I am art lesson

Copyright (c) 2014 J. Runde
An Art and Literacy Lesson
I Am … Creative

Falling Leaves in Warm and Cool Colors
About this Resource and Teacher Tips
This art activity integrates visual arts and literacy, and makes a
great beginning of the year display that ensures student success.
In this art lesson I have included a one page overview for the
teacher, an “I Am” Brainstorm page, review of the elements and
principles of art demonstrated in this art piece, student reflection
sheet, rubric, and full step-by-step illustrated instructions for the
students. Completed examples are also included. The student
reflection sheet and rubric are included in full sheets as well as half
sheets to save paper.
This resource is a zipped file including a PDF of all the sheets as well
as the powerpoint file. When completing the art activity with the
students, you could show the powerpoint slides one by one as
students complete each step. If you don’t have access to a
projector, you can use the PDF with the students to explain each
step.
If you don’t have access to paints for this activity, it could also be
done with colored pencils or chalk pastels. However, the using paint
provides a vibrancy that is greater than the other mediums.

Materials Needed:
• 8.5 x 11 heavy paper (or similar sized – we used standard card stock)
• Adjective Brainstorm
• Pencil, Paint, Brushes (we used water-based acrylic paint, but tempera or water colors would
also work)
• Palette (small plastic plates from the Dollar Store make great reusable palettes)
• Black sharpie (fine or medium tip)
I Am … Creative
Elements of Art:
• Space – fill the
paper; lines off the
paper; words fill
space between lines
• Shape - freeform
• Line – wavy lines
• Color – contrasting,
complementary or
monochromatic
Principles of Art:
• Pattern – possible
repeating colors
• Emphasis –
contrast of colors,
emphasis on lines
• Rhythm and
Movement – wavy
lines, words draw
eyes across the
page
Teacher Instructions:
1. Photocopy and hand out adjective brainstorm sheet (if you wish to save paper, this can be
done on scrap paper). Ask students to come up with at least 25 adjectives that describe
them. They can also use nouns (for example: I am … a reader).
2. Show example and discuss Elements of Art and Principles of Art with students (you can do
this by printing this PDF for handouts, or going through the Powerpoint slides with the
students). For example, tell the students that this art shows the “Space” element of art.
Ask them how this art shows “space”. Complete for all the elements and principles.
3. Hand out paper and have students draw wavy pencil lines to divide their page. Lines should be
free form and have different widths between them. Emphasize line and movement at this
stage.
4. Make sure each student has a paint palette (paper plate, folded newspaper, etc.), a paint
brush, access to paint, and a way to wash their brush between colors.
5. Instruct students to begin painting between the wavy lines. This is where they can be
creative. They can choose to use colors within the same “family”, rainbow colors, favorite
colors, repeating colors, etc. Encourage them to be unique and choose colors that represent
them. When they have painted the page, leave papers out to dry completely. Emphasize
color, emphasis and possibly pattern at this stage.
6. When the paint is dry, use a black sharpie to trace over the wavy lines where the two colors
meet.
7. Then, in very light pencil first, begin writing. Students should start at the top left corner with
“I Am …”, from there, they will fill in all the colored spaces with the adjectives they have
brainstormed about themselves. All letters should touch the top and bottom of the lines
(emphasizing space). They should end their piece with their names. (If they haven’t already,
you may wish to check spelling at this point). When they have finished in pencil, have them go
over their words in black sharpie.

I Am …
252322 24
211918 20
171514 16
131110 12
976 8
532 4
1

I Am … Creative
Student Reflection
Name:____________________________ Date:_________________________
1. What did you learn about the Elements of Art? _____________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. What did you learn about the Principles of Art? _____________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
3. Where could you make some improvements in your art piece? ________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
4. What about your art piece are you most proud of? __________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

I Am … Creative
Assessment Rubric
Name:____________________________ Date:_________________________
Criteria Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Elements
and
Principles of
Art
Limited evidence of
use of elements and
principles of art
resulting in limited
craftsmanship in
finished piece.
Some evidence of use
of elements and
principles of art
resulting in satisfactory
craftsmanship in
finished piece.
Considerable evidence
of use of elements and
principles of art
resulting in good
craftsmanship in
finished piece.
Excellent evidence of
use of elements and
principles of art resulting
in a high degree of
craftsmanship in
finished piece.
Planning,
Organization
, and Use of
Materials
Limited evidence of
planning and
organization during the
creative process.
Materials were either
not used properly or
adequately.
Some evidence of
planning and
organization during
the creative process.
Materials were used
adequately.
Considerable evidence
of planning and
creative process.
Materials were used
well.
Thorough evidence of
planning and
creative process.
Excellent use of
materials.
Effort Limited effort shown
during activity. Piece is
incomplete.
Some effort shown
during activity. Piece
is complete, but lacks
precision and care.
Considerable effort
shown during activity.
Piece is complete and
shows evidence of
care and thought.
A high degree of effort
shown during activity.
Piece is complete and
show evidence of
creative and unique
care and thought.
Comments:

I Am … Creative
What Principles and Elements of Art are Represented in this Example? How?
Elements
of Art
Space
Line
Shape
Color
Principles
of Art
Pattern
Emphasis
Rhythm and
Movement

• Fill the paper
• Lines off the
paper
• Words fill the
space between
the lines
I Am … Creative
What Principles and Elements of Art are Represented in this Example? How?
Elements
of Art
Space
Line
Shape
Color
Principles
of Art
Pattern
Emphasis
Rhythm and
Movement
• Wavy lines
• Freeform
• Contrasting,
complementary,
or
monochromatic
colors
• Repeating colors
(possibility – not
required)
• Contrast of
colors
• Emphasis on lines
• Wavy lines
• Words draw eyes
across the page

I Am … Creative
Step 1: Collect Materials
• Heavy Paper
• I Am brainstorm
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Paint and paint brush
• Water for washing brushes
• Palette for paint
• Fine or medium tip black
sharpie

I Am … Creative
Step 2: I Am Brainstorm
• Complete I Am Brainstorm by
writing down adjectives that
describe you (example:
friendly, athletic, intelligent,
etc.). You can also use
nouns with “a” or “an” before
the noun (example: a runner,
a reader, etc.). Be sure to
fill in all 25 lines.
• When you have finished,
check the spelling of all your
words.

I Am … Creative
Step 3: Divide Your Page
with Wavy Lines
• With your pencil, lightly divide
your page into at least 10
sections with wavy lines.
• These wavy lines should be
different – varying in width
and sometimes length (not all
the lines have to go right to
the edge of the page – some
can join up with another line).

I Am … Creative
Step 4: Paint
• Using colors of your choice,
paint the spaces between
the lines. You can create a
pattern if you wish. You can
repeat colors, but you
shouldn’t have two of the
same colors touching. Also,
because you will be writing
over the paint, you don’t
want to pick colors that are
too dark.
• Be sure to wash and dry
your brush between every
color change.
• Depending on the coverage
of your paint, you may wish
to do two coats.

I Am … Creative
Step 5: Emphasize Lines
• When the paint has dried
completely, emphasize the
lines by tracing over with a
fine or medium tip black
sharpie. Be careful and
neat!

I Am … Creative
Step 6: Add Words
• In light pencil, starting in the
top left hand corner, write “I
Am …”. Then, using your
brainstorm, write as many
adjectives and nouns as you can
that neatly fit between the
lines. *Important* - the tops
and bottoms of the letters
MUST touch the top and bottom
line for each section. End with
“I Am …” and then include your
name.
• Be creative – use a combination
of uppercase and lowercase
letters, fonts, etc.
• When you are satisfied with the
fit and spelling, trace over the
pencil in black sharpie.

I Am … Creative
Completed Examples

Thank-you so much for downloading one of
my resources. I sincerely hope you and your students ENJOY!
Be sure to follow me at my TPT store, my blog, or my facebook
page for more classroom ideas and resources.
www.rundesroom.com
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Rundes-Room
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rundes-Room/521357391257230
© 2014 J. Runde: Runde’s Room. All rights reserved. Purchase of this unit entitles the
purchaser the right to reproduce the pages in limited quantities for his or her classroom use
only. Duplication for an entire school, an entire school system, or commercial purposes is
strictly forbidden without written permission from the author: Runde’s Room:
jenrunde@yahoo.com
Copying any part of this product and placing it on the internet in any form (even
a personal/classroom website) is strictly forbidden and is a violation of the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Credits:

I am art lesson

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