Spring Branch Independent School District
Elementary Art Curriculum Guide
Get crafting with hundreds of pages of art lessons! The plans are organized into topics, which include clay, drawing, composition and design, mixed media, painting, printmaking, and paper.
Dick Blick Art Materials
“Decalcomania” Glue Paint Symmetry Prints
Who knew you could paint with glue? After first adding liquid water color paints to bottles of white Elmer's glue and applying them to paper, students of all ages are then challenged to use their imagination and...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Glue Paint Symmetry Prints
Add watercolors to white glue, paint onto clear film paper, fold, open, and voila, a butterfly! This art project, designed for special education classes, but perfect for any classroom, is sure to engage your young artists.
Curated OER
Sculpture in Balance
Students discuss the difference betwen two-dimensional vs. three-dimensional art. In this art lesson, students discuss what symmetry or balance is in art and construct a symmetrical and an asymmetrical mobile.
Curated OER
Symmetry with Shapes
Students analyze a symmetrical stamp design with an equal balance of light and dark to create a pattern in succession. In this shape design instructional activity, students review concepts of sign, symbol and language across cultures....
Curated OER
Lines of Symmetry
Pupils practice dance to divide the space or body shape into equal sections to create symmetry in dance. In this symmetry instructional activity, students practice symmetrical and asymmetrical movements in dance. Pupils participate in...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Start with a Circle...
The Golden Ratio. The Divine Proportion. Yup. It's math and art blended into one colorful activity. Young artists combine colored tissue paper circles and parts of circles to create geometric patterns. As a bonus, kids get to figure out...
Curated OER
Middle-East Reflections
Practice symmetry and patterns with this Mid-Eastern art project. Your class will create beautiful, reflective mosaics that will brighten up the classroom! A list of necessary materials is included.
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Do You See What I See?
Can art play tricks on your eyes, and can a still painting really appear to vibrate? The second lesson in a four-part series discusses the way our beautiful brains translate visual images. It highlights the style of optical art and...
Curated OER
Labyrinths
Whether studying metaphors or Greek mythology, this labyrinth project is a fantastic lesson plan to add to your unit. It includes two versions of the labyrinth; making it with yarn or stone. If your materials are limited, you can even...
Curated OER
Making Puzzles
Students create their own puzzles. In this visual arts lesson, students follow the provided steps to create their jigsaw puzzles made from card stock.
Curated OER
Interpreting Lao Design Drawing
Students identify symmetry as a word and concept using drawings. The lesson is cross-cultural using traditional Lao Art. The goal is to then apply the skills of symmetry to personal works of art that are produced.
Curated OER
Symmetry in Paper Airplanes
Students explore symmetry. In this geometry and scientific inquiry lesson, students design paper airplanes with middle line symmetry, as well as right, obtuse, and acute angles. Students measure the plane's angles using a...
Curated OER
Midwest Hospitality
Students create snowflakes using the ideas of symmetry, perpendicularity, and regularity in this Art lesson that incorporates Mathematical concepts and artistic design. The lesson includes a materials list, vocabulary list, and possible...
Curated OER
Minimal Animals
Have fun creating imaginary creatures with this symmetry lesson plan! Your class will paint one half of their imaginary creature, fold their paper in half, which will result in a symmetrical figure. What a great art project to combine...
Curated OER
Tree of Life Mandala Print
Students create a Tree of Life. For this visual art lesson, students explore mandalas. Students investigate the concepts of balance and symmetry while designing their own unique Tree of Life.
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Peace Quilt
Learners explore color, shape, line, balance, radial symmetry, unity, repetition, and pattern as they make a peace quilt inspired by those made by Hawaiian women in the 1800s. After learning a bit about the history or peace quilts, the...
Asian Art Museum
Create Your Own Samurai (Breastplate) Armor
Your class is going to love this activity. They get out their rulers, cardboard, and paints as they make Samurai breastplates. The simple art lesson lends itself to many different subjects such as, math/measurement, world history, and...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Origami Geometry
Origami is an excellent way to combine Japanese culture, art, and geometric shapes into one engaging instructional activity! Scholars begin by listening to the story Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and learn the origin of...
Curated OER
Suspension Bridge Drawing Lesson
Students study the basic artistic styles of suspension bridges. They follow step-by-step instructions to draw a suspension bridge. Students discover volcabulary related to the architecture of bridges. They examine websites of bridges.
Curated OER
Face Study: Draw the Other Half
Build fine motor, spatial, and drawing skills by having the class complete the other half of a portrait. They choose an image of a face from a magazine, then attempt to draw the other half of the face as accurately as they can. Two book...
Curated OER
The Geometry of Paul Goble's Artwork
Students examine the concepts of geometry used by Paul Goble in his book Adopted By The Eagles. After analyzing Mr. Goble's work they create an original piece featuring symmetry, pattern, repetition, and other principles of geometry....
National Gallery of Canada
The Roots of My Family
Represent family history visually by requiring your young artists to create family trees that express balance and symmetry. Pupils examine works of art, research their family histories, and put together large family tree posters.
Curated OER
Radial Balance Geometric Shapes
Fifth graders create a radially balanced design using geometric shapes which exhibits their prior knowledge of symmetry. They use a kaleidoscope image to develop a design using markers or colored pencils.