Perspective drawing is a complex abstract concept. You are intentionally morphing shapes, to force illusions of space and depth, on a flat surface.
For example, we know that a building has rectangular sides, yet when we draw a cuboid form on paper with the intension of showing the illusion of space, the sides need to change into a trapezoid shapes.
We know that a road has 2 parallel sides. We've learnt in math that parallel lines don't ever meet and yet when we draw a road going off into the distance, the road edges seem to meet at a point. So what is really going on here?
These visual representations clash with our knowledge of reality, and confuse our students who are slowly making sense of the world. When your 5th graders are staring at the page like one-point perspective is a secret code, they are not the problem. What's likely is that we didn't scaffold their conceptual understandings, first.
Perspective drawing is not the beginning, it's the end of an intentional and carefully scaffolded learning journey.
THE HISTORY OF PERSPECTIVE IN ART
Artists throughout history, spent centuries trying to show depth on a flat surface in a variety of ways. Ancient Greek and Roman artists were very good at making images look like they had depth by using visual tricks to show the illusion of space, like overlapping objects or value shading. But they didn’t have a clear, step-by-step system, like the perspective rules we teach today. Rules that are based in math and geometry.
During the medieval period in Europe, the use of these visual tricks faded. Artists focused more on storytelling than realism, showing importance, rather than depth. They did this by making significant people larger than others, and making symbolic choices to organise space.
It wasn't until the Renaissance period, when artists began to experiment with these ideas again and finally developed a useful system for perspective drawing, that we can apply today.
The big breakthrough came in Florence around 1420, when architect Filippo Brunelleschi demonstrated that a convincing illusion of three-dimensional space could be created on a flat surface. His famous Florence Baptistery experiment (linear perspective) demonstrated a way to include perspective in a 2D artwork.
In 1435, Leon Battista Alberti wrote the De Pictura for artists, in which he explains Brunelleschi’s idea and turns it into a teachable method.
Perspective gradually grew into a major artistic technique used by artists like Masaccio in Holy Trinity(1425–1427) a groundbreaking Early Renaissance fresco, known as one of the first paintings to systematically use linear perspective and creating a profound illusion of three-dimensional space.
Artist and mathematician, Piero della Francesca wrote one of the earliest treatises devoted entirely to perspective, and Albrecht Dürer helped spread the ideas north of Italy.
In 1715, English mathematician Brook Taylor gave a formal, and rigorous definition of vanishing points in his work, Linear Perspective.
Once we realise just how long this idea took to develop across centuries, cultivated by both artists and mathematicians, we can understand why children will struggle with grasping these abstract concepts without prior scaffolding.
First, we need to unpack the element of space.
TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR SPACE
Before students can understand perspective, they need to understand the visual clues artists use to show that something is near or far away. These clues are simpler, more concrete, and easier for elementary students to grasp.
The 6 clues that I like to teach, are: size, vertical elevation, overlapping, detail, horizon and the vanishing point.
Size: Things look bigger when they are closer to you, while far away things look smaller. Go outside the classroom if you can to establish this concrete understanding. In any composition where students would repeat an object, e.g. trees, explore this clue.
Have students draw the same tree 2-3 times, but in different sizes, to show that one is closer and the others are further away.
Elevation: Things placed higher on the page (or closer to the horizon line) often feel farther away. Using the same tree composition, elevate the base of the smaller trees on the page, to further enhance the illusion of depth.
Overlapping: This is one of the trickier clues for young artists to incorporate, but very effective when creating depth illusions. Children like to draw objects in their entirety and it takes a little effort to convince them to 'tuck' objects behind each other. If one shape covers part of another shape, the one in front looks closer, regardless of it's size or elevation.
Show students lots of practical examples and practice still life drawing of simple objects that they arrange. Tuck objects behind others, e.g a handful of leaves picked up in the playground. Draw a leaf shape, very lightly. Then lay a second leaf across it and draw the new front leaf across part of the back one. Now darken in and detail the front leaf first. Finish by darkening and detailing the 'visible' part of the back leaf. Add a drop shadow for even greater impact. Students are learning that something is still there, even if we cannot see it.
Detail & Value: Distant things often look lighter, softer, or blurry. Mountains in the distance do not look as clear and detailed as the tree right in front of you and colours blend into their average values. Near objects have more texture and the details are clearer. With objects in the distance, all the tiny details are simply too far away to see and objects can be simplified into their basic shapes.
Horizon: The horizon line is where the horizontal and vertical planes meet. In land and sea scapes, the horizon can be an infinite distance away, while inside a room, it is more tangible. Once students understand the concept of horizon, the vanishing point starts to make more sense because, in a one-point perspective drawing, parallel lines converge toward a single vanishing point, on the horizon line.
For more teaching resources that support the element of space, take a look at these by clicking the images:
SHIFTS I MADE WHEN TEACHING PERSPECTIVES:
Instead of starting with “draw a vanishing point.”
Begin with “how do artists make things look near and far?”
That one small change lowers the cognitive stress immediately and a simple scaffolded sequence could look something like this:
Provide photographs/ images that clearly show the near and far clues of space, for students to analyse. Students can use a T-chart strategy, to list their noticings and wonderings.
Have a go at drawing these noticings, visually and practically examining how to implement the clues, without a high risk outcome or expectation. Maybe students only explore size and overlapping, at first. Then they adjust the vertical elevation, then add detail to closer objects and increase contrast while blurring value in distant objects. Finally include the horizon line.
Now start a new drawing using these same objects, but starting with the structure of orthogonal lines to create the vanishing point and adding the objects guided by this structure.
By the time you introduce one-point perspective, students are no longer working with a mystery. They are applying a system that uses clear techniques they already understand, visually. Brunelleschi and Alberti did the hard work many centuries ago. Our job is to make the concepts concrete and relatable for children before making it geometric and abstract.
And that is the secret sauce.
Perspective is not really a drawing trick. It is a way of training the eye, one small clue at a time. Once children can notice the changes in size, elevation, overlapping, value, detail, and horizon, one-point perspective stops being an abstract concept and starts to make sense.
Moving on, how can we extend our capable students that can easily master perspective ideas?
FLIPPING THE CONCEPT - REVERSE PERSPECTIVES
A more recent (and slightly mind-bending) idea is that of reverse perspective.
Once students understand the “rules” of traditional perspective, they can deliberately break them. Instead of lines moving inward toward a vanishing point, they spread outward toward the viewer. This makes the space feel like it is expanding or even reaching out of the picture.
Historically, reverse perspective was used in Byzantine and Russian icon paintings to create a spiritual or symbolic sense of space, rather than a realistic one. In more recent times, artists like M. C. Escher explored ideas of distorted perspective to challenge how we see depth, reminding us that perspective is not just about realism, but can be a creative choice as well.
One contemporary British artist, famously working with "pop out" reverse perspectives is Patrick Hughes (born 1939). He invented a technique he calls "Reverspective" (a portmanteau or word combination of the words reverse + perspective). He uses three-dimensional painted reliefs to create a mind-bending optical illusion.
Key Aspects of Patrick Hughes' Reverspectives:
The Technique:
Hughes starts a 3D artwork by constructing a pyramid, or wedge-shaped wooden blocks. Then he paints detailed scenes across it, like gallery interiors, cityscapes, or landscapes.
The Illusion:
The parts of the painting that are physically closest to the viewer (the peak of the protruding pyramid) are painted to appear as though they are the farthest away.
The "Pop Out" Effect:
As viewers walk past the artwork, the composition appears to move and "pop out," with the protruding elements seeming to move faster than the surrounding area, creating a dynamic, engaging experience.
The Effect on Viewers:
Even in 2D works, Hughes often depicts surreal scenes (e.g., Paradoxymoron at the British Library) to challenge the viewer's understanding of perspective, space, and reality.
"Sticking-out Room":
He created his first reverse perspective, titled Sticking-out Room, in 1964. Patrick Hughes lives and works in London, and his work is featured in major collections, including the Tate Gallery. His official website offers a wonderful collection of his works, to explore.
As July approaches, a very significant day draws near for the people of New Zealand. Matariki, the Maori New Year, is named for the Matariki star cluster (Pleiades) which is visible in our night skies for 11 months of the year. It disappears in the lunar month of Haratua (May/June) and rises again around a month later in the North-Eastern sky during the lunar Month of Piripi .(June/July). This celestial event marks the beginning of the Māori calendar, signalling a time for both reflection about the year that past, and renewal for the year ahead. It is a time for communities to come together and celebrate. Since 2022, this is now also an official public holiday, one that falls on a different day each year due to the lunar calendar.
This celebration, a time for Peace, Joy and Community, has lead to many art forms that educators can explore as a way to connect classroom learning with this important event. But first, let's dive a little deeper into the history of Matariki.
While Matariki has deep cultural significance for the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, it is understood and celebrated in different ways across the country. Legend has it that Tāwhirimātea (the god of wind) was so angry with his siblings for causing the separation of this parents - the sky father (Ranginui) and earth mother (Papatūānuku) - that he ripped out his eyes and flung them into the heavens. This gives Matariki its full name - The eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea (Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea).
With the star cluster disappearing and then returning each year, this event celestial became linked with the cycle of life, death and rebirth. This is now a time to remember our ancestors, releasing their spirits to become stars. Similarly, a time to express thanks for the past year's harvest by feasting and sharing the bounty with family and friends. Celebrations often include storytelling and cultural performances which offer a wonderful opportunity to teach about cultural connection through engaging forms of creative expression.
Some popular options that educators can explore for art creating, include:
1. Star (whetu) themed art - painting, collages or sculptures that depict celestial representations. See a starry night lesson idea below.
2. Kites - the design and construction of traditional Māori kites can represent both ancestral connections and the spirit of Matariki.
3. Flax Weaving - teaching the traditional art of weaving flax leaves to create beautiful and functional pieces, like baskets (kete) and mats (whariki). See a lesson idea below.
1) Starry Night - an art lesson for Upper Elementary
You can make a great connection to a well loved artwork - Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh - when exploring Matariki with Year 5-6 and middle school students.
First, it's important that students can correctly recite their personal and individual Pepeha. For help with this you can visit the following website: https://pepeha.nz/
A pepeha is a formal way of introducing yourself in Māori. It tells others about who you are by sharing your connection with people and places that are important to you.
Your pepeha is the inspiration for the content of this artwork. Students then locate images of water, mountains, plants and buildings or other landmarks that they associate with their significant place.
Combining this with information about The eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea (Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea) and the Post-Impressionist technique of Vincent Van Gogh, students create wonderful original artworks they can be proud of.
2) Make a Manu Tuktuku - Maori kite - an art lesson for Mid Elementary
Start this lesson with the shared book called The Seven Kites of Matariki. Here is a link to the read-aloud on YouTube:
The following video, made by Tauranga City Library, will guide you through resources to collect and and the steps to making kites with your students.
3) Woven Whariki or blanket for lying down to watch the night sky - an art lesson for Early Elementary.
Traditionally mats would be woven from the leaves of a flax plant in New Zealand. However, when harvesting the leaves of this plant, certain cultural procedures (tikanga) need to be followed. Here is a video on YouTube explaining more about that:
In the classroom you can substitute other materials to teach weaving, when gathering flax is not an option. I always save the paper strips from trimming student artworks and these provide colourful pieces for students to work with. You can also strip coloured card on the guillotine for this lesson. By using up trimmings from other artworks that would otherwise be thrown away, you are aligning to, and honouring the Māori world view on sustainability and environmental awareness.
Students are given an A5 sized card to turn into a loom following a few careful steps and then they can weave coloured card or paper strips though this to create their mat or blanket.
Another option is to use wool on a loom. Make the looms by pre-cutting thick packaging cardboard to aprox. A5 size. Snip into both short edges - cut 1-2 cm deep and use 2cm spacing. Wrap the Warp thread around the card and tape the ends off. Thread a large plastic / craft needle with a length of wool and weave (the Weft) in and out of the Warp threads to create the blanket. Snip the ends of the Warp treads across the back of the card and tie this off in pairs across the top and bottom of the weaving.
With the paper option, you can layer thinner strips, decorative strips or even thick wool across the weaving too.
Are you new to teaching visual art? Does the thought of paint splatter and clay dust send you screaming to the staff room for a strong cup of coffee? I get it.
Teaching art in elementary is a multi-layered & complex activity. Thankfully many teachers give the arts a space in their planning and weekly programmes, even when they don't feel qualified or skilled to do so. They still realise the importance of students having opportunity for expression and creation.
After many years teaching in the classroom, I increasingly saw the arts being squeezed out of our loaded curriculums. Even the government withdrew financial backing in this area for many years.
The arts brings colour to your daily grind. It grows the imagination and builds language skills, which directly translates to our writing curriculums. Making art requires critical thinking and problem solving which supports mathematical thinking and concepts.
So set up an art media exploration centre in your classroom, run a guided art lesson with your class, and bring a little colour back into your teaching days in the form of student artworks decorating your walls instead of adult created classroom decor themes.
Finding just the right lesson for your students is not easy, guessing whether its age appropriate for your young learners, finding the time to try it out yourself ahead of time - who has time for that?
Now that I have moved out of the classroom and into a specialist role in the arts, I am able to trial my art lesson ideas across the entire K-6 range of levels. You can trust that these lessons will meet the needs of your students and give you step-by-step support to teach an art lesson with success.
This is my First Grade Art Lessons Bundle that you can view on TPT. While a classroom teacher does not need the entire 25 lesson collection, its a great place to start and view the lessons for this age group. Browse the collection and choose the ones that are just right for you. Click on each link in the product description to be taken to your preferred lesson.
However, for art room teachers, whether experienced but looking for valuable support with fresh ideas, or new to the role and feeling overwhelmed about where to start - this bundle may be just what you need. There is enough content in here to keep you going for up to 3 years in First Grade. Alternately, scale some lessons up for 2nd and others down for Kindergarten. This way you can get even more out of this bundle for 3 grade levels.
So what do teachers, who have already used lessons included in this bundle, say about them? Here are just a few ...
SUNSET SUNRISE (paint & collage)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'This was so well done in helping explain the process of creating the sunrise/sunset. I really liked the way science and art are combined.'
KANDINSKY'S GARDEN (paint, cut & assemble)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Amazing value, this resource is super engaging and my learners absolutely loved the activities. Made teaching art really simple for me too, thank you!”
SPRING FLOWERS (paint, cut & assemble)
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ "did this with my first grade class. Took us about 4 art classes to complete. turned out so absolutely beautiful that they were displayed in our school foyer"
SNAILS IN MY GARDEN (draw & paint)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "We used this for a line project and the students really enjoyed doing this. It was a unique project for students and we were able to tie in a book with it as well. Thanks for the great lesson."
COLLAGE SELF-PORTRAITS - based on Goldilocks (collage)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "We used this as a unique twist on self portraits. My students thought this was really fun and different than just drawing ourselves. What a great lesson!"
Find this First Grade Art Lessons BUNDLE in my TPT store - One Teacher's Journey - HERE or click any of the images above.
I would love to know what you think and whether you would like to see more bundles at other levels, too.
In my previous post I wrote about the benefits of harnessing the arrival of Spring as a starting point for some great art lessons with your students. This post will further expand on those benefits and also align some specific pick-up-and-go comprehensive art lessons that you can use with your students today. Some lessons are step-by-step PDF guides while others are narrated video demonstrations. You can find one that suits you and your students, the best.
More Spring-Themed Art Lesson Plans and Ideas
Abstract Garden Quilts & 3D Spring Flowers
Spring flowers are a symbol of new beginnings and can be the perfect subject for a spring-themed art lesson. Have your students collect different types of flower pictures or take photos of flowers. Both of the following art lessons will build problem solving skills and also result in each student’s work being unique.
Abstract Garden Quiltsfocuses on the art concept of ABSTRACTION for 2nd grade and up. Use oil pastels and paints. This is a fully narrated video tutorial that demonstrates all steps in real time. Stream the video lesson on your large screen and free yourself up to roam your classroom and support your students. This lesson plan focuses on:
Break up and recompose photographs
Extract basic shapes to compose an image
Under-painting to create the garden mood
Show depth in an artwork through layering shapes and using analogous colours
Contrast warm and cool colours to create focal points
3D Spring Flowersis a 3D painted paper collage art project for grades 1-3. Includes a fully illustrated PDF teaching guide that demonstrates every step. Introduce students to the elements of SHAPE and FORM, & the principle of PROPORTION (sizes and location). 2 colour schemes are demonstrated in the guide. Students also learn about colour value and using stencils to create repetition.
Spring Flowers 3D art project has built in choice for differentiation, while keeping the skills taught consistent across the class, to save your sanity.
Praise for SPRING FLOWERS:
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ "did this with my first grade class. Took us about 4 art classes to complete. turned out so absolutely beautiful that they were displayed in our school foyer"
Butterflies and Bees Art works
Butterflies and bees are a common sight as spring arrives, and they make great subjects for a drawing lesson. Have your students study the different parts of these insects, including their wings, body, and antennae. This helps to create artworks with more understanding about the subject matter.
is a fully narrated video tutorial created for K-1st grade, that demonstrates all steps in real time. Stream the video lesson on your large screen and free yourself up to roam your classroom and support your students.
Benefits of using a video lesson:
The lesson has already been tested
All steps are viewable from start to finish
Techniques are demonstrated
Rewind and rewatch as many times as needed
Narrated explanation adds depth to understanding art theories
Its like having an art specialist in your classroom
Bee BraveArt project for Back to School guides students to create values based artwork at the start of the new school year. Each student draws and paints a large flower design, symbolising learning growth in a happy classroom. Then add an observation drawing of a bee that representing themselves as the busy learner. Finally students incorporate a classroom value word of their choice, e.g. Bee Positive or Bee Kind. You will love the results and they can stay up on display all year as they remind students about the class expectations of a happy learning environment.
PRAISE FOR Bee Brave
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "What a great back to school project. Great messages to go with this project and the students really got into it. I love the process of it and that if fits more than one grade level. Thanks!"
Blossom covered Spring Trees & Landscape Paintings
Spring trees and landscapes can be full of vibrant colours and interesting textures. Have your students study photographs of blossom covered trees and landscapes and then create their own artworks using collage or a variety of colours and brushstrokes.
Bird SongSpring art lesson plan for BIRD SONGS COLLAGE suits Grades 2-4introduces students to the wonderful media of paper collage. This comprehensiveart projectforgrades 2-3, or older was inspired by the illustrations of popular children's picture books and the artworks of Henri Matisse.
SHAPE - identify and use 2D shapes to compose artwork
SPACE - Create space by layering shapes
COLLAGE - gain experience and skill working with this medium
STENCILS - gain experience and skill for making and working with stencils
This is a great art unit to combine with a Science inquiry focused on seasons (Spring) or animals (birds). For a literacy connection, collage picture books have been suggested as reference among other resource links, and a clear and comprehensive photo journal of each step of the process has been provided, along with student and teacher exemplars of work in progress and completed work.
This lesson plan focuses on:
Colour Value Landscapesis a project that can relate to plant life cycles and seasons, Sharing the Planet or How The World Works. Your students will love creating this unique and impactful art project that has a strong focus on the Element of Colour (Value) and the Colour Blocking painting technique. Learn about why as artists, we need to use multiple values in any hue and build painting skills with different paint brushes and tools. COLOUR VALUE LANDSCAPES is a comprehensive visual art lesson plan for paint & oil pastel that will guide your students through creating artworks of trees on a hillside in a season of your choice, including spring. This lesson has tons of built in choice for differentiation
Spring Weather Art
Spring weather can be moody and unpredictable. Showers one minute and windy the next. Some great drawing and painting artworks can be created using the weather for inspiration. Combine with a poetry lesson, like writing Haikus about weather, and you’re onto a winner.
Rainy Daysis great when you're teaching a unit on weather and needing an impactful Art Lesson that also helps to consolidate Science learning. Your students will love creating this brightart project with tons of built in choice for differentiation, while keeping the skills taught consistent across the class, to save your sanity.
Take the guesswork out of teaching art, avoid the epic fails that result from not having the time to trial the lesson or media yourself before teaching it. I’ve done it all for you and trailed this lesson with my own students, aged 5-6, in 1st and 2nd grade.
Windy Weather is another great art project when you're teaching a unit on weather and needing an impactful Art Lesson that helps to consolidate Science concepts. Your students will love creating this fun art project about a kid with an umbrella, blown off their feet by the force of the wind. With an art focus on the principle of MOVEMENT, this lesson has tons of built in choice for differentiation. I’ve trailed this lesson with my own students, aged 6-8, in 2nd grade through 4th grade.
PRAISE FOR WINDY WEATHER:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “This is a great project, my grade two students definitely found it challenging. We had to stop and replay the video several times. I found the guide pages very helpful.”
And finally...
Easter themes
As Easter falls into spring (Northern hemisphere), bunnies form another popular subject matter. These create a gorgeous wall display in your classroom, and students can add eggs and / or flowers to further embellish their display.
Fluffy Easter Bunniesis a comprehensive art lesson plan to guide your Easter art project in grades 1-3, using poster paints and sponge printing techniques. Includes a PDF teaching support document with printable drawing guides and display suggestions. This lesson comes with the instructional video that demonstrates every step, supporting students with creating texture in paint, using the element of SHAPE and the principle of PROPORTION. 3 versions (colour and bunny poses) demonstrated, to guide originality. Created with students aged 5, this lesson plan is aimed at early elementary but also includes an extension for older/ more capable students, and focuses on:
the element of SHAPE concepts and principles of PROPORTION
painting techniques (sponge painting)
and fine motor skills (drawing, cutting, composing)
So as you can see, Spring brings many options for incorporating amazing art projects into your teaching days and your students will love you for introducing them to a range of art processes and creative options. If you would like to know more about any of these lesson plans, click on any of the images or links to be taken directly to that lesson on TPT.
If you find TPT overwhelming, you might prefer to browse my website instead. All links for where you can find me are below my signature at the end of this post. And please reach out in the comments or on any of my platforms if you have any questions about my products or about teaching in general.
Remember to share this post with a friend who might need this.
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