Unit Plan 21 (Grade 5 Art): Mixed Media Exploration

Focus: Combine multiple materials (drawing, paint, collage, etc.) to enhance visual communication, experimenting with techniques that build craftsmanship and expressive control.

Grade Level: 5

Subject Area: Art (Visual Arts • Creating)

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

I. Introduction

Students explore how artists use mixed media—more than one material in a single artwork—to tell clearer, richer visual stories. They experiment with combining drawing, painting, collage, and other textures, noticing how each material has strengths. Through guided play and a small finished piece, students learn to make intentional choices about which media to combine to best communicate their idea or message, while improving control and craftsmanship.

Essential Questions

• What does it mean to create a mixed media artwork?
• How do different materials (pencil, marker, paint, collage, etc.) change the way an artwork looks and feels?
• In what ways can combining materials help me communicate my idea more clearly or powerfully?
• How does experimenting with different media improve my craftsmanship and expressive control?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify what makes an artwork mixed media and recognize examples in classroom visuals.
2. Experiment with a range of materials (e.g., pencil, marker, watercolor, tempera, collage papers) to see how each behaves and what effects it creates.
3. Plan and create a small mixed media composition where each material is chosen to support a specific part of the idea or image.
4. Apply mixed media techniques with improving craftsmanship, including neat cutting, careful gluing, layering, and controlled mark-making.
5. Reflect on how combining media helped them communicate their idea and which materials they might use again in future projects.

Standards Alignment — 5th Grade (NCAS-Aligned)

• VA:Cr2.5b — Experiment with a range of materials and techniques to improve craftsmanship and expressive control.
  • Example: Students test blending and layering techniques in paint.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can explain what mixed media means and identify artworks that use more than one material.
• I can try out different materials and techniques and notice what each one is good at.
• I can choose materials on purpose to support different parts of my image or message.
• I can show good craftsmanship by cutting, gluing, drawing, and painting carefully in my mixed media piece.
• I can describe how combining materials helped my artwork communicate more clearly or feel more expressive.