Sarah Saettele

Final Art Lesson Plan

Grade level: Kindergarten
Summary: Children will be introduced to artist Wassily Kandinsky through a brief
PowerPoint. Well talk about his use of color and concentric circles in Composition VIII,
and draw on any of the childrens previous experiences with mixing colors. With their
palette of primary colors, black, and white paint, children will create their own piece.
Discussion about color choice and combination will be encouraged throughout the art
making experience. Each childs piece will be compiled into a class collection.
Objective/Standard(s):
NVAS
Kindergarten- Creating
VA: Cr1.1.Ka: Engage in exploration and imaginative play with materials
VA: Cr3.1.Ka: Explain the process of making art while creating
Kindergarten- Presenting
VA: Pr5.1.Ka: Explain the purpose of a portfolio or collection
GLES
Kindergarten- Elements and Principles
1.E.: Identify and use color
Materials/Time frame:
-Paint palette (1/child)
-Brushes
-Red, yellow, blue, black, and white paints
-4x6 pieces of white cardstock (1/child)
-Cups of water (2/table)
Key terms:
Concentric circles: circles that fit inside each other
Composition: a work of music, literature, or art

Procedure:
1. Well begin as a whole group on the carpet. Ill take about 15-20 minutes to teach a
small portion of background information about Wassily Kandinsky, and about the
process of our art making experience. Ill share the quote, Each color lives by its
own mysterious life as I talk about his interest in color.
2. After taking a minute for everyone to silently look at Composition VII, Ill ask
what they notice about the piece. I expect attention to be on the circular shapes
within the piece. Ill introduce the term concentric circles, and allow children to
share inferences about what a concentric circle might be based on what they see
in the image. Ill explain that were going to get the chance to explore making our
own concentric circles today using primary colors plus black and white. Ill ask
something along the lines of, Does that mean youll only have circles that are red,
blue, yellow, black, and white? I expect some children to talk about mixing their
colors to make something new.
3. Ill instruct children to head back to grab materials, and then head back to their
desks in an orderly fashion, One person from each pod, grab paper for each
person at your pod. After they do so, Ill continue by asking one person to grab
brushes, another to grab two cups of water, and another to grab palettes.
4. As children begin working, Ill float around the room to encourage discussion,
asking questions such as, What might happen if you mixed? How did you
make? In addition, Ill be taking anecdotal notes about childrens exploration
with color during the art making experience. Ill take note of childrens work that
have similarities and differences, and encourage them to share their process after
clean up.
5. Ill give a 5-8 minute clean-up warning, and direct children to put their work on the
drying rack, or on the front table if they would like to share it with the class. The
children will take on the same role for cleaning up materials as they did for passing
out materials (the child who passed out paper will help others with their jobs).
Once everyone gathers back on the carpet, children will be given the opportunity
to share their work in front of the class. Ill ask questions about their process in
order to assess (how they made certain colors, why those colors were chosen, etc.)
6. To close, Ill ask for suggestions about if/how we should display our work (in the
classroom, hall, individually at home, etc.) Through this conversation, well discuss
why artists might showcase their work, and the purpose of potentially putting all of

our work together. I expect children to bring up the point that were a class so our
work belongs together, or we made these together so they should be together.
Adaptations/Accommodations:
For children who are having a hard time understanding the term concentric circles, Ill
show the images on slide 4 for a more blunt example.
Children with less developed fine motor skills could have the option of using a larger
paintbrush and/or piece of paper.
Exemplar: