As we embark on the creative journey of another school year, the first week of art class provides a great opportunity to do more than just introduce your classroom rules. As art teachers, I strongly believe that you should begin making art with your students from Day 1….this is especially true if you are an itinerant teacher with multiple schools. Let’s use those first few lessons of the school year to practice essential classroom procedures, delve into the elements and principles of art, create some “get to know you” projects and to begin tracking our student’s artistic progress. This article contains beginner-friendly ideas for your elementary and middle school art classroom’s first week of art class!
What Should I Teach the First Week of Art?
While there are lots of ways that you could go for your first week of art class, I recommend lessons that address a specific topic or task you would like to emphasize. No matter the path you take, the first week of art lessons should be beginner-friendly. Save the difficult or flashy art lessons for later. You will scaffold future art lessons and build on to what you choose to teach at this time. Focus on student success and building a solid groundwork, for now.
My advice is to plan interesting art lessons that require very few art supplies, is beginner friendly, will ensure a high level of student success, will show each student’s current talent level and that can be completed within the first week or so of school (don’t start a long-term project for your first project).
Art Lessons That Practice Classroom Procedures During the First Week of Art
Ensuring a smooth and productive art classroom environment begins with teaching and reinforcing important classroom procedures. My belief is that this type of practice should start from the first day of art class. What will students do about broken pencils? How will art supplies be distributed to students? How do you clean your paint brush? Where should students return their art supplies? What about activities for early finishers? I love to do simple lessons during the first week of art class as an opportunity to answer these questions in a practical way. Instead of just telling the students, have them DO the tasks. Practicing procedures through art lessons will help establish a positive and organized space for artistic exploration.
Art Tools and Clean Up Procedures During the First Week of Art Class
On the first day of art class, assign your students the role of the “Clean-Up Crew.” Discuss the significance of maintaining a clean and organized workspace. Teach proper waste disposal, brush cleaning, and organization of art materials. Encourage teamwork as students work together to clean up after each art class. Trusting students with the responsibility of taking care of classroom supplies fosters a sense of responsibility and ownership.
For me, I teach a simple painting lesson during the first day. I lot of teachers balk at painting at the start of the school year. However, I feel like there is no time like the present to start teaching students procedures and expectations that will be used throughout the year. An example lesson is a simple landscape. For the particular example I have in mind, I limit the students to 3 or 4 lines. With those 3-4 lines they should draw a simple landscape.
During the first week of art lessons, I demonstrate the art making process while also going over painting procedures. I can go over how to use the brush (on its’ tiptoes, not scrubbing), how to wash the paint out of the bristles before changing colors, how to color mix, how to put the art on the drying rack, how to dump my dirty water out at the sink, how to clean my space and more. The simplicity of the first week art lessons allow me more time for detailed walkthroughs of the procedures as we go.
Exploring Elements and Principles of Art
Building a solid foundation for elementary art students and middle school students includes explaining the elements and principles of art. Personally, I like to address several in a single art lesson. This gives students more opportunity to practice each one during the school year. Lessons that focus on fundamental art concepts should address line, color, emphasis, perspective, shape, balance and more. A good first week art lesson will address several of these fundamentals at once.
Colorful Collage
Immerse your students in the captivating world of color by introducing a colorful collage project. Teach the element of color and discuss color harmony. You can talk about warm colors and cool colors or even explain how complementary or analogous colors go well together. Provide a variety of colorful papers, magazines, and other materials. Encourage students to experiment with color combinations, discuss color emotions, and create visually harmonious collages. Facilitate class discussions on the impact of color in art, allowing students to articulate their color choices and understand their artistic intentions.
Lines That Tell Stories
Guide your students in understanding the expressive potential of lines. Introduce different types of lines, such as straight, curved, and zigzag. Engage them in discussions about how lines can convey movement, emotions, and narratives. Encourage students to create drawings that tell stories using various line types. Through this exercise, students will explore the element of line, develop their storytelling abilities, and express their unique artistic voices.
“Get to Know You” Projects
Projects that are biographical or used to illustrate your student’s interests or hobbies is always a good way to go for the first week of art class. These types of projects foster connections and create a positive classroom environment by allowing students to express their identities and interests. Take it a step further by allowing students to choose their (favorite) art supplies and color schemes. This further personalizes their projects.
Artistic Autobiography
Encourage students to embark on an artistic autobiography project. Using various art mediums, such as drawings, paintings, and collages, students will visually represent important events, influential people, and cherished memories that have shaped their lives. Provide opportunities for students to share and discuss their artwork, allowing them to connect through their shared experiences and understand each other’s perspectives. This project fosters empathy, deepens connections, and celebrates the diverse narratives within your classroom.
Name Art
Students can write their names and integrated their favorite objects, people or memories into their drawings. Students may choose to write their name in bubble letters, spell it out with found objects or draw it as graffiti on a wall. There are lots of ways they could write their own names and personalize it with objects, colors or symbols that are meaningful to them. This project allows students to express their likes, heritage and hobbies in a simple way.
Me in a Collage
Kickstart the school year by inviting students to create “Me Collages” that reflect their individual personalities. Provide them with art supplies, magazines, and personal mementos. Encourage students to include images and symbols that represent their interests, hobbies, and aspirations. Display the collages around the classroom, allowing students to appreciate and celebrate each other’s unique identities. This project creates a sense of belonging, strengthens classroom community, and sparks meaningful conversations.
First Day, Last Day Art Lessons
Tracking artistic progress is a rewarding experience for both teacher and student. During the first week of art class, have students complete a simple art project. Students will revisit the exact same project at the end of the school year. When both versions are viewed together, you will (hopefully) see the progress each student has made from the first week of art class to the last week of art .
Still Life Transformation
On the first day of art class, set up a simple still life arrangement using everyday objects. Instruct students to observe and draw the still life to the best of their abilities. Throughout the year, teach various techniques such as shading, proportion, and composition. On the last day of class, recreate the same still life arrangement and compare students’ drawings from the first day to observe their progress. Engage in meaningful discussions about growth, improvement, and the importance of perseverance and practice.
Final Thoughts About Planning the First Week of Art
As fellow art teachers, the first week of art class presents a unique opportunity to ignite creativity, foster connections, and set the stage for a year filled with artistic growth. By incorporating lesson plans that practice procedures, explore elements and principles of art, build relationships and tracks artistic progress, you create an environment that nurtures student imagination, self-expression, and artistic development. Embrace the joy of teaching art, inspire your students, and let this first week of art be the spark that ignites a lifelong love for creativity within your elementary and middle school art classrooms!
Are you an art teacher that wants to know about which art supplies you should have on hand for the first week of art class? Read the article about essential art supplies for the elementary classroom on our blog.
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