One Day Art Lesson - Fourth Grade

One Day Art Lesson

Jessica Young used this plan initially as an art sub lesson for fourth grade. When she needed a quick art lesson for herself, she pulled this one out and used it for other grades as well.
You can check out Jessica's blog here:  Miss Young's Art Room. 

She says that her students stayed engaged for the whole class time with this. She also gave ideas for those few early finishers and those who took it a little too slow to finish in art. 


The materials she used were markers and paper. With subs, I am careful about leaving markers. If I know the sub and trust them to emphasize using the markers with care, I would leave markers. Otherwise, crayons would work just fine.


Miss Young demonstrated how to draw a "criss cross" star with her kids and then showed them how to repeat the lines in and around that star. I think you could also provide students with templates of other shapes for this. Basic shapes? Animal shapes? 

After that, the same shape is repeated to smaller and smaller shapes.

Check out her blog to see other examples.


If you would like to use masterpieces from art history to introduce the lesson, here is an idea that might work well.




in public domain

This is Kandinsky's Color Study, Squares with Concentric Circles from 1913.  


Here's another lesson plan that you could use to create a lead in for this lesson: "Kandinsky Squares with Concentric Circles,"at the blog, Art Prep has a good, meaty description of Kandinsky and his work.


They talk about Kandinsky choosing to switch to from using subjects in his paintings to focusing on line and color. This is great information for your lesson.




If you would like to use an art sub plan that is fully formed and ready to hand to a sub, check out this one in my TPT shop: Art Sub Lessons. It is no prep and fully scripted. It can be taught by anyone.

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 students about abstract art and the artist, Bruce Gray.

Written for a sub, it may also be taught by 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.

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