Lesson Plan Submitted by Ann Siple
Art Teacher in Camarillo, California.
Grades: 4 - 6th grades

Materials:

• White construction paper cut approximately to 8 x 10 in. pieces
• black felt tip pens
• bright colored markers of 4 colors
• student's personal choice

Procedure:

Divide construction paper up into puzzle shaped pieces using black felt tip pens. I usually divide my demonstration piece up into uneven, interwoven, puzzle shaped designs with three lines dividing the paper horizontally and three more vertically, making a total of 9 odd-shaped pieces. (There is no wrong way to divide the paper, and students tend to use their own creative design shapes.)

Within these spaces, wherever they wish, students must use the following designs: a circle, square, rectangle, triangle, star, heart, a letter, a number, a word, their name, a crawling thing, a flying thing, an animal, and a plant. These shapes weave into exciting designs. Students love to spend time finding the items in each other's finished project. I encourage them to use a maximum of four colors to highlight certain items in their puzzle. This makes a basically black on white design with a flair of color for fun.

This can also be adapted on smaller paper to illustrate a book they have read using title, author, quotes, characters, animals, and even words from their story. They are a definite parent pleaser at open house, and a confidence builder for the reluctant artist. I hope you enjoy this as much as some of the lessons I have used from this site.

Resources

Rectangle Blank Puzzle (12-pack) - For younger children you can supply them pre-cut puzzle pieces.

Picture Puzzle Maker - Create your own jigsaw puzzle with "Puzzle Anything Jigsaw Maker" by Lil' Creator. No batteries are needed and it works with most types of paper. Insert the paper into the jigsaw maker and press down.

Links

The Puzzle Installation- This page has several samples of art that has been painted on puzzle pieces. As the exhibit travels, students add more puzzle pieces.

Online Puzzle Maker- Students can upload pics and create their own jigsaw puzzles. You could scan their works of art and then upload it to this puzzle maker.