In the world of education, the winter months can be hard. Sickness, testing, schedule changes, and weather complications throw curveballs into your days. Pep rally schedules and student absences halt your perfectly planned lessons. In addition, you observe an increase in mental checkouts from students. One-day lessons are lifesavers for these times of the year! While many think of these activities as time wasters, they are a prime way to engage new inspiration in your students. Even the AP Art seniors who have been deep in inquiry-based artmaking need a break from time to time. Whether you are new or a veteran to teaching in the art room, one-day lessons are a lifeline!
Here are 12 fun and interesting one-day art lessons for the secondary classroom.
1. Photography Scavenger Hunt
Create a list of prompts for students to photograph to spark creativity and visual storytelling. This activity provides an innovative way to use students’ observational and narrative skills. Photography prompts also offer a fresh perspective on everyday subjects within an environment. This no-mess and little prep lesson encourages autonomy and creativity for your students.
photography scavenger hunt
Procedures and Steps:
Distribute a list of prompts.
Set a time limit.
Students explore the classroom environment and take images that creatively capture the prompts.
Share images with an end-of-the-period critique.
Tip:
Challenge students to take only one photograph per prompt to mirror shooting with film. Students must frame their images carefully before pressing the shutter!
2. Round-Robin Drawing
This is a group-based drawing activity that allows students to draw without pressure. Students find this process fun and engaging while providing them with an opportunity to practice collaboration.
digital round robin
Procedures and Steps:
Pass out paper and pencils.
Students write their names on the back of their paper.
Students draw on their sheets of paper for 1-2 minutes.
Students rotate their papers to another artist.
The next person continues or adds to the previous drawing or artwork.
Continue rotating until each student has contributed to all of the artworks.
Pass the papers back to the original artist.
Tips:
Provide students with prompts or found imagery to jumpstart their ideas.
Use colored paper or various art materials.
Apply this activity to digital drawing! Instead of paper, students carefully pass digital devices to one another or rotate seats.
3. Exquisite Corpse
Explore the intriguing world of Exquisite Corpse drawings. Surrealist artists adopted this activity to generate collaborative artworks. Students love this game because it stimulates the imagination. Just as in the Round-Robin drawing exercise above, students contribute to one another’s artwork. However, there is a fun final reveal at the end!
Check out the steps to Exquisite Corpse, plus other Surrealism games for the art room.
Tips:
Increase or decrease the duration of drawing time.
Encourage students to draw and add details for the entire amount of time for each round.
Redraw favorite final creatures in their own style!
4. Visual Journaling
Visual journals are an excellent way for students to explore their thoughts and ideas in one place. Visual journal pages in the secondary art room are perfect for documenting students’ artistic processes. Check out various visual journaling lessons and prompts such as Guided Mindfulness and Visual Storytelling in FLEX Curriculum.
visual journaling
Procedures and Steps:
Introduce the practice of visual journaling.
Provide a list of text or visual prompts to use as a starting point.
Give students a time limit to create in their visual journals.
Use a gallery walk critique to present students’ spreads.
Tips:
Use washable markers to prevent page bleeding.
Old newspapers, magazines, or scrap paper provide fantastic collage materials.
5. Sunday Sketches by Christoph Niemann
Sunday Sketches are a fun and imaginative art activity by author, artist, and animator Christoph Niemann. His illustrations are in The New Yorker, National Geographic, and The New York Times Magazine. This exercise is about creating images from simple objects. Use it as a one-day lesson or a bell-ringer to stimulate visual connections with objects around us.
t rex sunday sketches
Procedures and Steps:
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