Elements of Art Worksheets are on FIRE!

I do not know why my Elements of Art Worksheets post is so popular on this blog, but hey, I figured it was worth a repost since people seem to love it so much.  Happy first day of school!  And remember, don't plan your lessons around the elements and principles, use the elements and principles in your lesson.

Artistic Style - Embarrassing High School Lesson Assignment Page

I know people usually do not read my blah blah blah stuff under the download, so in a way this makes it more embarrassing. The Artistic Styles assignment page might be printed off or saved and used as a legitimate assignment sheet!

It's embarrassing because it was written for my high school students my first or second year of teaching.   Which means a lot of unnecessary bold and underlining, vague and misleading descriptions, and crazy specific objectives.  A plus is that it was before the embrace of Visual Culture - which means I was simply ahead of my time as an art educator.

The lesson itself is a cool idea.  My HS teaching days were before Artsonia, so I do not have any photos of the completed project - but also, I have no recollection of this project ever being completed!  You'd think I'd remember kids sitting around drawing McDonald's Mulan toys, or WWF Superstars. Weird.

Basically, the best part of this assignment sheet are the illustrations of Darth Vader which provides more fodder for my Star Wars obsession.

Light and Shadow: Practice Handout

Fourth and Fifth graders can have some difficulty understanding how to draw shadows and how to see things in 3D.  I like to set up still life objects and shine a harsh light to really get them to see the difference between light and dark.  This two-page handout could lend itself to some nice practice, but in my experience has proven to be confusing and not really necessary for the elementary set.  It would be a useful take-home, sketchbook page, or substitute assignment for older students.

Creative Coloring: Design Elements by Art Sherman & Element of Space coloring page

This download includes a little advertisement for Art Sherman's Creative Coloring: Design Elements book.  I have this book and have used it occasionally for sub lessons, or sketchbook fillers.  I found most of the lessons to be confusing for intermediate students to be able to work on independently (and not very creative.)
The second page includes two of his coloring pages that help students "practice" the element of space, a long with color and pattern.  It could be good practice, but I don't recommend building a lesson around these.

Mat Cutting Instructions Handout

I haven't had to teach a kid how to cut a mat in a very long time, so not sure if this is the most current or accurate way to make them.  But, I came across this handy dandy handout that will help your student do it step-by-step with a Dexter Mat Cutter.

Cubism Handout - Ande Cook

Ande Cook's Cubism Handout is pretty good.  I think it does a nice job of explaining this art movement.

Animal Stamps Handout - Ande Cook

The Animal Stamps Handout gives nice instructions.  This one is geared for older students though.  It involves cutting a gum eraser with an x-acto blade - which is awesome - but not really practical for the little guys!

Make a Simple Sewn Book Handout - Ande Cook

Here is another Ande Cook handout from SchoolArts magazine.  The Make a Simple Sewn Book Handout is good for secondary students.

Construct a Diamond Polyhedron Handout - Ande Cook

The Construct a Diamond Polyhedron handout by Ande Cook came in a packet I received a million years ago when I subscribed to SchoolArts.  They are dated 1996 - but I wasn't teaching back then, so I am not sure when they originally came out.  I will be posting the rest of the packet as well!

Each handout is simple for most intermediate and secondary students to understand.  They would also be handy to leave for a sub!

Ceramics Vocabulary worksheet

The Ceramics Vocabulary worksheet lists important terminology students studying ceramics should know.  It's a great worksheet for review, or to discuss as a class.

Composition and Design Handout

Composition and Design can be a little confusing to teach.  Sometimes kids get it and sometimes they just don't.  This handout explains composition and design pretty good to secondary or high school students.  It is a nice handout to put in a sketchbook and refer to for a project or to brush up on some composition terms.

Star Wars Hall Passes

The link was not working on the Star Wars Hall Passes earlier!  Now it is.

Hall Passes! And Star Wars.

Do high schoolers still use hall passes?  It seems kind of old fashioned.

If there was one thing my high school students could depend on, it was that I was(am) a huge Star Wars nerd and I took every opportunity available to incorporate Star Wars into their art education.

I don't do this so much anymore, and I will tell you why.  My first few years teaching were right at the height of late 90's Star Wars fever.  The originals (er... special editions?) had been rereleased in theaters, and the world was abuzz with the anticipation of The Phantom Menace.  What an exciting time! That movie was no good.  It did not wane my feelings for the franchise, but the new generation of Star Wars fans being educated in public schools had no idea what my Star Wars was really about.  It progressively blossomed into the Clone Wars series, Lego Star Wars, and other things that I could no longer engage in or simply relate to.  If Star Wars came up with my elementary students, it often became a moot conversation between me and a fifth grader who frankly had no idea what they were talking about.


Here are two pages of hall passes.  The Star Wars Hall Passes have nothing to do with art class, except for a Far Side cartoon that replaced some unfortunate character.
The second page is a mishmosh of passes I drew or apparently haphazardly threw together.  Either way, the collection will add class and elegance to your art room.

Story Book Page Design Assignment Page

I got in the wayback machine to pull out this golden oldie.

Written on a Mac II, or possibly a Gateway, the Story Book Page Design assignment page was meant for my Art I students way back in 1998.  My first year teaching!  I was a fan of over-explaining things, and of IMPORTANT STUFF WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS or bold.

There are a few typos, but the assignment is pretty good and still relatable to junior high, or high school students.  If I was teaching this lesson today I would not be nearly as strict.  I had quite a few requirements and rules! Yikes.  In hindsight, I don't think my students read it anyway.

Elements of Art Worksheets

I do not teach to the Elements and Principles of Design.  They have merit.  Elementary students should definitely know them, but a project should not be about learning line, understanding form, or creating balance.  Art projects are about making art. The Elements and Principles are part of that, but secondary.

I didn't always teach that way.  The Elements and Principles of Design seemed like the only tangible thing I could be sure my students were "getting" from my class and I was crazy about making sure we covered them all and understood them undoubtedly.

We made terrible gradient lines, boring cardboard forms, and sooo many symmetrical shapes.

Around that time I made this packet.  This seven page packet gives little exercises for each of the Elements of Art.  Most of these are simple exercises art teachers have been doing forever, and some of the ideas (I think?) were inspired by Daily Warm-Ups: Art.  Which, by the way, I do not recommend for elementary teachers at all.

The Elements of Art packet would not be too difficult for fourth and fifth graders to work on independently as a refresher, early finishers, or an end of year quiz!