Back to School Art Lessons First Week Of Art Class Worksheets Ice Breakers
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Selected reviews from TPT
★★★★★While I did not use all of these, there were many of these resources that were very creative and were an excellent ice-breaker for my first week art students. I appreciate the time that went into making them. Thank you for sharing!
Brandi C. · August 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Great activities for beginning of the year and possible use for idea starters later in the year. Good for upper elementary and middle levels. Easy to use. Clear format!
Sarah Brumm · August 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource to get the ball rolling on thinking creatively like an artist. This helped me get into the right frame of mind for teaching art, which is new to me.
Meagan C. · September 2019 · TPT review
Rated by 125 teachers on TPT (see every rating on TPT). These are selected 4- and 5-star written reviews by teachers on TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers), shown word for word. TPT's newer 4-point scale ("Extremely satisfied" = 4) is converted to stars.
This First Week of Art Class pack helps you introduce expectations, build classroom community and spark creativity from day one. Students ease into the art room while learning about the creative process, art proposals, theme development, artist identity and art classroom expectations.
It is made for teachers, art teachers and homeschoolers, and is especially useful for intermediate and secondary learners. Matching lesson plans and handouts make it a flexible start to the year, term or semester.
WHAT'S INCLUDED (NON-EDITABLE PDF)
- Cover page and teacher overview and how-to-use pages
- Lesson plan: The Creative Process and Art Project Proposal
- Handout: The Creative Process, a double-sided reference (research/visual references, brainstorm, proposal, create it)
- Handout: Art Project Proposal (research, brainstorming, main issue/rough copy/thumbnail sketches, statement of intent/artist's statement)
- Handout: Theme Ideas for art research, projects or portfolios, with ideas such as Family, Illusion, Dreams, Animals, Secrets, Leadership, Reflection, Emotion, Nature, Pop Art, Surrealism, Selfie and Art History
- Full-page art rubric and Art Marking Sheet/Evaluation of Project
- Lesson plan: Student Introductions and Ice Breakers (Art Themed) with 2 artist-themed introduction handouts, A Look at an Artist and a WANTED-style artist page
- Lesson plan: What Is Art and To Me Creativity Is... with What Is Art? and To Me Creativity Is... brainstorm and drawing handouts, plus a full-page good copy drawing page
- Lesson plan and handout: Design Your Artist Logo
- Lesson plan and handout: Welcome to Creativity, Creativity Challenge
- Classroom posters, including Art Classroom Rules and Bring Your Sketchbook and Mark Makers
- Classroom management self-reflection form for students who are struggling to follow the rules
WHAT STUDENTS LEARN
Students learn that art involves research, brainstorming, proposal writing, process and thoughtful decisions, not only a final piece. The artist-themed introduction pages help them share about themselves and connect with classmates, while What Is Art?, To Me Creativity Is... and the Creativity Challenge invite them to brainstorm and respond visually.
The Theme Ideas and Design Your Artist Logo pages get students thinking about voice, identity and direction for later projects. The posters and self-reflection form, tied to the rules Be Peaceful, Be a part of the Community and Work Hard, help you set art room expectations from the start.
FAQ
Who is this for?
Teachers, art teachers and homeschoolers, especially in intermediate and secondary grades.
Is it editable?
No. The resource is non-editable.
Does it include lesson plans?
Yes. It includes multiple lesson plans with matching student handouts, an art rubric, an evaluation sheet, classroom posters and a self-reflection form.
Is it only for the first week of school?
It is made for the first week of art class, but many pages also work at the start of a new term or semester, or when resetting art room expectations and routines.
ALL TEACHER REVIEWS (12)
★★★★★ “Absolutely fantastic! I used every item in this package for Grade 7 and 8 art - awesome kick off to the year, thank you!” Heart To Teach
★★★★★ “I am a new Art teacher and I love this set of lessons. Thank you for giving me a starting point !” susan B.
★★★★★ “Great projects to get a new class over the creativity hump. Thanks!” Secondary S.
★★★★★ “So many great ideas, I couldn't fit them all into the first week of school!” Laura M.
★★★★★ “Great activities for beginning of the year and possible use for idea starters later in the year. Good for upper elementary and middle levels. Easy to use. Clear format!” Sarah B.
★★★★★ “Great resource to get the ball rolling on thinking creatively like an artist. This helped me get into the right frame of mind for teaching art, which is new to me.” Meagan C.
★★★★★ “My students really enjoyed designing their own artist logo.” Alysha D.
★★★★★ “Thank you, good resource for middle & high school.” Barbara M.
★★★★★ “This was helpful getting students off to a successful start!” Katie K.
★★★★★ “These really helped me to get through the first week of school craziness, thank you!” Kristin V.
★★★★★ “Great ideas to get students thinking about art at the beginning of the year.” Nadia D.
★★★★★ “very to the point - quick, thorough, and simplified for quick use! Thank you!” ECArt
Get free, classroom-ready art lessons and printables in my Free Art Lesson Library.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathleen McGiveron (Ms Artastic) is an artist who has been featured on NBC LX News and designs art lessons for kids and educational resources for teachers. She was the featured cover educator in OCO Magazine for October 2025. She is the founder of Ms Artastic and hosts the Ms Artastic YouTube Channel and Podcast.
TERMS OF USE
Images and lessons are copyright products.
YOU MAY: use this resource as a single educator. Please purchase additional licenses if more than one teacher will be using it.
YOU MAY NOT: share, copy, upload, post online, distribute or resell this resource in any form.
Sincerely,
Ms Artastic
Pairs Well With
More selected reviews from TPT
★★★★★This was a great first week project to do with the students!
Lisa W. · August 2026 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource. Complete and it was easy to use for middle school art.
Lee B. · June 2026 · TPT review
★★★★★These assignments were great for the first week and a half of school. Students were engaged and had the opportunity to share a lot about themselves and think in a new way. Would recommend!
Danielle S. · September 2025 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource to help you get started on the first week
Kristyn M. · August 2025 · TPT review
★★★★★I have used this activity multiple times, always engaging, great addition to my existing curriculum.
Lisa S. · July 2025 · TPT review
★★★★★Easy art warm up lesson while getting to know students!
Meredith G. · May 2025 · TPT review
★★★★★This was a hit in most of my art classes. The kids were engaged and had a great time expressing their individuality when completing this task.
Judith H. · January 2025 · TPT review
★★★★★Thank you so much for this resource. My students really enjoyed this and were engaged with it. It was also very easy to follow.
Jennifer C. · September 2024 · TPT review
★★★★★This is a great resource that I really enjoyed using. I will continue to use it in the future!
Lora S. · August 2024 · TPT review
★★★★★My students did really well with this. I love Ms. Artastic's work.
Amber W. · August 2024 · TPT review
★★★★★This is a great resource to have on hand. Back to school was crazy and I didn't end up using all these handouts but they have come in handy for last minute sub work. I've been able to pull them out and leave for a sub, no prep for sub, just pass out and students got to work.
Artist Turned Educator · January 2024 · TPT review
★★★★★Wonderful. Thank you! This was just what I was looking for. Thanks again!
JULNATURE TPT · October 2023 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource with lots of different applications and choices! Thank you!
Aslan F. · February 2023 · TPT review
★★★★★This was an excellent resource. My class enjoyed using it!
Ryan E. · January 2023 · TPT review
★★★★★I used this with a 6th grade art class. This was a great resource to use during the 1st week of school.
Catherine Siena M. · September 2022 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource that my students enjoyed.
Holly Cates · September 2022 · TPT review
★★★★★Worked great for 6th grade firs week
Lauren B. · August 2022 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource!
Leanne S. · May 2022 · TPT review
★★★★★I haven't used every activity, but they're great icebreakers. The younger kids liked the "art logo" activity to create their logo that they can use to "sign" each art project they make.
Luisa B. · January 2022 · TPT review
★★★★★My students were engaged with these activities and understood the assignment easily. I love these resources as they give you everything you need to completely teach a lesson. I am very excited to purchase more throughout the year!
Ms Walden Content Creations · November 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★Excellent activity to review skills and make great decorations in the classroom once they are complete.
Tamara H. · November 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★Good
TeacherNextDoorProducts · October 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★Starting at a new school can be stressful this took the pressure off. A great starting point to get the students to introduce themselves.
Suzy D. · August 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★Wonderful! Thank you!
The Contemporary Teacher · August 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★Fantastic, thank you!
Caroline M. · May 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★This resource had great art ideas that are accessible to all students.
Lyndita K. · January 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★Lots of choices for the beginning of the year!
Bright Brush Reading Studio · January 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource. I would just say that the illustrations tend to be for younger students and if your students are sensitive to that, it might not work. Other than that, good ideas in this resource.
Annemarie G. · January 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★This is a wonderful resource. Thanks!
Nancy M. · January 2021 · TPT review
★★★★★Hard to find good art projects.
Paul B. · December 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★Made life much easier!
DoodleHaus · October 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★Awesome resource
Lisa J. · September 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource
Emily W. · September 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★thumbs up
The Happy Hippie · August 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★These were raet to have on hand for the beginning of school. Thanks.
Kerry L. · August 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★Great activities for back to school and a great intro to art!
Stephanie L. · August 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★Loved this product!!!
Mrs. Embrey · June 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource! My students loved the logo project.
Tessa E. · June 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★Great! Thanks!
Laura C. · March 2020 · TPT review
★★★★★A good intro to art.
Jamie W. · December 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Nice!
Becky Yep-Mexico Teach y Querido · October 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Good for review.
Leslie G. · October 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Used first week of school with my MS students
Lindsey K. · September 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Some of the activities were a good intro, but my students wanted to get right into "doing" the art, rather than writing about it.
Gillian C. · September 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★My students really enjoyed designing their own artist logo.
Alysha D. · September 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Not what I would use for the first week of school, Comprehensive but a bit overwhelming.
Katherine S. · August 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Ok resource, not what I thought it would be like
Rosemary W. · August 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Just what I was looking for! Thanks!
Tiffany B. · August 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Thanks
Kim B. · August 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★thanks
Kayla Harriman · August 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Awesome resource for art teachers.
Heather B. · August 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Absolutely fantastic! I used every item in this package for Grade 7 and 8 art - awesome kick off to the year, thank you!
Heart To Teach · August 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Time saver!
Pamela Lane · May 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★I am a new Art teacher and I love this set of lessons. Thank you for giving me a starting point !
susan B. · May 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Lovely! I can't wait to use these at the start of the year! Thank you!
B Mama Designs · March 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Great!
Geraldine Batangan · January 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Great projects to get a new class over the creativity hump. Thanks!
Secondary Sunshine · January 2019 · TPT review
★★★★★Awesome! :o)
Van Gogh's Earlobe · November 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★So many great ideas, I couldn't fit them all into the first week of school!
Laura Materio · October 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Made my life so easy!!
Jane McLaughlin · September 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★This was a big help the first week. Very creative.
Douglas A. · September 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Wish the spaces were a little larger for student ideas. Quite helpful in creating student packages.
Breanna Speers Barker · September 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★First time teaching art. Can’t wait. Thank you
sally P. · August 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Well laid out and put together. Thanks!
Sarah A. · August 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Will be helpful this year. Thank you!
Susan D. · August 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★This resource is fantastic! It is well organized and very engaging. Thank you! :)
K J. · August 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★I was looking for easy first week activities. These are a little more complex than I wanted, but Im still pleased and will just adapt them to what I need.
Courtney Smith · August 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Great product for my upcoming art enrichment course.
William A. · July 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource, kids loved it
Sandra P. · July 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Good ideas that I think can be applied to 6th, 7th and8th grade.
Karen B. · June 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource!
Kyle H. · May 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource!
Theresa P. · March 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Thanks
Melida M. · February 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★good stuff
angela S. · January 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★great resource
Susan M. · January 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Great activities to begin the year with.
Nicole H. · January 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Love this!
Carson's Creations · January 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Helpful!
Heather E. · January 2018 · TPT review
★★★★★Hoping this will help me as I begin to teach art for middle school! Thanks! I new TPT would have something for me to use!
Karen P. · November 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Excellent!!!
Rachele T. · October 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Great ideas to start off the new year.
Sheila Spencer · October 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★This was helpful getting students off to a successful start!
Katie Kuryla · October 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Thank you
Alisha B. · September 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Great ideas for getting started with an art class. Thanks
Digging Deep to Soar Beyond the Text · September 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource!
michelle L. · August 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource
Alyssa Shea · August 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Thank you
Art With Ms.W · August 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Thank you, good resource for middle & high school.
Barbara M. · August 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★This was great for getting my students introduced to Art class!
Amy T. · August 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Great intro to art!
Angela C. · July 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★thanks
Julie B. · June 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Love it! Timesaver!
Ana Pepa · April 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Good place to start and build on.
Kurt C. · March 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Thanks
Stephanie M. · February 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Perfect for those 1st few days!!
Alison Grohe · February 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Excellent!!!
Kym MOYE · January 2017 · TPT review
★★★★★Great timesaver for teachers. Thanks.
Roy W. · December 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Extremely helpful, made my life easier!!!
The Lighthouse · November 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Very helpful!
Stephanie K. · November 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Awesome
Lachelle W. · October 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Useful product
Elizabeth O. · October 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Used this the first few weeks of school - great! Thanks!
Marianne T. · October 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Awesome! Thanks!
erin B. · September 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★These really helped me to get through the first week of school craziness, thank you!
Kristin V. · September 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Awesome!!!!
Debbie P. · September 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Thanks!
Kristin M. · September 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★love this!
Shannon Monson · August 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★I used some yesterday!
Studio Chaka · August 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★This will make the first week easier.
jesse B. · August 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★very to the point - quick, thorough, and simplified for quick use! Thank you!
ECArt · August 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★thanks
Karen C. · August 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★...
Dances with Goats · August 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Great resource, can't wait to use! Thanks.
Jonelle K. · July 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Great ideas
james L. · July 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Great ideas to get students thinking about art at the beginning of the year.
Nadia Dharsee · June 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Not bad! Some things are going to be SUPER useful!
Amanda Bruce · June 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★Thank you
AussieArtTeacher · January 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★So doing this with my next class!
Margarette M. · January 2016 · TPT review
★★★★★great
Brenda H. · September 2015 · TPT review
★★★★★Thank you for making these available! They will be very helpful in my art classes this year!
Carol H. · August 2015 · TPT review
★★★★★Nice!!!
Hedy M. · March 2015 · TPT review
★★★★★great resource
Jody T. · January 2015 · TPT review
Rated by 125 teachers on TPT (see every rating on TPT). These are selected 4- and 5-star written reviews by teachers on TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers), shown word for word. TPT's newer 4-point scale ("Extremely satisfied" = 4) is converted to stars.
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