Developing kindergarten lessons can be very challenging, especially at the beginning of the school year when many students are just learning to cut paper and hold crayons. The author's favorite beginning unit of the year is "mice paintings," a practical introduction to drawing, color theory, and painting. This unit also incorporates children's…

Focuses on David Bates and his artwork entitled "Blackwater I." Includes background information, activities based on the artwork, and a reproduction of the painting. Describes the painting, focusing on how it is like and unlike folk art. (CMK)

Describes an art project suitable for middle and high school students in which they either combine identifiable parts from different animals to create one creature or take one animal and creatively distort it. Explains that this lesson enables students to be satisfied with their animal-inspired artwork. (CMK)

Discusses a painting unit for kindergarten that focuses on color mixing and brush stroke techniques. Students paint a picture of their favorite animal. Describes the unit, listing the materials needed and including sample paintings. (CMK)

Presents a lesson that teaches students about abstract art in a fun way. Explains that students draw cats, learn about the work of Pablo Picasso, and, in the style of Picasso, combine the parts of the cats (tail, legs, head, body) together in unconventional ways. (CMK)

Describes an activity for first-grade students in which they learn about cave paintings and become spelunkers, or people who explore caves as a hobby, making their own paper head-lanterns. Explains that students draw animals on the walls of their "cave" (a dark hallway lined with brown kraft paper). (CMK)

Children enjoy learning experiences that revolve around animals. Describes a course in which middle-grade students took a field trip to the zoo and sketched various animals. When the students returned to class, they had to do a highly detailed painting based on their favorite sketch. (RM)

Describes an art activity for third-grade students in which they learned about African animals in one class period and spent time in another class period creating a picture of a giraffe. Explains that the students learned about watercolor wash and the wet-on-wet technique. (CMK)

Discusses two activities based on the paintings of Paul Klee who used simple lines, bright colors, and happy subjects within his artwork. Explains that in the kindergarten activity, the students practice line drawing and looking at tree forms as well as painting; the first grade activity focuses on the abstract cubist style. (CMK)

Presents an art activity where students learn about Cubism and color mixing. Explains that the students create camouflaged animals after learning about the work, "Female Torso" (Pablo Picasso). Includes directions for how to create the pictures and states that the assignment can be used with students of all ages. (CMK)

Describes an activity for eighth-grade students inspired by the mola designs for clothing of the Cuna people of Panama. Directs students to sketch, enlarge, and paint their own mola animal emphasizing craftsmanship, consistency, and color harmony. Explains that the students paint animals where the animal and background were broken up into…

Describes a first-grade lesson that combines art and literature in which students learn how to mix colors. Explains that they listen to the story "Elmer" by David McKee and then create their own patchwork elephants just like Elmer. Discusses how the students made the jungle scene. (CMK)