Design/Drawing Ideas From Kara LiCausi
The sub plans I leave are very similar to Jayna's, in that I leave a
list of options for the students to choose from. The
projects could be completed in colored pencil so that there are no
issues with supplies. I have the students do their work in
their sketchbook and hand them in for a grade to make sure that nobody
is wasting time while I'm not around. I also use these for
homework sketchbook assignments.
1. Pretend that you are a fashion designer. Design an
outfit for each season, complete with accessories. Pay close
attention to the color schemes and how they would be appropriate to each
season.
2. Design a car, boat, plane, motorcycle, etc. Add
interesting gadgets or features such as ones that could make them fly,
or turn invisible. The students may label and describe the parts and
often name their "machines".
3. Draw an animal in a strange environment. The
animal may be real or imaginary. I have seen elephants in fish
bowls, and a herd of cows flying in the sky...a really fun project!
4. Draw yourself or someone you know as a cartoon, a background
must be included.
5. Choose an image (art print) that is hanging in the
classroom. Draw it as best as you can, but change the color
scheme.
6. Fold your paper in half. Choose a landscape and
draw it twice, once on each half of the paper, but draw the landscape as
you would see it in two different season. Make use of warm and
cool colors and add interesting details.
7. Draw an everyday scene, such as a day at the zoo, park,
carnival, etc, but either add 5 hidden pictures or draw 5 things within
the picture that are bizarre, but not immediately obvious to the viewer.
8. Draw your hand in three different
positions. Create a composition using all three drawings. (This one was
from Yvette Lewis)
Hog Wild
Metal Magnetic Sculptures from Linda
Wood
Linda has many different learning centers to use as back-up plans.
One is Hog Wild Metal Sculptures - the kids really go to town creating unusual
creative pieces (think Picasso and other cubist sculptors). These are
all temporary as after a few days, they are disassembled and put back
into the boxes for others to use. Linda has purchased several sets and
mixed them all into one center. See Hog
Wild page for more information.
What's
inside your Locker? from
Yvette Lewis
Handle this as a lesson in surrealism - fantasy -
or personal self portrait of a different kind. Draw details of locker on out side, lock, handle, vents etc.
I provided a template of
the locker for them to put inside the folded 12 x 18 (or 9 x 12) drawing paper for
those who had trouble remembering what our lockers looked like. Inside draw whatever wild and
unusual objects that might be hiding while no one is looking. Students
can do monsters, talking sneakers, underwater scenes, landscapes, animals,
Finish in colored pencils or makers. Posted originally by Yvette Lewis.
Bad Hair Day
by Michal
Austin and Sky
McClain
All grade levels (K thru 8) should be
able to have fun with this idea. For
Michal's "bad hair day" assignment, draw either a lady's or a
man's face. Add hair, either atop the female's head, or the male's
mustache and beard. The requirements for this lesson include drawing a
minimum of 5 different values, and 5 different line patterns. The values
are achieved through variations of line thickness and distance. The
entire artwork is created using black permanent marker on
12"x18" white paper. (For a sub, you could use 9" x
12" paper so it will be easy to complete in one day). Sky's lesson
has the student drawing a minimum of six different kinds of lines and
repeating all around the head for hair. Check Michal
Austin's Art Kids site for more great ideas - pictures and
brief instructions included!
See how beautiful this lesson can be! Princeton
Community Middle School
Cryptograms from
Yvette Lewis
Use 1" grid paper. Create a symbol for each letter of the
alphabet -- it should fill the
square. Write your name or a secret message with the new alphabet
Surrealism
Hand Drawing by Bunki Kramer
Have students draw their hand realistically first
- then create a surreal hand. See
also Surreal Feet.
From Jean Womack:
I like the lesson plan where you trace the outline of the hand and fill
each
finger with a different texture or pattern. They can also draw
animals or people in the hand. They usually say they've done it
before, so I say that great artists draw and paint the same thing over
and over, like Monet's haystacks, so please do it again One girl
drew a "save the animals"
picture in her hand. Here is how Michal Austin answers the problem
" We did that before": When I have students tell me they've
done something before I ask them if they've ever had pizza. Then I ask
them if they've had pizza more than once, and if they'd ever like to
have pizza again. Then I explain that good things are worth doing more
than once.
Shapes and Things by Ellen
Sears
I have left for grades 2-7. I left the book 'Shapes
and Things' by Tana Hoban - a book of photo grams along with a
bucket of kitchen utensils.
Two assignments I have left are:
- Draw one object 5 times - 1 complete, and four
coming onto or going off of the page
- Divide the paper into 6 unequal sections. Draw
the silhouette in one section to fill... Abstract the object in each
of the remaining sections by - multiplying, dividing, adding,
subtracting, stretching...
They can use markers to add pattern in negative or
positive, warm and cool, complementary...
Castles Dragons and More
by Jean Womack
This is good for sixth graders. Jean is a
substitute in the San Francisco area. An art teacher was gone for a
week. She left a very elaborate lesson plan where the students
were supposed to draw a castle, from a handout. Then add dragons,
trees, etc, all from the handout. And draw lots of detail.
She said they love castles. She drew one on the board that was
awesome. Jean showed Cinderella or Snow White or one of those Disney
movies that have castles in it (you might want to check with the school
policy on showing Disney videos - maybe show a segment of the video).
She told them that Disney people made a lot of money drawing castles.
Jean also got old calendars with castles and put them up on the wall.
Elements and Principles
of Design Videos (Gerald Brommer videos) by Dawn Stienecker
Here is a Substitute note for the Videos:
Good Morning
Substitute,
I have requested a
TV/VCR from the LMC. Please
pick it up.
The video is the Principles
of Design (or Elements of Design).
It lasts approximately 30 min.
There is a handout (handout
for Elements - handout for Principles - Note: You might want to
include a question or two about the content of the video) – the top
part should be done while the video is on so that they will pay a little
bit closer attention.
The last part can be
done after the video is over. This
shouldn’t take more than the 10 or so remaining minutes.
Finally - on the back
of the work page, please have them write down their favorite project
from the video.
Have a great day
Creative
Advertisement Design by Phyllis
Brandon
Materials:
8 ˝” x 11” Plain
White Copy Paper
9” x 12” White Drawing Paper
Pencil Art gum erasers
Color Markers or Color Pencils
Hand out the copy paper.
Students are to design
an eye-catching magazine advertisement for one of the following:
clothing, food, or a sporting event or equipment.
Do NOT use real brand names (like NIKE.) Students are to make up
a name for their brand of item. Prices
need to be stated in the ad. Encourage
the students to be as creative as possible with names, descriptions, and
advertisements.
The planning is to be
done on the copy paper in pencil. Then,
when the students are satisfied with the design, they can get a piece of
drawing paper and draw their final design on the white drawing paper.
Entire surface of white drawing paper should be used and in
color. No
white backgrounds. Students
are to leave white only items that they intend to be white in color.
Designs will be graded
according to creativity, neatness in execution, and how well they
followed directions
Original
Comic Strip by
Phyllis Brandon
Materials:
6” x 24” drawing paper strips
Pencils
Art gum erasers
Color Pencils
Give everyone a long
piece of drawing paper. Show
them how to fold in half, then in half again.
When it is opened up, there are 4 sections.
Students are to create
at least 3 characters and make up names for them. They are to compose a 4-part comic strip based on the 3
characters. The characters
should interact and speak with each other.
Students should enclose legible spoken words in a bubble.
All four parts should
relate to each other and one section should contain a punch line.
The entire four sections should be filled with the cartoon
design.
Body parts should be
drawn to fill the cartoon space-not just heads.
Students should color
their cartoons with color pencils.
Encourage the students to be as creative as possible with their
cartoons, character names, and punch lines.
Comic strips are graded
on originality, legibility, neatness, and good use of design components.
Design an Art
Museum - by Sara Green
Draw a one point perspective room with
frames on the wall and a sculpture table or case. Have the
students design an art museum by drawing works of art in the frames
drawn on the paper. You can suggest they use what they have
learned in previous lessons or projects as a start, or you could leave
postcards of famous art work. They can draw people looking at
the work as well. At a higher level they could design a specific
type of museum - a Picasso museum, a modern art museum etc.
Suggestions from
Linda Kieling
Jasper Johns' "Numbers in Color"
inspired name design.
1. fold paper so that it makes a grid of squares
2. student writes name one letter in each box until page is
filled
3. create a pattern in each square (can write lesson to be more
specific like -unity by using color scheme, etc)
Create an Alphabet - all letters are inspired by a single theme
(IE: beach theme C looks like conch shell, S like starfish)
From the Start - students have to start with a dot (or line or
number) on their page, then they have to creatively disguise it within
their composition.
Upside Down Drawing
from Lisa Ruiz
Having a sub in the art studio is always a
planning issue. I teach 6-8 grade art at a visual and performing
arts magnet and even though my students are familiar with the studio
procedures there are still problems. They are adolescents after
all and they will test the limits. I always lock up all
materials when I am going to be out and I leave only the materials
they will need for the activity that is planned.
I usually leave a drawing activity because all they will need are the
instructions and pencil and paper. I try to make it as easy for
the sub to manage as possible. I use several of the drawing
activities in the drawing workbook by Betty Edwards, Drawing On the
Right Side of the Brain. It's a companion workbook to her book.
A favorite activity is the upside drawings. The kids love it and
the subs usually sit down and do it with the kids. I get notes
from them saying, "I didn't know I could draw like that."
In the workbook there are several contour drawings by famous artists
and the instructions are to place the copy of the drawing upside down
and draw your own contour. I have found that middle school
students cannot leave the drawing upside down. They are too
concerned with "getting it right" and they can't stand to
have their paper or the drawing they are copying upside down.
Before I make the copies of the drawings for the kids I draw light,
horizontal lines at one inch intervals all the way down the sample.
I place 4 different drawings inside a 9 x 12 manila envelope.
The drawings are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 (each drawing gets more
challenging) and they are upside down. The students slide
the drawing out of the envelope one inch at a time, using the
horizontal lines as their guide. They draw only the portion of
the image that is revealed as they pull the drawing out. They
are told to record the lines and the negative shapes that they see as
they reveal more and more of the drawing. I tape the envelope to
the table so they cannot move it and the instructions are printed on
the envelope. I have used this activity for 5 years. I
have a file of master contour drawings and I change out the images
when I need to use it again.
This lesson in drawing forces the students to turn off the critic in
their head and get down to the business of recording what they see.
If they cannot see the whole image it's easier for them to do.
Once they have achieved success at the activity a few times they are
more willing to use this trick on their own and they develop the
confidence they need to take risks in the art room. The kids
can't wait to show me how close their copy is to the original.
They are so pleased with themselves and the sub has a good day in the
studio as well.
Dede-Tisone-Bartels
Lessons - Good ideas - easy enough for a substitute
Series of basic art lessons. Geared to middle school level.
In a pinch? Try ART a Facts™ Magazine
Source for Art Lesson Plans and Teacher Resources for Art Education Elementary
and Secondary Level. Five issues each year - Comes in set of 30 copies.
Homeschool issue also available (consists of one copy of each of the five
issues). From Judy: I would recommend you order a copy for elementary and
secondary for yourself (see Homeschool price - it is worth it!).
Lessons are different for each level....Secondary can be adapted for
lower grades, too. There is not much difference in reading level. Font
is smaller on Secondary copy so there is more in depth information -
also good for you to have. Internet resources are given as well as
books. You can easily write up a hands on exercise for student to do
after they are finished reading and discussing the magazine.
Lessons for Middle
School and High School
Hidden Squares by
Randy Menninghaus
See
lesson plan. Randy has set this lesson up for substitutes. Squares
are cut from ink drawings (approximately 1" in size) ahead of time.
Students glue two or three squares (or irregular shapes) to drawing
paper ( cut to 5" to 6" square) and camouflage them into a
drawing using ball point ink. Randy suggests using ball point pens
rather than pen and ink bottles.
Playing Card
Advertisement by Randy Menninghaus
Randy
used the court or face cards of a deck of cards as a spring board...
Students looked at cards first....Then discussed using a card to sell a
product or favorite food. Using 12 x 16 white paper (rulers if you want
for the border)... Students draw the two heads and pattern on clothes
that relates to the product or food - first in pencil then black pen or
a simple application of color... generally colored pencil.
Forensic Drawing from
San D Hasselman
I've done this project with my 9th graders, and it
might work for you as sub plans and can be extended to multiple days as
well. I take a folder (I make enough folders for 1/2 of the amount of
kids in class) and put in a face that I have photocopied (from
magazines, from online, from newspapers, etc). The face is big enough so
that students can 'talk' about the features. I then give pairs of
students each a folder. One becomes the 'police artist' and does NOT get
to see the photo in the folder, the other becomes the poor crime victim
(nothing violent...pickpocketing I usually say). The victim then
describes the person in the folder and the "police artist" has
to draw it based on the description given to him/her. What makes this
interesting is
that I put in all kinds of faces, including a German shepard etc). The
"victims" are not allowed to tell the "police
artist" WHO the pickpocket was (if they can identify the picture,
ie. Brittney Spears). These folders can be shuffled around the room so
that multiple drawings can be done by different pairs of students.
Police Sketch Artist from
Heather Hayes
Heather used San D's idea
that was posted to Getty TeacherArtExchange.
From Heather: Have the students
partner up. One student will be the witness, and the other student will
be the police sketch artist. I
took 20 pictures and glued them onto tagboard (so the sketch artist
couldn’t see through the paper), and then put them into envelopes
labeled with the suspect number. The
witness picks a suspect and describes the suspect to the artist.
They can only describe – they can NOT show them the picture.
They are allowed to look at the drawing, and offer suggestions to
improve it. They may only
show the original suspect picture AFTER the artist has finished his or
her drawing. After they
finished one sketch, the students switch roles – the artist is now the
witness. They repeat the
activity.
For my suspects, about half were
photos of real people, and half were comic villains.
I tried to pick “suspects” that had unusual features in order
to make it a little easier to describe.
I hung up the original suspect
picture and all the drawings of that suspect.
I had my classes vote on which one was closest to the original
picture. I gave a small reward to the winners.
See some examples from Ridgeview
Middle School.
click images for larger views
Be sure to scan the lesson
plans on Incredible Art Department for more easy for a sub plans.
Specific plans will be listed here at a later date - check back over the
summer.
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