Hands-On Art Activities

These lesson slideshows are a great place to start making maps that feature Landforms, and show the different features and shapes of the Earth's surface. Be sure to include plenty of details and get creative with your map!

(These are especially important for 5th grade students!)

Turkeys in Disguise - Animal Adaptations & Thanksgiving Fun!

Grades K-6 Lesson

Supplies: Paper, pencil, black marker or pen, and something to add color with

Here is a great idea that I got from an art teacher colleague, Ms. Rachel Lankford. You can find her website here: (https://missrachelart.weebly.com/)! All you have to do is print the PDF turkey template here and then help it hide using your artistic creativity! What will your turkey disguise them self as? Here are the steps:

-First, draw details on your turkey with a pencil that make it look like something else (Not a turkey!)

-Then go over your details with a pen or marker. Trace your lines carefully - that way the lines are nice and neat and dark.

-Finally, do your best to add color and camouflage your turkey.

Dia de los Muertos - Creative Calaveras!

Grades K-6 Lesson

Supplies: Scissors & Something to draw/color with

It is the spooky season of the year! Some people are celebrating Halloween - but there are different holidays and traditions that are important in different places around the world. One amazing and important cultural holiday is Dia de los Muertos - or "the day of the dead." This holiday is important to the culture of Mexico and other Central and South American countries. It is a celebration of ancestry and family - it is a happy holiday full of music, flowers, food, and art!

One famous symbol of Dia de los Muertos is the Calavera - or decorated skull. You can make your own Creative Calavera for Dia de Los Muertos!

Here is how:

-First, draw a skull big on a piece of paper - or print one of the available skull templates below (courtesy of Mr. Smith!)

-Next, decorate that skull with colorful designs

-Make sure that your designs are symmetrical! Meaning that they match on both sides of the skull face.

-Cut out your amazing calavera!

-Lastly, what can you do to be creative with your calavera? Make it into a mask? Hang it on the wall? Make a skeleton body to go with it? The sky is the limit! Be creative!

Check out this awesome Dia de los Muertos celebration website from the Utah Cultural Celebration Center & West Valley Arts! It has videos, music, art, and so much cool stuff!

Land Art or Environmental Art

This activity was featured in the May 11th Truman Elementary TNN broadcast - so if you haven't checked out the video be sure to do that by following the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uD0vWUmia8 or find it here: Truman News Network

Salt-Dough Sculptures

K-6 Lesson (with adult supervision)

Supplies: 1 cup of salt, 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 cup of water

Some artists like to make artwork that is not flat like a drawing or painting. When an artist makes artwork that isn't flat, or that is 3-D, we call it a sculpture. You can make your very own clay for sculpting at home with just a few kitchen ingredients. You can even fire your sculpture, just like real clay, by baking it in your oven! Here are the steps:

-First, mix 1 cup of salt, and 2 cups of flour into a bowl.

- Then, mix in about 1 cup of water. Make sure the dough or clay is not too wet and sticky, and not too dry.

-Let the dough sit for a few minutes.

-Now you can pull off pieces of your clay dough-ball and use your hands to shape them into all kinds of things!

-When you are done, you will want to let the clay dry, so that your sculpture can harden. To do that follow these steps:

- Get help from an adult, and heat your oven to 225 degrees.

-Place your sculptures on pan, cookie sheet, or pizza pan.

-Put the pan of sculptures into the oven, and let them bake for about 2 hours.

-Remove the pan from the oven carefully, and let the sculptures cool completely.

-Now you have fun new sculptures to play with, show off, or decorate!

This activity was featured in the May 4th Truman Elementary TNN broadcast - so if you haven't checked out the video be sure to do that by following the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrFbOkTC3os or find it here: Truman News Network

Zentangle Doodling

K-6 Lesson

Supplies: Paper or something to draw on, pencils, and pens or markers

During crazy or stressful times it is important to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness means focusing on the present moment, and not letting worries about what has happened or what will happen bother us. One great way to get into a state of mindful flow is by creating artwork, and one kind of artwork that is made to help us relax and feel calm is the Zentangle. A zentangle is just a structure of patterns that fills or decorates something. Here are the steps of how to make a zentangle:

-First, mark the corners or edges of your paper to leave space for a border.

-Then connect those marks to create a line for the border of your design.

-Next draw lines or "strings" across the middle of the design - splitting it into chunks.

-Now make a pattern to decorate each chunk or section.

-Tangle more details and patterns into those patterns until the area is full!

This activity was featured in the April 27th Truman Elementary TNN broadcast - so if you haven't checked out the video be sure to do that by following the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79BBAmc44pw or find it here: Truman News Network

"En Plein Air" Nature Sketches

K-6 Lesson

Supplies: Paper and something to draw or color with

Spring has sprung! With the changing weather we can see many changes in the landscapes around us. Trees are starting to turn green, flowers are beginning to bloom, animals are becoming more active, and the world is coming back to life after another winter. Now is a great time to get outside and take some time to observe these things. We can be an artist and a scientist by going outside to observe nature and make drawings of what we see.

Many artists and scientists make artwork outside. When we make art outdoors we call it En Plein Air, which is French for making art outside.

Here are the steps:

-First, get some paper and something to draw with. If you want, you can use a sketchbook, or you can make your own by folding paper.

-Then go outside in your yard or in your neighborhood and start to look.

-Use your senses to observe what is around you. What can you hear, smell, feel, and see? What catches your interest?

-Now focus on something you found. Really look at it. What shape is it? What colors do you see? What kind of textures can you feel?

-Try to draw these details on your paper!

This activity was featured in the April 20th Truman Elementary TNN broadcast - so if you haven't checked out the video be sure to do that by following the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YITqVWwTm9g or find it here: Truman News Network

Shadow Tracing Activity

Grades K-6 Lesson

Supplies: Paper, Pencil, Something to add Color, Light, and Found Objects

This fun little activity was featured in the April 6th Truman Elementary TNN broadcast - so if you haven't checked out the video be sure to do that by following the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fWblWDj2TU or find it here: Truman News Network

This project helps build up the small muscles in your hand that are needed for good control of art tools, and it helps you to observe the shapes of complex objects. Here is how it works:

- First, put your piece of paper down in the light (sunshine or light from a bright lamp)

- Then put some objects on top of the paper to cast shadows across the paper

- Try to find objects that make crazy shadows (Things like toys, plants, models, and building blocks work great!)

- Carefully trace the edges of the shadows on your paper - you might have to move fast, as the sun moves in the sky so will your shadow!

- Take the objects off of the paper and check out the wiggly organic shapes, or the straight geometric shapes you've made

- Lastly, use color to decorate and fill in your shadow artwork (maybe you want to fill the inside of the shadow - the positive space - or the outside of the shadows - the background or negative space)

The fun thing about this lesson is that you can change it up and turn it into anything you like! You can go outside, you can use your imagination to turn your shadows into doodles, or whatever inspires you. The sky is the limit!

Bricolage - Making Art with Stuff you can Find

Texture Rubbing Activity

Grades K-3 Lesson

Supplies: Paper, Crayons, or Pencil Graphite

Students can engage in observing the world around them at home like a scientist. They can use their sense of touch to feel and describe textures - an important element of design in art. Texture is simply how the surface of something feels when you touch it.

Students can create art and document textures like a scientist by creating Texture Rubbings. A texture rubbing is a way of copying a real texture onto paper. Here are the steps:

-Place a piece of paper over an interesting texture. (Bumpy, rough, cracked, soft, scratchy, etc.)

-Use the side of a crayon, or the side of a pencil, and rub on top of the paper.

-Be careful to hold the paper very still on top of the texture!

-The texture is copied onto the surface of the paper.

When you finish collecting textures on your papers you could use them to make drawings, cut them to use for collaging, or fold them into origami. Be Creative!

Propaganda Posters

Grades 4-6 Lesson

Supplies: Paper, Pencil, and Something to add Color

Artists have been making artwork to sell products and ideas for many, many years. Artwork or media that is meant to sell an idea or belief is called Propaganda. Some propaganda is used for bad purposes, some is used to make money, and some is used to promote good.

Let’s design propaganda for good - to share and sell good ideas. Here is how:

-Start by brainstorming some ideas. (Sometimes drawing or writing on scratch paper or in a sketchbook helps.)

-Use a pencil to sketch out your favorite idea onto a blank paper.

-Remember to draw big and fill the space. Big is beautiful!

-(Optional Step) If you want your lines nice and dark, go over your sketch with a dark pencil, pen, or marker.

-Lastly, add color to your design.

-Use the color to add emphasis, and to capture your viewer’s attention.

When you are done you can share your message, and try to convince others to believe in your idea by hanging up your poster somewhere.

Upcycled Eco Art

Grades K-6 Lesson

Supplies: Scissors, Glue, Tape, & Disposable or Recyclable Materials

Optional Supplies: Markers, Paint, etc.

Upcycled Art is a way of making art out of items that would usually be thrown away or recycled. Instead of recycling those items into new products, we can “Upcycle” them into special, one-of-a-kind art items! Here are the steps to follow:

-Collect and clean recyclables or (durable, non-perishable) trash items.

-Decide if you want your artwork to be flat, or 3-D.

-Use your imagination, tape, and glue to put your items together and make something new!