On social media, art instructors have been sharing some fantastic suggestions for entertaining art lessons for the first day. When given the option, I prefer to try to get creative right away and drip-feed students the rules and expectations over the course of the first few weeks. However, some teachers go over expectations and rules, and this may be the right thing to do in your school or even a requirement by your management. Here are some suggestions for classes that will leave a great, original impression:
Making Sketchbooks
Some painting instructors actually jump right in and have their students create sketchbooks. This would be a terrific first lesson, but you would need to be well organised. There are many ways to create sketchbooks that contain various types of paper. With various age groups, you might create sketchbooks in various methods.
The importance of art
Why not ask “Why is Art Important?” at the beginning of the year? Prepare some post-it notes so that students can brainstorm in pairs before bringing the class in on the conversation. Use your surroundings to discuss how things are designed. Consider the significance of art during lockdown. The film “Why Study Art” by Tate Shots is available for use and makes some really great points. If you have the time, you might pursue a profession in the arts.
Beautiful Corpse
A Surrealist game called Exquisite Corpse challenges players to produce a group drawing. Players take turns sketching the head, then passing the artwork to the next person who will draw the torso, and the last person will draw the feet. It doesn’t really call for any drawing expertise and can be playful and enjoyable. A free lesson plan for this game can be found at Exquisite Corpse.
Accept the Shake
You should watch the TED lecture titled “Embrace the Shake” if you haven’t already. Artist Phil Hansen describes how he overcome a hand tremor, accepted his disability, and used it to his advantage. Interesting things! It’s available on my TED Talks website for art.
A lie and two truths
Two Truths and a Lie is a simple no-prep game to pick for a lighthearted start to the year where the focus is on getting to know your class. It’s as easy as it seems. Three statements must be made by one individual, one of which must be untrue. The class is required to identify the false statement.
Group Portrait
An entertaining lesson for the first day may be a group painting. Group the students in your class. Assorted supplies and a large sheet of paper should be distributed to each group. It might also be entertaining to place a single long strip of paper along the centre of the space. Students can either paint to music or be given a topic, such as “Your Summer,” “Back to School,” or “Things I Love.” I’ve even read about a teacher who marked a dot on the paper and instructed students to draw whatever they wanted as long as they included the dot in their design. great concept
Evaluation of Learning
If you have any drawing assignments planned for the year, you may ask the kids to create something without any guidance so they can contrast it with their work at the end of the year after receiving instruction. They could draw a hand and a portrait, for instance, on a page. Both you and they will benefit from being able to see the progress you have made. You might give them a mirror, or they could draw a picture of themselves or a classmate.
Make crappy art
Ask your class to create a terrible work of art. Set up a variety of supplies for them to use. A fascinating discussion about what constitutes good and bad art will result from this. What makes art bad? What makes art good? Who decides this?
Towers of Marshmallows
You’ve probably heard of this traditional duty before. Group your children, and then distribute a specific quantity of dried spaghetti and marshmallows to each group. Then set a deadline and a contest to see who can construct the tallest structure. It’s an excellent team-building activity. Giving them dried spaghetti, a certain amount of masking tape, and a marshmallow is another method to run it. Then you ask them to build a structure that can support the marshmallow; the structure with the highest height wins.
Baseline Evaluation
To determine the level at which their students are working, many schools administer baseline tests. You might start with these right away if your baseline tests are presented as enjoyable and imaginative activities. I employ a fun baseline assessment exercise that measures creativity, drawing prowess, spatial awareness, and physical dexterity.
Continually drawn lines
Encourage your kids to draw their classmates in continuous lines. Give some nice illustrations to illustrate the concept of a continuous line drawing. Give a large sheet of paper to each pupil. Make the drawings in pen if at all possible, and use a different coloured pen for each one. The drawings can somewhat overlap; in fact, it looks fantastic.
Read more: 10 Famous Baroque Artists Whose Awe-inspiring Art Still Inspires Us Today