Art Lessons

Below are some great K-8 Art Lessons inspired by great artists!  

These lessons each last three or more class periods, and for the most part require very little preparation.  I taught "art on a cart" for the majority of my career, and I can assure you that these lessons work well for both classroom-based and traveling art teachers!



Kindergarten




Flower Vases, inspired by Vincent van Gogh


1st Grade






4th Grade





5th Grade









6th Grade





8th Grade



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Van Gogh Art Project for 5th Grade: Swirling Skies

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Van Gogh Swirling Skies 5th grade students love looking at Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night and creating their own personalized version. Students learn about emphasis, movement, silhouette, and warm/cool colors in this fun art project! Introducing Vincent van Gogh Before the lesson begins, we use my van Gogh slideshow to look at Vincent van Gogh’s artwork, with a special focus on The Starry Night . I have yet to meet a student who had never seen The Starry Night before. Learning about an artwork that is already familiar to students helps them to feel more connected to the art world. Day 1: Discussing The Starry Night and Drawing Landscape Silhouettes We start with a class discussion of The Starry Night . What makes it unique? What is the focal point? (The swirling sky!) How would you describe the landscape? (Low, small, and dark.) How would you describe the sky? (Big, bright, and swirly.) I like to write the answers on the board in a quick brainstorming session. That contrast is...
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20 Great African American Artists

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Black History Month is a fantastic time to spotlight some inspirational African American artists! These artists have all made important contributions to the art world. Some of these artists also use their art to express the social and political realities of the Black experience, giving viewers a deeper understanding of Black history. Black artists have historically been underrepresented in art museums and publications. It's important to recognize these artists and teach others about their art and achievements. Here is a list of 20 African American artists you could introduce during Black History Month and all throughout the rest of the year! Download the FREE Printable PDF here! I use Slideshows to teach my students about several of these artists, including  Jean-Michel Basquiat , Horace Pippin ,  Romare Bearden , Edmonia Lewis , Alma Thomas , and Henry Ossawa Tanner .   Download the Henry Ossawa Tanner PowerPoint for FREE to check it out! The slideshows include a sh...
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Impressionist Landscapes

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These landscape watercolor paintings inspired by Claude Monet and the Impressionists are sure to bring calm to your classroom !   When going outdoors to paint "en plein air" is difficult or impossible, 6th graders use photos for inspiration for these landscapes.  They focus on mixing bright, vivid colors and create their paintings one brushstroke at a time! Step 1:  Introduction and Drawing Show Impressionism paintings, especially those by Claude Monet. I show my students this PowerPoint about Claude Monet's work , and if time allows, I show them artwork by a few other Impressionist artists as well.  The PowerPoints I use are all available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, All About Art . We discuss what makes Impressionism unique: characteristics like the visible brushstrokes, the exaggerated bright colors, and the calm and peaceful atmosphere.  Tell students we will be making our own Impressionist Landscape paintings! Now, the Impre...
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Artist Research Project

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A culmination of my middle school students’ Art History education, this is one of my school’s favorite projects.  Students learn about and take notes on a different "Artist of the Month" all year (or for several years when the student has been at my school for their whole middle school education).  In the spring of their 8th grade year, students choose one artist to write a paper on and create artwork in the style of. A crucial step before beginning an Artist Research Project is to decide how students will learn about the artists. I teach my students about a variety of artists using PowerPoints from my TpT store . If you teach a student about an artist of the month every month from grades 6-8, you could cover 30 artists by the end of 8th grade! Or you could teach one artist every week to cover even more!  My students take notes on the artists we learn about using a note-taking worksheet , which asks for just about all the information they need in order to write their pap...
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Kehinde Wiley Self Portraits

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Students are amazed by African American artist Kehinde Wiley's incredible talent, and they are drawn to his contemporary style.   Inspired by his work, 7th graders created these realistic self-portraits overlapped by patterned backgrounds. They were so proud of the results! *** This full lesson with all the handouts is available on Teachers Pay Teachers , Classful , and Made By Teachers *** Step 1: Introduction to Kehinde Wiley, and Drawing our Portraits I begin this lesson by showing my students a 36-slide PowerPoint about contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley and his realistic portraits. Sign up to the All About Art newsletter below if you would like me to send you the PowerPoint! First Name  Email  Get the PowerPoint Built with ConvertKit After looking at and discussing Kehinde Wiley's work, we begin drawing our own realistic and proportional self-portraits. We use a "Drawing a Portrait" handout to help guide us.   We first d...
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