Using Stencils for Art Sub Activities

Kids ought to love having a sub if they get to use stencils.  Stencils are something I so rarely let students use except as an activity for early finishers.  They love them though. Why not let them experiment with them a bit. I believe the engagement will be high, and your sub will certainly appreciate kids being engaged.

This lesson can be found at Draw, Doodle, and Decorate.  It uses simple materials: paper, crayon, or markers. You can create your own templates out of poster board or collect painting or tracing stencils. You can also use jar lids or interesting shaped flattish objects. 

School of Fish

School of Fish - Art Sub Plan

This is one from an old coworker of mine.

Sub Lesson Video - Tar Beach

Tar Beach Art Lesson for Subs

Here's a post that  Splish, Splash, Splatter did from my video on YouTube, Tar Beach.  This made me so happy. 

I made that video before I ever thought about making a blog for art sub lessons. My goal was to provide a good lesson for my students while they had a sub in the room. I created the video so that all a sub had to do was to press “Play" and the kids would follow along.  I think her kids did a great job.

Hands on Art

Hands on Art - Art Sub Plan

I discovered this on Pinterest, where it was suggested that this might be a good sub lesson. It originally came from "An Artful Nest."

 

Easy and Free Art Sub Plans for Kindergarten

Here is a free art sub PowerPoint lesson for you at my  Teachers Pay Teachers shop: Art Sub Lessons.  This lesson is one I use with kindergarten.  We do lots of moving around making the shapes of lines as we look at the slides. TeachersPayTeachers requests that you make your free PowerPoints smaller than your "for pay" ones, but this is still full of good images and information for your students and subs.

Here are a couple of "easy sub lessons" from Dali's Moustache.  One is a third grade lesson about Jackson Pollack's action paintings.  The other is a fourth-grade lesson called "crayon fireworks."

Another source for some free resources is here: Circle Art Lessons | Art Sub Plans Worksheets

This page in my blog links to free art worksheet printables, videos, and lessons that can be completed in one class.

Another easy way to prepare for an art sub is to go to my shop, Art Sub Plans. I have created complete lessons in which all your sub has to do is read the slides and follow the directions.  They are full of visuals and are created to be used with the most simple supplies.  Pencils, paper and crayons are all your students will need to create imaginative works of art.

These are perfect for those emergency absences when you do not have the time to write detailed plans but want to leave quality plans for your subs.

Elementary Art Lesson "Scribble Monster"

Looking for easy art lessons with the theme, “Scribble Monsters,” I found many versions on YouTubeKids.

This was one of my favorites. It is by Emily Brosius.  You can find it here:  Scribble Monster Drawings

Middle School Art Sub Plan - Alphabeasties

Elementary and Middle School Art Sub Lesson with Typography 

"Ms. Art Teacher" did this lesson 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.

Perler Beads for an Art Sub Plan

Here's a sub lesson from the blog "Art Love You."  
She uses perler beads for this.

Playful Playgrounds as a Sub Lesson

Kindergarten Art Lesson, “Playful Playgrounds”

Here's a Mondrian related sub lesson that Katie Weymouth came up with.  Here's the blog entry:  Briargrove Elementary Art Page

If you like lessons in which students use their imaginations to create wondrous and mysterious places, you might like this one of mine. Created as a sub lesson, it can be taught by teachers and parents too.  It is no prep and completely ready to teach.

Check it out here:  Art Sub Lesson: Secret Rooms and Hidden Passageways

Abstract Art from Map - Art Sub Plan Idea

Substitute Art Teacher Lesson Plan 

This art lesson combines Mondrian with maps.  It is from The Incredible Art Department

The students learn about Piet Mondrian and his use of line and color.  Then, they apply that to a map drawing activity.  They could use a variety of materials to draw and color in the map.

Sometimes you just don’t have time to write up art sub plans.  If you want something easier, visit my TPT shop that I created just for that purpose: TPT Shop: Art Sub Lessons.  I’ve got fully formed, no prep, scripted lessons that are ready to go.

If you’d like to start with some free art sub plans, you can find those too.