Dr. Michael Kester-Haynes

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 24 (Grade 1 Art): Revision Workshop

Grade 1 Art: Students revise earlier artwork by adding details and improving neatness after discussion and self-check, strengthening clarity and craftsmanship.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 23 (Grade 1 Art): My Art Checklist

Grade 1 Art unit: Students use a simple checklist to evaluate neatness, color, and space, building skills to reflect on artwork and plan improvements.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 22 (Grade 1 Art): Compare Two Artworks

Grade 1 Art unit: Students compare two artworks by describing what’s happening and how color, line, and shape make each piece interesting, identifying clear similarities and differences.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 21 (Grade 1 Art): Cutting & Gluing Carefully

Grade 1 Art: Students build craftsmanship and control by practicing careful cutting and gluing, creating neat collages with safe scissor and glue techniques.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 20 (Grade 1 Art): Pattern & Repetition

Grade 1 Art: Students use repeating shapes, lines, and colors to create intentional patterns, building visual organization and artistic decision-making skills.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 19 (Grade 1 Art): Texture Exploration

Grade 1 Art: Explore texture with rubbings, mark-making, and varied tools to build control, texture vocabulary, and expressive mini-artworks.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 18 (Grade 1 Art): Choose Art to Display

First graders select artwork for display using simple criteria like effort, neatness, clear picture, and favorite choice, then explain why they chose their piece to share.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 17 (Grade 1 Art): Improve & Add Background

First graders revise artwork after discussion, adding background and details and improving neatness to make their pictures clearer, more complete, and thoughtfully finished.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 16 (Grade 1 Art): Critique Circle

First graders practice sharing kind, specific feedback in a critique circle, using simple criteria like neatness, use of color, and clear pictures to describe what they like about classmates’ artwork.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 15 (Grade 1 Art): Studio Project II — Story Art

First grade artists complete a story artwork with effort and care, using neat coloring, organized composition, and clear details to communicate a simple scene.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 14 (Grade 1 Art): My Story in Art

First grade students plan and sketch artwork inspired by personal experiences, then create a final piece that clearly shows their real-life story through thoughtful details.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 13 (Grade 1 Art): Celebration Art Project

First grade students create celebration artwork inspired by holidays, traditions, and community events, using personal experiences and imagination to show meaningful moments.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 12 (Grade 1 Art): Art from Celebrations

First grade students explore how art shows traditions and community celebrations, using picture clues (decorations, clothing, food, music) and creating their own celebration artwork.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 11 (Grade 1 Art): What Is Happening Here?

First grade students identify what is happening in artwork, using picture clues to describe characters, actions, feelings, and simple story meaning.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 10 (Grade 1 Art): Bright & Calm Colors

First grade artists explore how bright and calm colors affect mood, using feeling words to describe how color makes artwork exciting, happy, quiet, or peaceful.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 9 (Grade 1 Art): Reflect on My Artwork

First grade students use simple art criteria like neatness, color, and effort to describe what makes artwork interesting and share kind, thoughtful reflections about their own and classmates’ art.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 8 (Grade 1 Art): Add Details & Improve

First graders revise artwork using peer or teacher feedback, adding meaningful details and improving neatness to make their pictures clearer, more complete, and ready to share.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 7 (Grade 1 Art): Studio Project I — Line & Shape Art

First grade artists create a finished line-and-shape studio project, using planning, careful craftsmanship, and organized composition to show effort from start to finish.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 6 (Grade 1 Art): Paint & Brush Practice

First grade artists experiment with brush strokes, learning how pressure, speed, and brush type create different marks while developing paint control and intentional technique.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 5 (Grade 1 Art): Shapes Everywhere

First grade artists use circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, and ovals to build clear compositions, combining shapes to create objects, scenes, and organized artwork.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 4 (Grade 1 Art): Lines in Motion

First grade artists explore straight, curved, zigzag, wavy, and spiral lines to show movement and describe how line and color make artwork more interesting and expressive.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 3 (Grade 1 Art): Plan Before You Paint

Grade 1 students learn to sketch before painting, using simple plans to organize ideas, improve composition, and use space more thoughtfully in final artwork.

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Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 2 (Grade 1 Art): Drawing from Stories

Grade 1 students turn read-aloud stories into expressive drawings, using characters, settings, and events to spark imagination and explain story-inspired art ideas.

Grade 1 Art Units

Unit Plan 1 (Grade 1 Art): My Artistic World

Grade 1 students create art inspired by personal experiences and imagination, explaining how their pictures connect to real-life memories and creative ideas.

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3-5 Lesson Plans Featured

Lesson Plan (Grades 3–5): Data Detectives

Engage Grades 3–5 in a hands-on data unit where students design surveys, build frequency tables, create pie charts and line plots, and draw evidence-based conclusions like real data detectives.