Art Education Resources, Tips and Tricks and Art Lesson Ideas

How to plan holiday art lessons with educational value

Holiday Art Lessons With Educational Value

Holiday art lessons are always fun to plan. But I am also supposed to teach curriculum, standards, elements and principles of design, and art history. It is possible to squeeze everything in and still keep the holiday spirit! Here is how I combined holiday festivity with educational value to create a collection of holiday art lesson plans. These were elementary holiday art lessons but the ideas can work for any grade.

Incorporate Art History and Criticism

First, I think it is important to incorporate art history into my lessons whenever possible. I like to consider diversity when choosing artists. For example: people of color, female artists, LBGTQ+ artists, and current artists as well as artists of the past. I chose Wassily Kandinsky, Wayne Thiebaud, Yayoi Kusama, Laurel Burch, Vincent Van Gogh, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Tim Burton.

After selecting the artists, I find fun and interesting facts about each artist to share with my students, along with a portrait or self-portrait of the artist. My students always ask if the artist is still living, what they look like, where they live or the value of their paintings. I tailor my facts to information I know they will be interested in.

After sharing some interesting facts about the artist, we take a look at one example of their artwork. I use Feldman’s Model of Art Criticism, which allows the students to describe, analyze, interpret and judge a work of art. We either answer the questions as a class or the students discuss in their table groups. I either use the art critique as an introduction to a lesson, or as a discussion for the following class period to refresh students’ memories. Sometimes I do the critique towards the end of the lesson to re-establish a connection to the artist. It really depends how much extra time we have on a given day.

Use Media That Kids Love

Next, I planned the medium to best execute the holiday art lessons. My most successful lessons involve mixed media. My theory is the more hands-on experience students get with a variety of mediums the better! That’s why I created a lesson about Yayoi Kusama inspired pine trees that used painting, drawing and collage techniques. Kids loved the variety.

Wassily Kandinsky inspired ornaments for planning holiday art lessons with educational value
Ornaments inspired by Wassily Kandinsky

Younger students seem to love the watercolor resist technique, which combines watercolor or tempera cakes and crayons or oil pastels. I created an Ornaments Inspired Wassily Kandinsky lesson knowing how much the kids would love the media involved. Of course, keeping track of different media used can be a challenge so I include a slide in my PowerPoint presentation with all the materials needed to help me stay organized and have materials ready for my students.

Holiday Art Lessons + Elements and Principles

I also make a point to teach all the Elements of Design at least once for each grade level per year. When applicable, I also introduce the Principles of Design to my intermediate elementary art students.

Wayne Thiebaud inspired gumdrops
Wayne Thiebaud inspired gumdrops

I did this by creating a Wayne Thiebaud inspired gumdrops lesson that incorporated texture into a drawing exercise. Not only did that make the lesson include an element of art, but Kindergarten students LOVE using texture rubbing plates. I also made a Keith Haring inspired “Dancing Elves” lesson incorporating the principles movement and pattern and demonstrating how artists can add movement to their artwork.

To incorporate more literacy in the art room, I include a vocabulary slide for each lesson to reinforce reading. Even with my kindergarten artists! I also hang a word wall in my classroom to reinforce the vocabulary discussed throughout the school year. My “Word Wall” is available here, or it’s relatively easy to make your own.

Create the Holiday Art Lesson Examples

The last part of lesson planning is creating my example of the art lesson. When I am creating my example, I create a video of me going through the steps and creating the work of art. I found it is easier to show the video to students instead of demonstrating in front of the class. I started doing this when I was art on a cart. It was just easier to connect my laptop rather than try to get set up for a demonstration when I was trying to catch my breath.ย  While the video is playing, I can talk to them through the steps and begin setting up or passing out supplies. I will also show a video clip repeatedly or show it in slow motion if necessary for students who need another demonstration. When possible, I will create a step-by-step drawing handout for student use. The videos are great as a preview, but everyone works at a different pace. The handout allows all students to work at their own pace and see the steps all at once.

Hopefully, this inspires some new ideas for your own holiday art lessons. If you are interested,ย my 11 Artist Inspired Lessons for Winter is available here.

 

Happy Holidays Everyone! – Trista

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Related Post: Christmas Art Lesson Ideas

Related Post: 5 Easy and Cheap Christmas Ornament Ideas

 

About Me

Art With Trista is my website featuring art lessons, art teacher articles and art education resources

I’ve been teaching art for over 20 years and I love it!

I have taught every grade from kindergarten to high school. This site features art education articles with art resources and ideas as well as art lesson ideas for all ages. My goal is to allow students to explore a variety of art materials, discover different genres and styles, and most importantly, have FUN!

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