Browse by: Discipline · Most Recent · Grades K-4 · Grades 5-8 · Grades 9-12
Lesson Plans by Discipline - Sculpture
Grades K – 4 |
Grade Level |
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When looking at art visuals, on museum field trips or just when a different perspective is needed, kids can put on these special spectacles to see "through the eyes of an artist" to understand the vision and purpose behind a work of art. |
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Decorate small wooden blocks with symbols, letters, numbers, patterns or images to create dice and a colorful "shaker" jar. Scorecard included in lesson plan. |
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Beads can be made from a variety of materials, including Wonderfoam, chenille stems and Woodsies. |
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A more complex project for older children. Great for developing a better understanding of 3 dimensional space and geometry. |
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Give students an opportunity to enjoy creating random organic forms with color and transparency similar to actual glass. |
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Students explore Native American pottery traditions and discover the purpose behind the animal imagery and geometric patterns used to decorate various pottery forms. Students with kiln access will learn how to use underglazes and glazes to transform their bowls into functional ware. |
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Combining clay beadmaking with basic pinch and coil pot construction, students make a musical piece of art. |
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Children have many family members and pets and friends who are "honorary" family. Have students discuss their family and describe how they look. |
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Experience an archeological dig, right in your own classroom! Students create fossils the way that nature does - by making impressions and filling them. |
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This project requires students to work with the same issues confronted by professional sculptors, working in the round, the work being understandable to the viewer, and structural stability. |
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Certain people influence our lives in such a way that they leave "fingerprints" behind. These simple beads make great friendship bracelets. |
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These paper dolls are wonderful to combine with the Global Village Paper. They can easily be turned into old-fashioned paper dolls, displayed in chains and hung. Or create a globe and arrange dolls around the total outside edge. |
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This lesson plan celebrates the Chinese tradition of passing along good fortune or "Fu" to others. |
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How Grandmother Spider Stole the Sun Students will be introduced to a Native American story, "How Grandmother Spider Stol the Sun", told by Joseph Brucha. They will use this to create a work of art out of clay and other materials, rather than paint and paper. |
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This easy, kid-friendly project creates ornaments that sparkle and shine using Crayola Crayons and Sculpey III oven-bake polymer clay. |
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This lesson plan is inspired by the brightly colored pottery of Mexico. This simple papier mâché version casts paper pulp into a textured bowl using an existing plastic or ceramic bowl as a mold. |
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Early experiment with construction of slab clay techniques. An excellent introduction to the use of materials in a responsible manner. |
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The expressive qualities of clay are perfect for creating many different types of face masks, from Mardi Gras glitter to Japanese Kabuki to African ceremonial masks. |
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A very easy mosaic project that is enjoyable for all ages. Even very young children will enjoy pressing objects into the moist clay. |
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There are 20 Pueblo villages left in the Southwest; there were at one time in history 200. Each of the 20 Pueblos is famous for art and/or crafts, such as pottery. Students will learn about the Pueblo Indian arts and crafts, and emulate the famous pottery of Maria Martinez, who lived in a Pueblo. |
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Many Plains Indian tribes created masks for their horses to give them a look of intimidating power and fierceness. Students create a horse-shaped mask that can be worn or hung for display. |
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Native American Indians are famous for their beautiful turquoise and silver jewelry and belts. The Indians, who were very close to the earth and spiritual people, believed that certain animals, birds, etc. possessed special powers. They would carve these spirit totems into their jewelry and then wear them for good luck. Students will be introduced to different examples of Indian jewelry. |
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Teach students about the unique symbolism of Native American culture while they learn valuable design and drawing skills. |
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Pop Charts - 3D Charts and Graphs This page offers a few suggestions for creative art projects that support mathematical instruction on chart and graph reading. |
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This project gives new life to second-hand shoes by turning them into "Robots," sculptural assemblages created with metallic paint, wire and found objects. |
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Students study the anatomy of a flower, and create and identify its parts. |
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This lesson can be linked with Southwest culture studies and the students can imitate the symbols used by Native American tribes or students can be challenged to come up with their own word pictures. |
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Math and science create visual forms and structure. This sculpture uses equilateral triangles and parallelograms that are combined and repeated. |
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Students select an animal with traits they can recognize in themselves and create a mask that will retain some human features, but take on the life of the animal. This project will link with personal identification and Mexican Folk Art cultural studies. |
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A great project! Fun, quick, and inexpensive. |
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Students create a freestanding 3-dimensional sculpture using wire and modeled "clay" pieces. |
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Grades 5 – 8 |
Grade Level |
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Students create a dimensional "line drawing" out of flexible wire then cover it with assorted papers and tissues for a whimsical, lightweight sculpture. |
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Studying the rich history of maskmaking in Africa is a perfect way for students to experience the relationship between the process of creating a piece of art, and appreciating the significance it carries. |
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From Mayco Colors, this lesson gives students the opportunity to explore the history and function of masks in various cultures and times. Students will be able to learn and master basic hand building and sculpting techniques using either self-hardening clay or clay requiring kiln firing. |
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Students will study works of stained glass as a one dimensional art form and adapt what they learn to a three dimensional sculpture — a brilliantly-colored transparent mobile. |
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Students will design and sculpt a dimensional piece of artwork, creating a variety of textures, lines and depths. |
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“Write” names and messages by stringing beads on a bendable wire. Hang finished pieces in a window, string on a necklace or around a hat, pin to a bulletin board or display on a piece of matboard as a piece of art. |
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A more complex project for older children. Great for developing a better understanding of 3 dimensional space and geometry. |
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Students learn to make small, decorated boxes called "Nichos," a means in Mexican and South American cultures to provide a stage-like setting for an object or collection of objects that have great significance. |
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Give students an opportunity to enjoy creating random organic forms with color and transparency similar to actual glass. |
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Wall pockets have a long history as decorative and functional items. They have been used for years to hold flowers, perfumes and light sources. |
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An introduction to the basics of Claymation and media production using a familiar scientific theme — the metamorphasis of a butterfly. |
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Students explore Native American pottery traditions and discover the purpose behind the animal imagery and geometric patterns used to decorate various pottery forms. Students with kiln access will learn how to use underglazes and glazes to transform their bowls into functional ware. |
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Found objects, cutouts, photos and a variety of materials are assembled in a sculptural, three-dimensional collage centered around a personal theme. |
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This lesson plan uses interactive floating layers and windows to create depth within the artwork. |
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Students transform a thick slab of clay into a 3D plaque. |
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Ancient Egyptians applied gold leaf onto carved wood panels to tell stories and create opulence and on everyday objects. Follow the process these artists used to carve and gild a fan fit for King Tutankhamen. |
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One of the principles of the Modern style of architecture is that the materials and functional requirements determine the design of the structure. Keeping that in mind, students will build a model of a home to function within a chosen environment. |
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Experience an archeological dig, right in your own classroom! Students create fossils the way that nature does - by making impressions and filling them. |
|
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|
This project requires students to work with the same issues confronted by professional sculptors, working in the round, the work being understandable to the viewer, and structural stability. |
|
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|
Certain people influence our lives in such a way that they leave "fingerprints" behind. These simple beads make great friendship bracelets. |
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|
This lesson plan will introduce students to the glass medium and challenge them to open their eyes to the abstract form. |
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Using a balloon and coffee can base, create a sturdy vessel with Sculptamold compound. Finished pieces can be painted and embellished with mosaics and collage matierals. |
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Dimensional collage using wire mesh and acrylic gel medium. Develop color, texture and design with paint, photocopies, images, music, text, colorful papers and many different objects inside the transaprent gel. Once dry, the form can be easily manipulated into a bowl. |
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One means by which fossils are formed is "carbonization". Over time, compression and heat remove the elements from plants and leave a detailed carbon impression behind. Glass fusion can demonstrate this process in just a few hours. |
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Students design and make a finished product that involves breaking up their 2D design and adjusting it into a relief. |
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This lesson plan celebrates the Chinese tradition of passing along good fortune or "Fu" to others. |
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The single most represented subject in North American Arctic art and legend is the polar bear. Easy-to-carve foam can be used to resemble soapstone sculptures. |
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Many cultures create puppets for entertainment and story telling. These jointed "jive" puppets make a light, musical sound as they dance and move on a hand-held rod. |
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This lesson will attract students to the abstract as they create their own hanging kinetic sculptures from lightweight polyester material. |
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This process takes any computer image and turns it into a 3-dimensional sculpture. |
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Light-Capturing Cut Paper Designs This project combines creating designs and then altering them through the use of light. |
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This easy, kid-friendly project creates ornaments that sparkle and shine using Crayola Crayons and Sculpey III oven-bake polymer clay. |
|
|
|
This lesson plan is inspired by the brightly colored pottery of Mexico. This simple papier mâché version casts paper pulp into a textured bowl using an existing plastic or ceramic bowl as a mold. |
|
|
|
Early experiment with construction of slab clay techniques. An excellent introduction to the use of materials in a responsible manner. |
|
|
In order to understand Minimal Art, students must recognize what is absent. These painted chipboard constructions are abstract with a minimum amount of color, value, shape and texture. |
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Students create a character — half human, half animal — write a story and build a paper maché sculpture of their creation. |
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Many Plains Indian tribes created masks for their horses to give them a look of intimidating power and fierceness. Students create a horse-shaped mask that can be worn or hung for display. |
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|
This project memorializes heroes and ancestors in fabric. The disciplines of music and dance combine with the visual arts to produce plays and theatrical presentations of the spirit. |
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|
A single, simple origami pattern is used to make multiple buildings. Students study perspective and structure of a village. |
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Maki-e translates "sprinkle pictures" – the beautiful art of Japanese lacquerware. To achieve a similar look, cut and glue painted papers to a surface and sprinkle with metallic powdered pigments. |
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Pop Charts - 3D Charts and Graphs This page offers a few suggestions for creative art projects that support mathematical instruction on chart and graph reading. |
|
|
These plastic bottle pots are very handsome and perfectly shaped for decorating. Looking at them it is impossible to tell they are not made of clay. |
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This project gives new life to second-hand shoes by turning them into "Robots," sculptural assemblages created with metallic paint, wire and found objects. |
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|
Through building a clay box sarcophagus, students develop skills to transfer historical objects into an art form, and discover the application of basic slab formation to a specific form. |
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Shoes are used to exemplify a very unconventional medium as a classroom exercise in oil painting, and can also be traced in historical terms. |
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This basket project is whimsical and free-form, using wire and colorful "snakes" that move randomly throughout the piece. |
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Students study the anatomy of a flower, and create and identify its parts. |
|
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|
Math and science create visual forms and structure. This sculpture uses equilateral triangles and parallelograms that are combined and repeated. |
|
|
Build a three-dimensional form with Twisteez Wire on a stationary screen base. |
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|
Students will observe and mimic the short, unblended brushstrokes used by Van Gogh and understand their expressive quality. |
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Watercolor Principles of Design This multi-media project links the disciplines of painting and sculpture as students form dimensional paper constructions and paint them with metallic watercolors. |
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In this lesson for middle-school ages, students will select a character in motion, such as a dancer, athlete or fairy, then capture and describe its movements through pose, form and balance. |
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A great project! Fun, quick, and inexpensive. |
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Grades 9 – 12 |
Grade Level |
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Students create a dimensional "line drawing" out of flexible wire then cover it with assorted papers and tissues for a whimsical, lightweight sculpture. |
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Abstract Planes in Paper Sculpture Students will create a small scale model that will teach them to design a free-standing object considering both structural and design components. |
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Studying the rich history of maskmaking in Africa is a perfect way for students to experience the relationship between the process of creating a piece of art, and appreciating the significance it carries. |
|
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|
Students will design and sculpt a dimensional piece of artwork, creating a variety of textures, lines and depths. |
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Create a changeable block puzzle based upon a vintage game. The result is fun and function, a brain teaser. Critical thinking and math skills must be applied. |
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Based on the sculpture of Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, students create a 3-dimensional figure study in fiber. |
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Using the example of a suspension bridge, students plan and create a sculpture focused on balance, stability and strength. Foamboard with colorful wire provides a blending of aesthetics and function. |
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Students will observe the artistic expression used in coins of the past and today. |
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Students learn to make small, decorated boxes called "Nichos," a means in Mexican and South American cultures to provide a stage-like setting for an object or collection of objects that have great significance. |
|
|
|
Give students an opportunity to enjoy creating random organic forms with color and transparency similar to actual glass. |
|
|
|
Wall pockets have a long history as decorative and functional items. They have been used for years to hold flowers, perfumes and light sources. |
|
|
|
An introduction to the basics of Claymation and media production using a familiar scientific theme Ñ the metamorphasis of a butterfly. |
|
|
Using the example of a suspension bridge, students plan and create a sculpture focused on balance, stability and strength. Foamboard with colorful wire provides a blending of aesthetics and function. |
|
|
Students are eager to develop artwork unique in terms of creating personnal interpretation of aesthetics. This metal box project stresses the effective use of organizational principals. |
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Found objects, cutouts, photos and a variety of materials are assembled in a sculptural, three-dimensional collage centered around a personal theme. |
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This lesson plan uses interactive floating layers and windows to create depth within the artwork. |
|
|
Students learn drop ring firing, an advanced technique that produces an endless array of dramatic shapes and effects. |
9-12 |
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Students transform a thick slab of clay into a 3D plaque. |
|
|
|
Ancient Egyptians applied gold leaf onto carved wood panels to tell stories and create opulence and on everyday objects. Follow the process these artists used to carve and gild a fan fit for King Tutankhamen. |
|
|
|
One of the principles of the Modern style of architecture is that the materials and functional requirements determine the design of the structure. Keeping that in mind, students will build a model of a home to function within a chosen environment. |
|
|
Chinese Cloisonne involves a 5-step process of 1) creating and preparing a base 2) soldering copper filligree to it 3) filling with enamel 4) firing 5) finishing. This simplified method follows the same steps, only with safer, easier materials for the classroom. |
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Certain people influence our lives in such a way that they leave "fingerprints" behind. These simple beads make great friendship bracelets. |
|
|
|
This lesson plan will introduce students to the glass medium and challenge them to open their eyes to the abstract form. |
|
|
|
Using a balloon and coffee can base, create a sturdy vessel with Sculptamold compound. Finished pieces can be painted and embellished with mosaics and collage matierals. |
|
|
|
Dimensional collage using wire mesh and acrylic gel medium. Develop color, texture and design with paint, photocopies, images, music, text, colorful papers and many different objects inside the transaprent gel. Once dry, the form can be easily manipulated into a bowl. |
|
|
|
One means by which fossils are formed is "carbonization". Over time, compression and heat remove the elements from plants and leave a detailed carbon impression behind. Glass fusion can demonstrate this process in just a few hours. |
|
|
|
Students design and make a finished product that involves breaking up their 2D design and adjusting it into a relief. |
|
|
|
Many cultures create puppets for entertainment and story telling. These jointed "jive" puppets make a light, musical sound as they dance and move on a hand-held rod. |
|
|
|
This lesson will attract students to the abstract as they create their own hanging kinetic sculptures from lightweight polyester material. |
|
|
|
This process takes any computer image and turns it into a 3-dimensional sculpture. |
|
|
Incorporating New Media with traditional art, this process challenges students to use digital images to create a mask or 3-dimensional portrait. |
|
|
|
Light-Capturing Cut Paper Designs This project combines creating designs and then altering them through the use of light. |
|
|
|
In order to understand Minimal Art, students must recognize what is absent. These painted chipboard constructions are abstract with a minimum amount of color, value, shape and texture. |
|
|
|
Students create a character Ñ half human, half animal Ñ write a story and build a paper -maché sculpture of their creation. |
|
|
|
This project memorializes heroes and ancestors in fabric. The disciplines of music and dance combine with the visual arts to produce plays and theatrical presentations of the spirit. |
|
|
|
A single, simple origami pattern is used to make multiple buildings. Students study perspective and structure of a village. |
|
|
|
Maki-e translates "sprinkle pictures" – the beautiful art of Japanese lacquerware. To achieve a similar look, cut and glue painted papers to a surface and sprinkle with metallic powdered pigments. |
|
|
Students will learn to construct a relief sculpture using the elements and principles of art and paper construction techniques. |
|
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|
These plastic bottle pots are very handsome and perfectly shaped for decorating. Looking at them it is impossible to tell they are not made of clay. |
|
|
|
Shoes are used to exemplify a very unconventional medium as a classroom exercise in oil painting, and can also be traced in historical terms. |
|
|
Students create a figure while interpreting a culture's economic and social development. |
|
|
Students experiment with slab construction, using self-hardening clays, and learn to extend basic techniques into art. |
|
|
|
This basket project is whimsical and free-form, using wire and colorful "snakes" that move randomly throughout the piece. |
|
|
Students investigate dolls and games in history and cultures. This particular lesson challenges students to look into the future and reflect on the past. |
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Build a three-dimensional form with Twisteez Wire on a stationary screen base. |
|
|
|
Students will observe and mimic the short, unblended brushstrokes used by Van Gogh and understand their expressive quality. |
|
|
|
Watercolor Principles of Design This multi-media project links the disciplines of painting and sculpture as students form dimensional paper constructions and paint them with metallic watercolors. |
|
|
In this lesson, students will explore Native American pottery traditions, specifically focusing on the Mimbre style, using animal and human imagery with geometric patterns for decoration. |
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Construct a metal wire and mesh relief sculpture. This is a "prickly" process but worth the effort! |
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