Unit Plan 30 (Grade K Art): Artist Talk Time
Kindergarten Art: Students explain what their artwork shows and how it connects to their own life using simple artist talk sentence starters.
Focus: Explain what your artwork shows and how it connects to your life.
Grade Level: K
Subject Area: Art (Visual Arts • Connecting)
Total Unit Duration: 1–2 weeks, 30–45 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, kindergarten students practice being artists who talk about their work. Using finished artwork from recent units (family drawings, celebration art, personal drawing projects), students learn to name what their picture shows, who is in it, what is happening, and why it is special to them. They practice using simple sentence starters, speaking in front of a partner, small group, or the whole class. By the end of the unit, they can explain what their artwork shows and how it connects to a real experience in their life.
Essential Questions
- What does it mean to give an artist talk?
- How can I use my words to explain what my artwork shows?
- How does my artwork connect to my own life and experiences?
- Why is it important for artists to share their stories about their work?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Choose one piece of their own artwork to share during Artist Talk Time.
- Use simple language to say what their picture shows (who is there, what is happening, where they are).
- Connect their artwork to a personal experience by saying why it is special or what it remembers.
- Use a sentence starter to describe their work in front of a partner, small group, or whole class.
- Listen to classmates’ artist talks and make one kind, simple comment about a peer’s artwork.
Standards Alignment — Kindergarten (NCAS-Aligned)
- VA:Cn10.Ka — Create artwork based on personal experiences and talk about it.
- Example: Students draw their family and describe it.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can choose one artwork I want to talk about.
- I can say what my picture shows (who, what, where).
- I can tell how my picture is about my life.
- I can give a short artist talk to my classmates.
- I can listen and say one kind thing about someone else’s artwork.