Hi there!
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.
