free to stream
artworks to discuss
video demos
standards aligned
connected to Social Studies
Animal Portraits
Students learn about the importance of animals to Indigenous people. They create a self-portrait that uses animals to symbolize themselves and, if they wish, their family.
LESSON 1
SW choose an animal to represent themselves or a family member, sketch the composition, then draw it large
LESSON 2
SW begin painting the first layer.
LESSON 3
SW finish the first layer of color, covering all the white areas.
LESSON 4
SW learn about different types of texture, and use implied texture to finish their artwork.
Want this project delivered to your inbox?
The full lesson plans include links to video content and discussion images, and is available for free by following the link below.
Alyssa, 1st Grade
Lucie, kindergarten
Beaver by the Water It was fun to draw my animal out and write stuff on the back. I chose this animal because I am strong. My favorite part was the log because it was the funnest part to paint.
Phoebe, 4th Grade
Wolf and Moose This artwork is a painting of me and my sister as totem animals. I’m the wolf, the purple animal, and my sister is the moose. I am above her because she is younger than me and it is kind of like I am on top of a hill and she is deep in the woods.
ViVi, 4th Grade
Zadie, 1st Grade
Zadie Animals in the Springtime I chose hummingbird to paint. I’m not fast, but they are joyful and nice, so I chose the hummingbird. It mostly shows my personality. I added my family as spirit animals, I actually did two hummingbirds. My mom is a butterfly and my dad is an ant and he is saying “why am I so small”. My little sister is a beaver. I liked painting it, it was fun.
Zeqe, 5th Grade
Squirrel I chose to paint a squirrel because its traits sounded the most like mine. One thing that was hard was the trees branches were really hard to paint around so I covered up parts of them like the pointy tips. The most important thing that someone should know about my painting is that a totem animal is an animal that shares some of your traits. One of my favorite things about my painting are how the grass and trees are sharp and rough while the sky and squirrel are smooth and round.