Portrait Collage

Kindergarten Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives:
● (VA:Cn11.1.Ka): Students will recognize that artists make portraits of themselves by defining the
term “self-portrait” and creating a self-portrait using collage materials and techniques.
● (VA:Cr2.1.Ka): Students will build upon their previous artistic knowledge by combining new
materials and techniques with materials and tools that students have previous experience with to
develop a mixed media work of art.

Materials: construction paper, cardboard tracer, scissors, glue, oil pastels, yarn
Vocab: portrait, collage

Day 1
● “Today we’re starting a new project called “Portrait Collage.” Does anyone know what a portrait
is?” Let students guess. “A portrait is a picture of a person, usually just of their head and
shoulders. Today we’re going to be making self-portraits, which is a special kind of portrait
because you’re the artist and the person in the picture! Collage refers to the material we’re going
to be using, which is cutting and gluing paper.”
○ Demo. “When I call up your table, you’re going to get three pieces of paper: one for your
that matches your skin color for your head/neck/ears, one for your shirt, and one for the
background. When you’re back at your table spot, the first thing you need to do is use a
circle tracer to make a head shape. Use it off to the side of your paper so that you have
enough paper left for the neck and ears. You should cut out all of your piece before
gluing anything down.
○ “For your shirt, match up the paper (portrait style) so that it’s the same size as the
background paper. Then, fold the paper over to make a rectangle shape, then cut on the
folded line to make a shirt shape. You can then cut out a collar shape (triangle, half circle,
etc.) for your shirt.”
○ “What is my face missing?” Students respond. “For my ears and neck I’m going to use
my leftover paper from when I cut out my head shape, and I’m going to use my pencil to
draw two “C” shapes for my ears and a rectangle for my neck, then cut them out.”
○ “I’m going to leave my face blank for today because we’re going to use some special art
supplies next time to finish our face next class.”
● “Once all my pieces are cut out, I like to lay them all out on my paper where they go so that I
know where to glue them all. Make sure all your pieces fit nicely together before gluing. I’m going
to glue my neck first because it’s going to go underneath my shirt. When gluing, it’s ok to have a
lot of dots as long as they’re not too big.” Demo gluing. “Dot, dot, not a lot.” “1 banana, 2 banana,
3 banana, 4 banana, 5 banana, split!”
● “When you’re all finished, make sure your name is on the back and put your piece on the drying
rack.” Students have work time for the rest of the class period.
● Clean up, then wrap up on the carpet. “What did we learn about today in art class? What is a
portrait? How would you rate your work today on a scale of 1, 2, or 3?” Line up.

Day 2
● “Who can remind us what we talked about last week in art class?” Let students respond. “Last
week we learned what a self-portrait is. Who can remind us what that means?” Let students
answer. Today we’re going to be finishing up our self portrait collages using special art materials
for our faces and extra details.”
● Demo. “I’m going to start my portrait by making my eyes. I’m going to show you two different
ways to make eyes and you can decide which way you like best for your self-portrait. I’m going to
fold my piece of white paper in half, draw my eye shape, and cut on the line while it’s still folded
(draw once, cut two). If you want to make eyes the kindergarten way, you can draw a circle
shape.” Demo. “If you want a special challenge and want to try the first grade way, you could try
drawing your eyes as a football or lemon shape. Look at your neighbor’s eyes; see how they
 come to a point on the sides?” Let students look and comment. “You decide which way you like
better for your portrait.”
○ “Next, I’m going to use an eye pastel that matches my eye color and i’m going to color in
a circle on my eye shapes that I just cut out. Look at your neighbor’s eyes again. Do you
see how there is still some white showing on the sides of your eyes?” Let students
look/respond. “I’m going to make sure I leave some white space on the sides and not
color all the way to the edge. I’m still missing one part—that little black dot in the center of
my eye. Does anyone know what that’s called?” Let students guess, then demo gluing
pupil (black paper circle punched out from hole punch) in the middle.
○ “Next I’m going to finish my face. I’m going to use oil pastels to give myself a nose using
an “L” or a “J” shape, then i’m going to give myself a smile because I’m happy to be in art
class.”
○ “The next thing I’m going to do is decorate my shirt. You could draw stripes, spots, a
collar, etc., or you could try drawing a pocket or making one out of scrap paper.” Demo
making paper pocket by cutting a square, then turning one side into a triangle shape.
○ “What am I missing?” Let students respond. “For my hair, there are several bins with
different colors of yarn. Find one that you think best matches your hair color to use for
your portrait. To add my hair, first I’m going to lay down some glue and put the yarn on
top.” Demo how students could put on straight hair, curly hair, etc.
● “When you’re all finished, put your piece on the drying rack.” Students have work time for the rest
of the class period.
● Clean up, then wrap up on the carpet. “What did we learn about today in art class? What is a
portrait? Were you very responsible with your art materials and did you listen to directions to get a
3 today? How would you rate your work today on a scale of 1, 2, or 3?” Line up.