

 
Alma Woodsey Thomas @The Magnificient Paintbrush

Click here to see this video:

Video - Black History Month Art Lessons
African Art Patterns for Kids @Traveling Art Room

Ugly Christmas Sweater - Art Sub Lesson Plans

Ugly Christmas Sweater Art Sub Lesson

Ugly Christmas sweaters are an enigma to me. The less ugly ones are what we teachers loved back in the '80s. They were just "cute" back then. Oh well, now they are "ugly." 

So, what makes an ugly Christmas sweater? As far as I can tell, they are Christmas sweaters that are just way over the top.  Too much pattern.  Too many colors. An odd theme that is married to the Christmas theme.  Fringe. Bangles. Sequins. Glitz. So, if you can give your students an idea of just what makes a holiday gaudy, tacky, and just plain ugly, you can start with those things. 

This clip art site, MyCuteGraphics.com, offers up a free outline of a Christmas sweater. Want to have students do an "ugly Christmas sweater" drawing? Here's a place to start. Black and White Sweater

If you'd like for your students to do the lesson as a directed drawing, they could follow along with this YouTube video by Young Rembrandts.  Teaching Kids to Draw an Ugly Christmas Sweater.

If you would like a fully formed, 25-page lesson that can be taught by anyone, art teachers, sub, or parents, check out the lesson by Cool Classroom Stuff on TPT.  It is a no-prep, fully scripted lesson with tons of examples. There are four templates from which the students can choose.

Art Sub Plans for Day of the Dead

Elementary Art Sub Plans for Day of the Dead

Here's a super sweet and short video that kids would enjoy watching during a Dia de Los Muertos lesson and would help for an art sub lesson. Day of the Dead Video

There are plenty of lessons around that you could teach with this. Here are a couple.

The first one is a STEAM activity for drawing a symmetrical sugar skull. Click here to see it at the TPT Shop: Cool Classroom Stuff.

The second one includes three doodle worksheets for sugar skulls, piñatas, and sombreros. Click here to find it at the TPT Shop:  Centers and Early Finishers

Art Sub Plan Idea - Drone's Eye View

Drone's Eye View - Middle School Art Plan

This is a great art sub idea for elementary, middle and high school art from Blick. It can be adapted in so many ways.

Is your sub someone that you know and would watch a short video to introduce them to the lesson? Perfect! If not, you can write out some simple plans by watching the video yourself. Here’s a pdf on Buick’s site for the lesson: Drone’s Eye View

You will need to print out satellite views from Google for the students to choose from. Subs would probably need to have students draw the simple shapes they see on the map, but then can color in with crayons. Painting with a sub is generally a bad idea unless they are experienced in such things.

Anyway, check out this lesson from Blick,  It might be a lesson you want to teach yourself!

Birdcages - Art Sub Lessons

Art Sub Plans for Elementary and Middle School 

This is a preview of a lesson I created for my TPT shop, Art Sub Lessons. While it was written with a sub in mind, it can be taught by anyone.

Go here to take a look:  Art Lesson: Birdcages

This elementary and middle school art lesson may be used for distance learning or in person. Also perfect for sick leave, maternity leave, and homeschooling. It is fully scripted, with visuals, so that it may be taught by subs, teachers, or parents. Students are shown many examples of fancy birdcages from history to the present. They then create imaginative drawings of their own, though if distance-learning or homeschooling, teachers may choose to let their students create the birdcage using media they have available. This might include crayons, pencils, markers, collages, digital media, or 3D materials.

What you get: 

15 slides featuring birdcages by artists throughout history

27 slides that are a fully scripted art lesson

7 pages of directed drawing

5 images of student examples

7 full pages of  images of birds and student samples that may be printed out and hung up

1-page birdcage template of the birdcage in case you want to skip drawing the shape of the birdcage

1 page of directions for how to teach the lesson

1 page of how to finish the lesson

This PowerPoint is non-editable, however, you may change the text by adding text boxes and text over what is provided.

More Open-Ended Art Sub Plans

Fully Written Art Sub Plans for Purple People Eater

Beyond the Gingerbread Man

Chinese New Year - Dragon Dance

Elementary Art Sub Plans - Kooky Cars

Elementary and Middle School Art Sub Lesson 

One of the lessons I love teaching the most is one I call, "Kooky Cars." It is both an art history lesson and a creative drawing lesson about art cars. It includes the work of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Keith Haring. The students imagine their own crazy art cars and draw one of their own.

Here is a review that I got this week about this lesson:

"My students absolutely loved this project! In fact, it is their favorite one to do, and they ask to repeat it quite often. It kept them engaged in creating and wanting to learn more about the artists that were represented in the slides. They learned to think out of the box and to use their voice through their art. Thank you so much for sharing your lesson. We all love it!"

Yay! My students have always loved it too!

If you want to take a closer look, click here: ArtLesson: Kooky Cars

Free Art Sub Plan - Shoe Prints

Free Elementary and Middle School Art Lesson - Shoe Prints

This attractive artwork was done with simple supplies. Paper and crayons. If your students can trace their shoe, they can do this activity.

First, they trace their shoe on their paper. After observing the tread that is on the bottom of their shoes, they will create a pattern on the traced shoe. (Sneakers are likely to have patterned tread.)

Next, they will trace that shoe again in the background and add pattern to that shoe drawing.

They will continue to repeat that until the paper is full. 

Color in.

**************

If you liked this lesson idea, you might like this 26 page, fully formed and scripted lesson on TPT.  Click here to see this lesson on TPT. 

This elementary and middle school art sub lesson includes slides about the artist and two projects for the students to draw. It is great for teaching elementary and middle school students about abstract art and the artist, Bruce Gray. 

Written for a sub, it may also be taught by parents, classroom teachers, art teachers, and homeschool teachers.

Supplies needed for the art lesson are pencils, paper, markers or crayons, rulers and circles of various sizes.

These lessons may be taught in several ways. You may project it as a regular PowerPoint. You may print it out and have the students sit close as if you were reading them a book. You could print out the slides and project them from a document camera.

You or your sub will only need to read the script and ask the questions given, then allow the students to respond. Visuals and directions are given for each step in creating the artwork.

STEAM Art Sub Lessons Idea - City of the Future

STEAM  Lesson for Elementary, Middle and High School

I get ideas for art sub lessons from all sort of places.  This one came from Flickr. Fabrice Florin teaches an after school STEAM course called "Maker Art" at Tam High. While the initial lesson eventually leads to a sophisticated sculpture, the idea could be a great jumping off place for an art sub lesson. Check out his Flickr page to see more in depth ideas for this lesson. 

by Fabrice Florin
City of the Future: Second Class at Tam High


City of the Future Finished Sculpture
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

If you like the idea of your students using their imaginations to create a new environment, you might like this lesson that I wrote. It is complete with script and many images. It is also no prep. Perfect for you, subs, or parents.  Secret Rooms and Hidden Passageways