Unit Plan 2 (Grade 5 Art): Brainstorming & Sketchbooks

Focus: Generate artistic ideas through sketching and visual brainstorming, using sketchbooks as a place to explore themes, personal interests, and prompts before committing to final artworks. Students learn specific strategies for filling sketchbook pages with thumbnails, variations, notes, and experiments that strengthen their creative thinking.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: Art (Visual Arts • Creating)

Total Unit Duration: 1–3 weeks, 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Students develop the habit of using a sketchbook as an idea laboratory instead of just a place for “finished” drawings. They experiment with brainstorming strategies—word lists, mind maps, and thumbnail sketches—to generate multiple ideas from a single theme or prompt. Through guided prompts and personal-interest topics, students practice stretching their thinking, trying out different compositions, and jotting down notes about which ideas feel strongest and why.

Essential Questions

• How can I use my sketchbook to explore and grow my ideas before I start a final artwork?
• What brainstorming strategies (lists, mind maps, thumbnails) help me generate more and better art ideas?
• Why is it useful to have multiple sketches for one theme or prompt instead of choosing the first idea?
• How can I tell when a sketchbook page shows strong creative thinking and not just “doodles”?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Describe what a sketchbook is for and list at least two ways artists use sketchbooks to generate ideas.
2. Use at least two brainstorming strategies (e.g., word lists, mind maps, quick thumbnails) to explore a theme, personal interest, or teacher prompt.
3. Create a series of thumbnail sketches (4–6 or more) that show different ways to approach the same theme or prompt.
4. Annotate sketches with notes or arrows that explain what is working, what could change, and which ideas they might develop further.
5. Reflect on which brainstorming strategy felt most helpful and how they might use their sketchbook in future projects.
6. (Optional Sessions) Build additional sketchbook pages that push idea variety, composition changes, and risk-taking, building a small “Idea Bank” for later art units.

Standards Alignment — 5th Grade (NCAS-Aligned)

• VA:Cr1.5a — Generate artistic ideas by exploring themes, personal interests, or assigned prompts through brainstorming and sketching.
  • Example: Students sketch multiple ideas for a landscape that communicates a specific mood.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can explain why artists use sketchbooks and how they can help my art.
• I can use brainstorming strategies (lists, mind maps, thumbnails) to come up with more than one idea for a theme or prompt.
• I can create a page of thumbnail sketches that shows different compositions or viewpoints for the same idea.
• I can write short notes next to my sketches to track which ideas I like and how I might improve them.
• I can talk about which brainstorming strategy works best for me and how I will use my sketchbook in future art projects.