Give your students enough structure to begin and enough freedom to create something completely their own.

Inspired by the way Paul Klee and Pacita Abad used shape, color, pattern, and abstraction, this lesson guides students from artist exploration through brainstorming, revision, color planning, and a finished abstract face design.

Created for 4th and 5th grade artists, this lesson can also be adapted for other upper-elementary and middle-school students.

Inside This 13-Page PDF

• Complete teacher guide
• Materials and preparation
• Artist discussion prompts
• I See, I Think, I Wonder questions
• Step-by-step lesson instructions
• Abstract face brainstorming worksheet
• Optional peer-to-peer feedback activity
• Large composition-planning space
• Color-scheme exploration
• Six pattern-planning boxes
• Color-theory reference
• Choice and differentiation ideas
• Student artwork examples

Students begin with simple shapes and recognizable facial features, then build their designs with more color, pattern, layers, and personal choices. They can work with washable markers and water for a watercolor effect or use oil pastels as an alternative.

This is a digital PDF download. No physical product will be shipped.