Art Curriculum

This section will contain sample curriculums for grades K-5. These are intended to give parents an idea about what their child may be learning in art. Art lessons are not by any means limited to these few topics and lessons may change from year to year and as time permits.

Kindergarten

Lesson Name	Brief Description
Shapes	Students practice drawing basic shapes such as circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, stars, diamonds, ovals, pentagons, hexagons, octagons, and trapezoids.
Patterns	Students practice drawing basic shapes in repeating patterns.
Mirror Patterns	Students are challenged to make a mirrored pattern like those found on Navajo blankets.
Shapes and Patterns Review	A review of shapes and patterns.
Clay and Straw Shapes	Students practice making shapes with small balls of clay and straws.
3-D Shapes With Clay and Straws	Students practice making 3-D shapes and structures such as cubes, three-sided pyramids, and four-sided pyramids.
Clay Animals and Playgrounds	Students create animals and playground structures in clay and straws.
Two-Legged Animals	Students draw two-legged animals from observation, such as birds, using crayons and photographs as a guide.
Four-Legged Animals	Students draw four-legged animals from observation, such as dogs and horses, using crayons and photographs as a guide.
Four-Legged Zoo Animals	Students practice drawing four-legged animals with patterns and other special features from observation using crayons and photographs as a guide.
City Streets	Students practice drawing a simple city street lined with houses.
Clown Portraits	Students practice drawing a simple frontal portrait of a clown.
Clowns and Circus Animals	Students practice drawing a juggling clown and circus animals using what they know about drawing two and four-legged animals.

First Grade

Lesson Name	Brief Description
Cave Paintings	Students will study the cave paintings of Lascaux, France and will create their own cave paintings.
Rhythm Painting	Students will view and discuss Tsing-Fang Chen's painting, "Burning With Cosmic Rhythm" and will respond by creating their own short painting while listening to a musical selection.
Telling Stories With Pictures	Students will view and discuss Fredric G. Cotman's painting, "One of the Family." The students will then create their own drawing of themselves and an animal doing an activity.
Portrait of a Friend in Fancy Clothing	The students will view and discuss various pictures of royalty. The students will then create a picture of a friend or family member in fancy clothing.
Australian Aborigines	The students will view and discuss pictures created by the Australian Aborigines. The students will then use ideas and symbols from Aborigine paintings to create their own paintings.
Paper Quilts	The students will study the story quilts of Faith Ringgold. The students will then create a collage square for a large paper class quilt on a theme chosen by the teacher.
Edvard Munch: Drawing Emotions	The students will view and discuss "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. The students will then create their own portraits that express an emotion.
Salvador Dali Dream Pictures	The students will view and discuss some paintings by Salvador Dali. The students will then come up with a picture of something that cannot happen.

An Emotion Portrait

A first grader's Edvard Munch Emotion Portrait.

A Portrait in Fancy Clothing

A portrait of a friend in fancy clothing.

Second Grade

Lesson Name	Brief Description
Torn Paper Animal Collage	The students will study the work of illustrator Eric Carle. Students will then create a collage of an animal using torn paper and photographs as references.
Georgia O'Keeffe Paper Flowers	Students will view and discuss some of O'Keeffe's flower paintings. The students will then create their own large flower in paper and display their flowers in a "garden" along the wall.
Egyptian Profile Portraits	Students will view various pieces of Egyptian art and painting. The students will then create their own Egyptian profile portrait using markers and what they have learned about Egyptian aesthetics.
Paper Quilts	The students will study the story quilts of Faith Ringgold. The students will then create a collage square for a large paper class quilt on a theme chosen by the teacher.
Food Art	The students will view and discuss various pictures of food in art. The students will then create their own food art by making a layered collage sandwich out of cut construction paper.
Imaginary Animals	The students will study various pictures of animals created over a variety of time periods. The students will view and discuss photos of animals with distinct markings. The students will then combine new markings and colors with an animal of their choice and create a new animal.

A Torn Paper Collage

A second grader's torn paper collage.

Third Grade

Lesson Name	Brief Description
Torn Paper Animal Collage	The students will study the work of illustrator Eric Carle. Students will then create a collage of an animal using torn paper and photographs as references.
Georgia O'Keeffe Oil Pastel Flowers	Students will view and discuss some of O'Keeffe's flower paintings. The students will then create their own oil pastel and water color flower drawings.
Mythological Animals	Students will view and discuss pictures of different mythological creatures. The teacher will present special lectures on selected animals throughout the unit. The students will then create drawings of some of the mythological creatures they have studied in pencil, marker and crayon.
Papier Mache Masks	The students will study masks from a selected culture (such as African or Japanese Noh Theatre Masks) and will then design a mask of their own using some of the ideas from the culture that they studied. The students will create a mask in papier mache using a basic mold and various bits of newspaper, cardboard, egg cartons and other "trash".
Comic Strips and Animation	A longer unit, the students will view and discuss various comic strips from different countries and time periods on a variety of themes. The students will also hear about different pioneers in the field of animation. The students will hear a lecture on how animation is done and will attempt to create several projects based on what is taught, these projects can include: creating cartoon characters, creating a comic strip, and/or basic animation tricks.

A Papier Mache Mask

Third graders study Japanese Noh masks, and then make their own mask out of papier mache.

Fourth Grade

Lesson Name	Brief Description
Fauvist Shoe Drawing	The students will study the work of artist Henri Matisse. The students will be able to identify the Fauvist movement. The students will create a drawing of their shoe from observation and will then color that shoe using subjective colors and oil pastels with a water color background.
Hopi Kachinas	Students will view and discuss photos of Hopi Kachina dolls. The students will then design their own Kachina doll using ideas from the Hopi tribe. The students will make their doll in papier mache using toilet paper tubes, newspaper, egg cartons and other pieces of "trash."
Self-Portraits	Students will view and discuss some portraits by various artists. The students will then create their own self-portrait using pencil, a mirror, and utilizing the basic rules of proportion that they have learned.
One-Point Perspective	The students will study the history of perspective in art. The students will copy vocabulary associated with perspective. The students will be able to create a drawing of a city street in pencil using one-point perspective and a ruler.
Comic Strips and Animation	A longer unit, the students will view and discuss various comic strips from different countries and time periods on a variety of themes. The students will also hear about different pioneers in the field of animation. The students will hear a lecture on how animation is done and will attempt to create several projects based on what is taught. These projects can include: creating cartoon characters, creating a comic strip, and/or basic animation tricks.

Fifth Grade

Lesson Name	Brief Description
Fauvist Shoe Drawing	The students will study the work of artist Henri Matisse. The students will be able to identify the Fauvist movement. The students will create a drawing of their shoe from observation and will then color that shoe using subjective colors and oil pastels with a water color background.
Hopi Kachinas	Students will view and discuss photos of Hopi Kachina dolls. The students will then design their own Kachina doll using ideas from the Hopi tribe. The students will make their doll in papier mache using toilet paper tubes, newspaper, egg cartons and other pieces of "trash."
Paper Mosaics	The students will view and discuss pictures of ancient mosaics. The students will then draw a picture and fill it in with small paper squares like a mosaic.
Drawing Animals From Observation	The students will study the work of various artists who were known for drawing animals, such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Albrecht Duerer. The students will draw animals from observation using paper, colored pencils and photographs as a guide.
M.C. Escher Tessellations	The students will study the "impossible structures" and tessellations of M.C. Escher. The students will then create their own tessellation (repeating interlocking pattern) in paint.
Andy Warhol: Pop Art	The students will study some of Andy Warhol's Pop Art. The students will be able to create a repeating image in Andy Warhol's style using a computer art program.
Comic Strips and Animation	A longer unit, the students will view and discuss various comic strips from different countries and time periods on a variety of themes. The students will also hear about different pioneers in the field of animation. The students will hear a lecture on how animation is done and will attempt to create several projects based on what is taught, these projects can include: creating cartoon characters, creating a comic strip, and/or basic animation tricks.

Concept Art

Fifth grade concept art for a papier mache Hopi Kachina of Nature.

Questions? Please e-mail Sarah Showalter at: sesfh3@mizzou.edu

This site was last updated on July 14th, 2005.