Teaching art at the elementary level poses many challenges that higher levels of art can overlook. Instead of focusing on painters and historical styles, students need to be instructed on the very basics of the craft, including the color wheel, textures and putting together a final product. By cementing these important concepts, students will be able to take their skills with art to the next level.

Color Wheel

At the primary level, students need to be introduced to the concepts of color opposites and basic shades. Provide each student a color wheel and allow for experimentation. Different activities could include making small projects using only a certain shade or section of the color wheel, or by only using color opposites. Let students practice with tints by adding white or black to a given color and allowing them to make their own personal color wheels.

Basic Textures

Allow students to experiment with different textures beyond the usual paintbrush. Use such items as cut up sponges, pencil points, sandpaper, paper pulp, bottles and erasers. Assign a specific project wherein students choose three different textures to be used with one color. Seeing the difference in shapes and patterns made by different items will allow elementary level students to better grasp the concept.

Completion

These elements of elementary art will allow students to apply their own creativity onto a variety of different projects. Throughout the course, consider presenting this information to the students with the goal of creating student portfolios of art. This project will give the students a collection of their own work that can help them review the basics of art they learn and provide concrete evidence of their art knowledge.

Source:

Huntsville City Schools: Elementary Art Lessons

Kinderart: Creating a Portfolio Assessment for Kids

Teachers.net: Elements of Design