Creating Vibrant Art Lesson Plans: A Teacher's Sketchbook, Paperback

Writing lesson plans is often considered busywork, but it can be a useful path for discovering what's important about artmaking and teaching. This book shows teachers how to slow down, breathe, and linger over the process of unit and lesson plan writing to uncover how much this process can support them professionally, creatively, and personally. The user-friendly text offers guidance for selecting an art project for the unit and then zooms into the nitty-gritty of specific lesson plans, including how to identify materials for a project and how to construct classroom dialogue to help students develop ideas for their artwork. The text also considers standards, assessments, and extensions to other subject areas. Featuring accessible language, clear definitions, practical examples, and self-reflection prompts, this unique resource will help pre- and inservice teachers create lesson plans that are useful to their specific contexts and methods of teaching.

Book Features:

• Everything an art educator needs to know about writing a unit plan.
• Blank space for readers to sketch, doodle, or make notes, along with images to color.
• Color illustrations that can be cut out and glued into the book or used in other collages.
• A completed sample unit that illustrates a real-world example of the issues being discussed.
• A glossary of terms that students and early career professionals often find confusing.
• A blank unit planner template that can be cut out and used again and again.
• A website with downloadable templates, helpful resources, and a forum for interacting with other educators.

Kristin Baxter is associate professor of art and director of the Art Education Program at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.