Our Curriculum › Art › 3rd Grade
Art 3
A year of third-grade art: the seven elements and eight principles of design, the color wheel, drawing from imagination and observation, maps, six hands-on processes, five world art traditions, evaluating art, and a capstone piece with a portfolio.
180 lessons
One a day for a school year
10 units
Each opens to its lessons
5 world art traditions
Japan, Southwest, Ghana, Egypt, Europe
Standards
National Core Arts Standards (visual arts)
What's taught, unit by unit
Elements of art and principles of designDays 1–25
Studio safety, then the seven elements (line, shape, color, value, form, space, texture) with a drawing for each. Then the principles: repetition, movement, emphasis, contrast, balance, proportion, harmony and unity.
- 1 · Welcome to Art 3: A Year of Making and Looking
- 2 · Your Art Studio: Safety and Care
- 3 · The Element of Line: A Path with Personality
- 4 · Drawing with Line Types
- 5 · The Element of Shape: Geometric and Organic
- 6 · Drawing with Shape Families
- 7 · The Element of Color: Hue and Choice
- 8 · Color and Mood in Your Own Drawing
- 9 · The Element of Value: Light and Dark
- 10 · Shading a Solid Object
- 11 · The Element of Form: Shapes with Depth
- 12 · Drawing a Form from Observation
- 13 · The Element of Space: Near, Far, and Empty
- 14 · Showing Depth with Overlap
- 15 · The Element of Texture: Real and Implied
- 16 · Drawing Implied Texture
- 17 · Principles of Design: Repetition
- 18 · Principles of Design: Movement
- 19 · Principles of Design: Emphasis
- 21 · Principles of Design: Contrast
- 22 · Principles of Design: Balance
- 23 · Principles of Design: Proportion
- 24 · Principles of Design: Harmony
- 25 · Principles of Design: Unity
Plus 1 review day, not listed.
The color wheelDays 26–35
Primary and secondary colors, predicting and then mixing paint, building and drawing a full color wheel, what colors say about feelings, a color-mixing studio day, and rating the wheel against set criteria.
- 26 · The Color Wheel: Primary Colors
- 27 · The Color Wheel: Secondary Colors
- 28 · Hands-On Color Mixing
- 29 · Assembling the Full Color Wheel
- 31 · Placing Colors on the Color Wheel
- 32 · Draw and Color Your Own Color Wheel
- 33 · Color and Feelings: What Does a Color Say?
- 34 · Color-Mixing Studio Day
- 35 · Evaluate Your Color Wheel Using Given Criteria
Plus 1 review day, not listed.
Elaborating ideas and drawing from observationDays 36–55
Turning a simple idea (a tree, an animal, a room, an invented creature, a story scene) into a detailed picture, then drawing what is really there: a plant, a room, a view out the window, with texture marks, light, shadow and background detail.
- 36 · From Simple to Amazing: Elaborating an Idea
- 37 · Elaborating an Animal: More Than Just an Outline
- 38 · Animal Elaboration: Adding a Setting
- 39 · Elaborating a Place: An Ordinary Room Turns Extraordinary
- 40 · Place Elaboration: Planning Your Clues
- 41 · Inventing a Creature From Scratch
- 42 · Your Invented Creature's World
- 43 · Elaborating a Scene From a Story
- 44 · Story Scene: Showing the Untold Parts
- 45 · Elaborating Ideas: Putting It All Together
- 46 · Drawing What You Really See: Observing a Plant
- 47 · Adding Texture From Observation
- 48 · Observing a Room: Drawing Your Surroundings
- 49 · Room Details That Tell a Story
- 50 · Observation Skills: A Quick Review
- 51 · Observing a View Outside Your Window
- 52 · Adding Depth With Light and Shadow
- 53 · Texture Marks That Add Meaning
- 54 · Background Details That Tell a Story
- 55 · Observation and Elaboration: Final Practice
Maps and diagrams as artDays 56–70
Treasure maps and symbols, a legend, floor plans, a bird's-eye view of a room, a route map of a neighborhood walk, an imaginary world, and reading what a map tells us. Several map projects are covered twice.
- 56 · A Map Is a Kind of Art: Meet the Treasure Map
- 57 · Drawing Your Own Treasure Map
- 58 · Diagramming a Real Place: Your Room's Floor Plan
- 59 · Adding Labels and Details to Your Floor Plan
- 60 · Mapping Your Neighborhood
- 61 · Bird's-Eye View: Mapping My Room
- 62 · Adding Details to My Room Map
- 63 · Mapping My Neighborhood Walk
- 64 · Landmarks and Details in My Route Map
- 65 · Map Symbols and the Legend
- 66 · Drawing a Treasure Map
- 67 · Imagining a Place That Doesn't Exist
- 68 · Mapping My Imaginary World
- 69 · What Does This Map Tell Us?
- 70 · Map & Diagram Review
Materials and processesDays 71–90
Safe use and a reflection for each: pencil, crayon resist, oil pastel, tempera and watercolor (with brush care), paper collage, printmaking with found objects and a potato stamp, clay pinch pots, and paper weaving.
- 71 · Drawing Safely: Pencil Techniques
- 72 · Crayon Resist and Layering
- 73 · Blending with Oil Pastels
- 74 · Comparing Drawing Materials
- 75 · Painting Safely: Meeting Tempera Paint
- 76 · Watercolor: Wet Paper, Wet Brush
- 77 · Caring for Paintbrushes
- 78 · Tempera vs. Watercolor Reflection
- 79 · Collage Safety: Cutting Shapes
- 80 · Arranging and Gluing a Collage
- 81 · Collage Reflection
- 82 · Printmaking Safety: Stamping with Found Objects
- 83 · Carving and Printing a Potato Stamp
- 84 · Printmaking Reflection
- 85 · Clay Safety and Handling
- 86 · Making a Pinch Pot
- 87 · Clay Reflection
- 88 · Paper Weaving Basics
- 89 · Finishing My Woven Pattern
- 90 · Materials & Processes Review
Art from around the worldDays 91–110
Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), Pueblo pottery and Navajo weaving, Ghanaian kente cloth, adinkra symbols and West African masks, ancient Egyptian tomb art and medieval illuminated manuscripts, each with a project.
- 91 · Japanese Woodblock Prints: Pictures of the Floating World
- 92 · Japanese Woodblock Prints: What the Pictures Show Us
- 93 · Same Print, Different Times: Understanding Ukiyo-e in Context
- 94 · Create Your Own Print-Style Nature Scene
- 95 · Pueblo Pottery of the American Southwest
- 96 · Navajo Weaving: Patterns Held in the Mind
- 97 · What Pottery and Weaving Patterns Say
- 98 · Living Traditions: Pottery and Weaving Today
- 99 · Kente Cloth of Ghana
- 100 · Adinkra Symbols: A Visual Language of Proverbs
- 101 · West African Masks: Carving, Ceremony, and Story
- 102 · Kente, Adinkra, and Masks: Reading with Context
- 103 · Ancient Egyptian Tomb Art: Materials and Purpose
- 104 · Gods, Daily Life, and Hieroglyphs in Tomb Art
- 105 · Reading Egyptian Art with the Right Context
- 106 · Create Your Own Egyptian-Style Scene
- 107 · Illuminated Manuscripts: Handwritten, Hand-Painted Books
- 108 · Stories Told on the Illuminated Page
- 109 · Design Your Own Illuminated Initial
Plus 1 review day, not listed.
Reading and judging artDays 111–135
Guessing how an artist worked, finding a message and mood, and how the title changes meaning. Then judging art with three criteria (color, care and effort, clear idea) on Monet, O'Keeffe and Hokusai, and on the child's own work.
- 111 · Learning to "Read" a Work of Art
- 112 · Speculating About an Artist's Process
- 113 · Practice: How Was Each One Made?
- 114 · Determining the Message of an Artwork
- 115 · How Elements of Art Create Mood
- 116 · Analyzing The Bridge at Argenteuil by Claude Monet
- 117 · Practicing Process and Mood Together
- 118 · Comparing Mood in Two Contrasting Artworks
- 119 · How Subject and Title Shape What We Understand
- 120 · Checkpoint: What You've Learned About Reading Art
- 121 · What Makes Art “Good”? Learning to Use Criteria
- 122 · Applying Our Criteria to Monet’s Bridge at Argenteuil
- 123 · Evaluating Bold Color: Georgia O’Keeffe’s Flower Paintings
- 124 · Criterion Spotlight: Care and Effort in Artwork
- 125 · Criterion Spotlight: Communicating a Clear Idea or Feeling
- 126 · Full Criteria Practice: Hokusai’s The Great Wave
- 127 · Turning the Criteria on Your Own Artwork
- 128 · Self-Evaluation Practice: Rating One of Your Own Pieces
- 129 · Comparing Two of Your Pieces: What Changed?
- 130 · Setting a Goal from Your Self-Evaluation
- 131 · Evaluating a Sample Artwork
- 132 · Does Knowing the Story Change How You See Art?
- 133 · Side-by-Side: Comparing Two Very Different Artworks
- 134 · Writing Your Evaluation: Explaining Your Ratings
Plus 1 review day, not listed.
Artist statements and exhibitsDays 136–150
Writing artist statements (what I made, what I wanted to show), short labels, choosing and preparing a place to display work at home or on screen, planning a mini exhibit and practicing talking about it.
- 136 · What Is an Artist Statement?
- 137 · Artist Statement Part 1: What I Made and How
- 138 · Artist Statement Part 2: What I Wanted to Show or Feel
- 139 · Writing a Complete Artist Statement for Your First Piece
- 140 · Writing an Artist Statement for a Second Piece
- 141 · Where Could Your Art Be Displayed at Home?
- 142 · Digital Exhibit Spaces: Sharing Art Online or On Screen
- 143 · How Presentation Changes the Way Viewers See Art
- 144 · Choosing the Best Exhibit Space for One of Your Pieces
- 145 · Getting Your Artwork Ready for Display
- 146 · Writing a Short Label for Your Artwork
- 147 · Planning a Mini Exhibit of Your Work
- 148 · Revising Your Artist Statements for Your Exhibit
- 149 · Practicing How You’ll Talk About Your Art
- 150 · Checkpoint: Preparing and Presenting Your Artwork
Capstone projectDays 151–175
One larger piece from start to finish: choosing a process and idea, thumbnail sketches, planning, blocking in shapes, color, value, texture, detail, two self-checks and revision. Then an artist statement, exhibition prep and self-evaluation.
- 151 · Choosing Your Capstone Artistic Process
- 152 · Brainstorming Your Big Idea
- 153 · Choosing Your Elements and Principles On Purpose
- 154 · Sketching Small Composition Thumbnails
- 155 · Finalizing Your Capstone Plan and Gathering Materials
- 156 · Starting Your Composition Sketch
- 157 · Blocking In the Main Shapes
- 158 · Planning Your Color Palette
- 159 · Adding Your First Layer of Color
- 160 · Mid-Project Self-Check: Comparing Work to Plan
- 161 · Building Up Color and Value
- 162 · Adding Texture to Your Capstone Piece
- 163 · Elaborating with Fine Details
- 164 · Developing Your Background
- 165 · Balancing Your Whole Composition
- 166 · Second Self-Check: Reviewing Your Progress
- 167 · Revising Your Capstone Piece
- 168 · Adding Final Highlights
- 169 · Final Touches Before Completion
- 170 · Signing and Completing Your Capstone Piece
- 171 · Drafting Your Capstone Artist Statement
- 172 · Revising and Polishing Your Artist Statement
- 173 · Preparing Your Piece for Exhibition
- 174 · Self-Evaluating Your Finished Piece
- 175 · Reflecting on Your Capstone Journey
Portfolio and year-end reflectionDays 176–180
Looking back over the year, choosing portfolio favorites, comparing early and late work to see growth, organizing the portfolio, and a closing celebration.
- 176 · Looking Back at a Year of Art
- 177 · Choosing Your Portfolio Favorites
- 178 · Reflecting on How Your Skills Grew
- 179 · Organizing Your Final Portfolio
- 180 · Art 3 Celebration: Your Year as an Artist
By the end of the year, your child can
- Name the seven elements of art and the principles of design and use them on purpose
- Mix the secondary colors and draw a color wheel
- Draw a real object, plant or room carefully and add detail to an idea
- Make art with drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, clay and weaving
- Describe the mood and message of an artwork and judge it using set criteria
- Write a short artist statement and plan how to display a piece