smARTer Art Lessons

Based off of Hetland's Studio Thinking Habits of Mind, this lesson introduces the concept of Stretch & Explore, asking the students to collaborate and create a group painting, playfully, without traditional materials. A lesson plan, rubric, students-at-work work timeline, and power point slides with discussion questions and activities are included. This lesson is the third in a series dedicated to teaching the Studio Thinking Habits of Mind. It is intended to be used with 7th, 8th, or introduc

Based off of Hetland's Studio Thinking Habits of Mind, this lesson introduces the concept of Envision, asking the students to discuss what it means and practice making art solely from imagination. A lesson plan, rubric, students-at-work work timeline, and power point slides with discussion questions and activities are included. Sample student artworks in progress are embedded in the power point along with a Planning sheet for the activity. A PDF version is also in the download. This lesson easil

In this lesson, students will have a quick review of ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed before moving into a fun, hands-on lesson practicing fast and slow exposures. This lesson can take 1 - 2 class periods and can be expanded into a longer lesson (includes next steps and an assessment rubric). You will need a space that can get a little messy (a traditional art room with tables and a sink). Students love this activity and ask how they can do it at home! Download includes a zip file with a Power P

Based off of Hetland's Studio Thinking Habits of Mind, this lesson introduces the concept of Develop Craft through learning 8 diverse watercolor painting techniques over 2 class periods. Additionally, a 3rd (and possibly 4th) class period is dedicated to using the watercolor papers to construct a collage. A lesson plan, rubric, students-at-work work timeline, and power point slides with discussion questions and activities are included. Directions with actual images of the students working at ea

This 6-week unit will take your students through the process of creating a unique Geometric Portrait of a subject of their choosing. EXPERIENCE WITH ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR AND PHOTOSHOP is required for success with this unit. Included are both PDFs and customizable PowerPoint files. Step by Step file includes 10 steps from beginning the project to innovative final solutions. This file also contains a project overview with resource links, project criteria, project rubric, National Core Media Arts

This excel sheet currently has 50 contemporary artists that can be sorted by: NameEthnicityPrimary MediumSecondary MediumPrimary ThemeSecondary ThemeGender IdentityBirth yearYou can also search by keyword with control+f. Additionally, there is a brief description of the artist's work and links to their websites and social media. This list will continue to grow as I add more artists in batches of 25. Once you make this initial purchase, you can download future updates at no additional cost (you w

Based off of Hetland's Studio Thinking Habits of Mind, this lesson introduces the concept of Observe, asking the students to discuss what it means and practice drawing from direct observation. The lesson is intended as an introduction or as a pre-instruction lesson, before drawing instruction occurs. A lesson plan, rubric, students-at-work work timeline, and power point slides with discussion questions and activities are included. Student samples of first day/last day drawings are also included

This lesson is designed for a high school or late middle school digital media class. Students will be asked to create a Panoramic image that communicates a personal or social narrative. Your purchase includes the following: Lesson overview with project criteria National Art Core Standards (Media Arts) alignment Common Core aligned writing task End of project rubrics Discussion questions Graphic Organizers Step by step directions in Adobe Photoshop Homework assignment Resources and Teacher Exam

This is a graphic organizer I created based off of the research-text Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education by Hetland, Winner, Veenema, Sheridan, and Perkins. This is great for focusing students on reflecting during their art making and drawing attention to the broad range of skills artists develop. In the Zip file, there is a Power Point Presentation containing 3 versions of the Graphic Organizer. Each graphic organizer is also in PDF format and JPEG format within the Zi

In this 2-week lesson, students will pick a theme word to shoot a series of 10 images. This lesson assumes students have already learned basic photography skills on a DSLR camera, but this unit could also be modified for a phone-camera or point and shoot camera level. This zip file contains : -A 16 page unit overview with links to professional examples and student examples -Planning worksheets -Work-in-Progress critique template -Post-critique reflect and plan worksheet -Self-assessment rubric

This presentation aligns to the National Core Media Arts Standard #1 (Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work) and #2 (Organize and develop artistic ideas and work). The goal of the lesson is to get students to understand where Photographer's get (original) ideas and how a photography journal can help the student improve their idea generation and overall craft. The instructions for making a journal are basic, and are secondary to the big ideas covered relating back to the standards.

Based off of the popular text, Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Art Education (Hetland, Winner, Veenema, Sheridan, and Perkins), this download includes 8 1/2 x 11" posters containing the habit of mind definitions and visual examples of the habit. The visual examples include both studio art and digital art examples. This also includes a hand out with all the definitions on one page and specific pages for Develop Craft Studio Practice (assigning responsibility to keeping the studio space pick

This free lesson from smARTer Lessons focuses on challenging students to create a painting in a Surrealist style. Beginning with collage, students build a composition that includes a personal narrative. Next, students practice under painting techniques, and finally, use their collage as the subject matter for a finished acrylic painting. The lesson has enough information to understand the scope of the project, but has left room for you to personalize it to your program. Key aspects include: Surr

This was designed for secondary level art students, but could be applied or modified to meet many content areas. It is a power point file, so it is adaptable.