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.
Make sure to download my FREE Scoping & Sequencing of Portrait Making PDF that details the projects, supplies and learning objectives for each grade level. Just login to your DSS account to access. You can create a free account if you don’t already have one.
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
DOWNLOAD THEÂ FREE PORTRAIT-MAKING GUIDE:
To download this free resource, click on the image below. Login to your DSS account and click Add to Cart.
Enjoy!
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.
Whether you are a brand new teacher preparing for your first art class or an experienced art teacher looking to change things up, knowing what to do on the first day of school can be challenging. We all have questions: Do you create art right away or do you establish a management plan? You may wonder what projects to do or what supplies to prep. This episode offers a few ideas to think about as you start to plan for your big day back.
Download the First Day of Art Class Freebie and Back to School Guide, and start planning your awesome week!
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
How deciding what you want your students to experience when they step into your art room is a great way to begin your year
What painted paper is and how children can have fun with it.
Why I created student portfolios and the best system on how to do this.
How line drawings can be used as a project technique (and may be the most effective one)
How self-portraits can be a great option for demonstrating student improvement in art throughout the year
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
DOWNLOAD THE FIRST DAY OF ART CLASS FREEBIE
Download our back to School Guide | Resources to help kickstart your art program.It’s a 3-part strategy on how to use the Elements of Arts when planning your art curriculum including ordering supplies, a grade level checklist for the scope and sequence of K-7 Elements of Art and What I’ll Learn in Art Class posters.
SHOW NOTES
PDF – First Day of Art, with lessons and resources
How to Make Painted Paper
Dot Day on Sept. 15th
THE DOT by Peter H. ReynoldsÂ
AME:013 Scoping the Sequencing on Portrait Making
Managing Artwork with Student Portfolios
Watch this video to see how to make painted paper
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.