Creating a portrait in elementary school is a natural part of any art curriculum. Over my 13 years as an art teacher, I taught thousands of kids how to draw portraits–whether of themselves, a friend or an imaginary person.
It may surprise you that teaching a child how to draw a portrait is not just about eye-placement or looking into a mirror, it’s also about how to create a piece of art that captures the likeness not just through drawing but with texture and color.
In this episode of Art Made Easy, I identify key learning objectives for each grade level, detail what art supplies I love best plus how I select just the right portrait project that engages students at every grade.
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
My best advice for teaching art to kids.
Creating a portrait in elementary school is a natural part of any art curriculum. Over my 13 years as an art teacher, I taught thousands of kids how to draw portraits–whether of themselves, a friend or an imaginary person.
It may surprise you that teaching a child how to draw a portrait is not just about eye-placement or looking into a mirror, it’s also about how to create a piece of art that captures the likeness not just through drawing but with texture and color.
In this episode of Art Made Easy, I identify key learning objectives for each grade level, detail what art supplies I love best plus how I select just the right portrait project that engages students at every grade.
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
SHOW NOTES
– Information about the Summer Art Workshop with Patty, Palmer, Cassie Stephens and Laura Lohmann
– Do You Have a Hat? by Eileen Spinelli
– Fred Babb Art Go to Your Studio and Make Stuff (This is one of my all-time most inspiring poster books for art-making)
SHOW NOTES
– Information about the Summer Art Workshop with Patty, Palmer, Cassie Stephens and Laura Lohmann
– Do You Have a Hat?
– Fred Babb Art Go to Your Studio and Make Stuff
My best advice for teaching art to kids.
Which statement rings true for you: summer is too short OR summer is long enough?
If you’re like most of us, you probably feel as though it is way too short.
By the time you’re back in the classroom in August or September it can feel as those past two months was just enough time to catch your breath, but not enough to fully recharged and get aligned.
So how do you make the most out of your time?
Do you tackle all the stuff on your to-do list early on so you can relax later? Do you completely veg and catch up on Netflix?
Our summer plans feel differently for all of us, because we are all unique in how we restore ourselves.
If you’re coming off a chaotic teaching season into a chaotic summer, an introverted teacher can feel completely overwhelmed.
If you have nothing on your plate and your days are unstructured, an extrovert may feel completely unfulfilled.
It’s also possible for both personality extremes to overestimate what you can accomplish in this relatively small parcel of time.
Introverted and extroverted personality types may require radically different summer agendas, so keeping in mind both personalities…
Here are my top 10 tips for making summer feel restful, enjoyable & energizing —
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
– Why learning new perspectives is the quickest way to become happy
– How you can recognize the small happy moments that occur every day
– How to choose one goal you want to accomplish
– Why we need to schedule alone time, become more active and in the process, gain more energy
– What to do if you are not getting enjoyment out of what you are doing
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
LINKS & RESOURCES
16 Personalities Test
The Enneagram Test
(one of Team’s Sparkle’s favorite personality test)
You can visit Patty through Deep Space Sparkle on Facebook & Instagram
support@deepspacesparkle.com
Our 2018 and 2019 Online Workshops are on Sale for your all your Summer creative PD hour needs —
This podcast is an excellent resource for classroom teachers. Not only do you get ideas about what your students are capable of and how to get the most from them, but you also get excellent project ideas in the accompanying PDF. Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Patty!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you enjoyed the show and are enjoying the podcast.
Thanks, Patty, this one was wonderful. I finished portrait with my k-8th graders in February and I wish I would have had access to this info before hand, so many good tips. And I did get some very good results with the Kindergarten class, we did the tracing and the U technique. However I did notice than when they did the U technique the heads were very small, you are absolutely right they have a harder time drawing big. But this is wonderful information for next year. Excellent!
I loved this podcast. I’m new to teaching kids art, and hadn’t even looked at the portrait bundle. As I listened to this episode, I just can’t wait to teach it to grades k-6 this fall! Love all your practical tips and insights. Such good information. I started teaching in my studio in September 2016, had 4 classes every friday. Did summer art camp for three age groups in June, and will be the schools ” artist in residence” and will be teaching two days a week for grades k -6! None of this would have ever become reality without deep space sparkle! Love bing a sparkler!!
Thanks Linda!
I am not able to download the scope and sequence packet. I clicked download and it just keeps spinning. Any suggestions?
Hi, I am wondering about using the head/neck template. Do I just print this out onto 8.5×11 paper? This seems rather small. Would it be better to print onto 11×17? I’m trying to prep for the first day project and I would like to make these templates in advance.
Thank you so much for creating this podcast and specifically this episode! I’m just starting off as a new art teacher, and I am learning so much from these episodes. I’m having trouble downloading this scope and sequencing portrait guide. Any chance it’s still available? Thank you!
I am unable to download the scoping and sequencing of Portrait making Handout from the related podcast episode.
Excellent episode BTW!!! Thank you!! This has really helped me think through and plan self-portraits for all of my grade levels.
Hi Courtney! We are so happy you found us. Unfortunately this lesson is no longer available. If you are looking for lessons we’d love to have you check out the lessons inside The Sparklers’ Club. It is an affordable and flexible pay as you go monthly membership—perfect for anyone who teaches art to students aged K-7. Enrollment opened this week for 3 days only. Email us at support@deepspacesparkle.com for more information.