How to Teach Art to Young People

Young children learn self-expression through art.

Teaching young children art helps to equip them with the skills and techniques needed to express their ideas and themselves. Art education is also an avenue for teaching children about the beauty of the world around them, and it helps to produce children who are flexible thinkers that can communicate through pictures and designs. Help your students learn self-expression through various art mediums by teaching them color, line, texture and creativity. Teach step-by-step directions, but always encourage students to express themselves instead of copying what they see.

Things You'll Need

• Plain paper
• Pen
• Crayons
• Paint
• Paintbrush
• Play dough
• Finger paint
• Rocks
• Chalk
• Sealant
• Toilet paper rolls
• Construction paper
• Craft pipe cleaners
• Buttons
• Sequins
• Craft sticks
• Tissue paper rolls
• Glue sticks
• Blunt scissors
• Ribbons
• Blocks of wood
• Beads
• Glue

Instructions

Color

1. Give each child a large piece of paper with three large circles drawn on it. Each circle should include the name of a primary color, red, blue and yellow. Have the children use crayons to fill each circle the appropriate color. Encourage the children to create a picture using the primary colors.

2. Draw more circles, one between every two primary colors on the original paper. Teach the children about primary colors. Using paints of primary colors, let the children mix two primary colors and paint them in the circle that lies between the two colors. Trace around the circle with a crayon of the same color.

3. Pass out a new piece of paper for each child. The paper should have several blank squares on the paper. Let the children experiment, mixing the two paints together in each square to see what color they will create.

Line

1. Gather the children together for a group lesson. Teach the children the words horizontal, diagonal and vertical. Draw an example of each line on the board. Give each child a piece of paper with three squares. Mark each square with the name of one of the lines. Let the children practice drawing all three types of lines.

2. Draw a line -- horizontal, diagonal or vertical -- on a separate piece of paper for each child. Instruct the children to draw a picture that incorporates the line into it and then color the picture using primary and secondary colors.

3. Draw zig-zag lines and wavy lines on the board. Pass out papers and have the children practice the lines on their papers. On another sheet of paper, encourage the children to draw a picture that uses zig-zag and wavy lines. Finally, have the children draw a picture that involves all the different kinds of lines.

Texture

1. Pass out play dough for each child. Encourage them to roll it in their hands, play with it and create shapes out of the play dough. Using textured mediums allows children to learn to discriminate between textures while doing creative activities.

2. Cut 18-inch-long sheets of finger paint paper. Give each child red, yellow and blue finger paint. Allow each of them to create their own pictures. Hang them on the wall.

3. Give each child a large, round stone that the children can easily carry. Let them create a colorful stone with large, round chalk. Allow them to draw pictures or just add color to the rock. Spray the rocks with a sealant so it can be used in the house or placed out in the yard.

Creativity

1. Talk to the kids about using their own ideas to make a creation. Place a mixture of items on the art table. Include creative items such as toilet paper rolls, construction paper, craft pipe cleaners, buttons, sequins, craft sticks, tissue paper, glue sticks, blunt scissors, school glue, ribbons, blocks of wood and beads.

2. Tell the students that they are going to invent something useful. Encourage them to use the items on the table in any way they can to make a creative craft.

3. Walk around the table, helping children figure out how to fasten the items together. Make sure the creation remains the idea of the child.

References

• Education.com: Why Art is Important for Young Children
• School Library Journal: Art Teachers Bring 21st-Century Vision to 2010 Conference
• "Creative Activities for Young Children, 9th Edition": Mary Mayesky; 2009.