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

A Tree House for Me! Elementary Art Sub Plan

"A Treehouse for Me!"  Elementary Art Sub Lesson Plans

Kids love the idea of secret and special places that are reserved for just them. I never had a treehouse as a kid but I always loved seeing them in movies and reading about them in books. Knowing that kids would love imagining them, I created this art project for drawing tree houses.

"A Treehouse for Me!" as a Sub Lesson 

This lesson has always been a big hit with my own students, so I wrote it up as an art sub-plan. Why leave the sub lessons that you wouldn't love to teach? 

I write the lessons for my TPT shop in a way that anyone can teach them.  This one is chock full of images of real tree houses and student drawings of them. All anyone would need to do to teach this would be to show each page/slide; read the script on them; ask the questions, and pass out the supplies.  

Enjoyed by Kids in K-8th Grade

Originally, I taught this as a 5th-grade art project, but in the reviews for this lesson, teachers say they have taught it in K-8th grade with great success. Here are some reviews left by teachers who have used this:

So, if you want an art lesson or a sub-plan this is a sure thing, click here to go check it out at my TeachersPayTeachers shop: Art Sub Lessons. (It costs less than a cup of coffee, so you can't go wrong!)

Kindergarten Art Sub Plan and Worksheets

 Emergency Art Sub Plan for Kindergarten

Has this ever happened to you?

A lot of us have experienced the effects of someone else not being able to get a substitute teacher. Sometimes you inherit just a few extra kids from that class and sometimes you get the whole bunch. If you are lucky, someone tells you to expect it before they show up at the art room door. If it has never happened to you, wow, you live a charmed life!!!!  It will likely happen to you at some point in time though, so best be prepared!

Mr. E, over on the blog, Art with Mr. E has written a post about just this to help you get ready for the inevitable. Click here to check it out:  "50 Kindergarteners By Myself!"

If you have a coworker art teacher, please share that post with them because you might be the one who is without a sub one day and they add your classes to theirs.

More Simple (and FREE!) Ideas to Help You Prepare

If you want some simple art lesson ideas for when you are in a pinch, check out these FREE downloadables:

"Circle Drawing Game"- and - "What Can You Draw From Circles?"free downloadable worksheets

"Lines, Lines, and More Lines" - a fully formed and free art lesson for primary students 

"Directed Drawing - How to Draw a Penguin" - downloadable worksheet

"Art Sub Plan - Wayne Thiebaud" - a video I created specifically for use by an art sub. This lets ME teach while you monitor all those kids!!!

"Faith Ringold - Art Sub Lesson" - another video I created for use by an art sub. Again, I'll teach the lesson so that you can monitor all those kids!!!

Faith Ringgold - Art Sub Plans for Elementary

Art Sub Plans for Elementary School - Tar Beach

Kids love when they get to use their imaginations and we need to give them more of an opportunity to do just that. Reading Faith Ringgold's book, Tar Beach, is a great entry point for a creative drawing activity.

Video - Tar Beach - Art Lesson Plan

I created this this video to use with a 1st and 2nd-grade art project and specifically for use by a substitute teacher. If your sub (or YOU!!!) have access to YouTube videos, this video will do most of the work for you. Some days you need to take a break and let someone else teach, so why not let me do it?

Art Lesson Plan - No Prep, Scripted, with Simple Materials

If you want a fully formed, no prep, and quality version of this lesson that you can hand to your sub (or the office secretary), Click here to see this lesson.

It costs less than a cup of Starbucks!

DreamHouse - Art Sub Plans Elementary

This is an easy lesson that I would adapt to middle school art lessons as well as elementary ones. Mrs. Filmore has an idea for a first-grade architecture drawing lesson. I like open ended lessons as sub lessons, especially for subs who are not confident enough to draw.  Check out her lesson called "Dream House with Patterns."

If you have time to plan ahead of time, I would leave drawings or photos of a variety of types of houses to go along with this lesson. Also, I would have a sheet or poster board depicting a variety of patterns that the students may be inspired by; and a few student examples. 

Her blog is named, "Art with Mrs. Filmore." This lesson idea is near the bottom of a blog post called, "1st Grade Art."

More Lessons that Integrate with the Study of Architecture

A Home with an Onion Dome

This lesson focuses on the beauty and uniqueness of this architectural element and shows how architects from the past and present have used this element in a variety of ways.

Captivating Castles

In this lesson, students will learn about castles from medieval Europe, including the exterior architecture and the reasons for their design. Students will draw a castle of their own design utilizing architectural elements they have learned.

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.