Chinese New Year Dragon

Chinese New Year  Dragon

This is a lesson that I have taught in my own art room and the kids have always loved it.  Before the lesson, I always liked to show YouTube videos of Dragon dances during the Chinese New Year celebrations.  There are also lovely children's books on the subject which would go great with this lesson.  You don't need either to teach this lesson though.  I've added lots of visuals and background that provide motivation for the students.

I have heard from classroom teachers as well as art teachers who have taught this.  They all seemed to have success and the kids loved it.  

The lesson introduces the students to Asian dragon costumes as they might be seen in parades and festivals. Along with a little background information about the mythical dragons, students observe decorative details used in these festive celebrations.

This would be perfect as an emergency sub lesson or as a lesson to be taught by a teacher at any time. 

You can find out more about this lesson at my TPT shop, Art Sub Lessons.

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

Art Sub Lesson for National Hat Day - January 15

 January 15 - National Hat Day

Did you know there is an actual “National Hat Day”?  I had no idea! Evidently, it is January 15. 

There are lots of fun sculpture lesson plans for "Crazy Hat Day". A quick search will give you tons of ideas for a lesson you can teach. However, I wouldn't leave a lesson with cutting and gluing for substitute teachers. 

A drawing lesson about funny hats can be an engaging, open ended activity, and kids love those creative sorts of lessons.

 "Wacky Hats" is a lesson that I created with a sub in mind, but it can be taught by anyone. It has always been a favorite of my own students over the years.

I included lots of photos of real wacky hats, even some from art history! This lesson is fully scripted with all the directions you need. There are also drawing samples of wacky hats.

It uses the most simple materials: crayons and paper.

So, if you need a sub plan, or want to enjoy teaching this lesson yourself, check it out at my TPT Shop:  Art Sub Lessons.