After ten years of teaching art and creating lesson plans, I have finally settled on a Starry Night art lesson. This lesson combines so many art techniques: double-loading, experimenting with color value, expressive painting, collage and composition as well as color theory. Hard to ask for anything more!
This was one of my third grade students last projects of the year and my only regret was that the paintings didn’t have time to adorn any wall space. And the paintings were certainly wall-worthy. What was so impressive was that every child produced a piece of art that was not only individual to them but something they were all very proud of.
Taking only two, 45-minute art classes, my third graders (you can stretch it to three if you need to) worked quietly and diligently on their paintings. At one point during the working time, the classroom teacher and I looked at each other shocked that the art room was utterly quiet. This doesn’t happen often!
Part of the allure was that I played this beautiful video of Starry Night. The music and graphics were transformative for the students. There is an Ipad application available if your school blocks Vimeo (many do).
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I am such a fan of yours Patty, This is amazing!
Thanks for sharing the great video. I’ll add that to my Starry NIght lesson this year. We discuss the poster and its up in my room and kids love this work. It fits in with science curriculum too (though not based on real stars) and inspires kids to look up at the night sky.
Actually I read that they were able to tell exactly where he painted this because they pinpointed where the stars were in the sky. He painted what he saw in the night sky.
You are one amazing art teacher! I love all your stuff. Thanks for inspiring me!
Love this video!
I agree with Kathleen and Linda~ You are an AMAZING art teacher! Everything you have available through your site has really encouraged and helped me as I have begun my career as an art teacher- you have been the *mentor* I did not have at the university/internships! Thank you so much for all that you do! I trust that this year will be an explosion of new, fresh creative ideas for you and your students!
Purchased this lesson from Teachers Pay Teachers with my tpt points. It is the first one I have ever purchased from you. It is beautifully organized and detailed! I love Van Gogh and couldn’t resist! The time , effort and love you put into developing the lesson and all the components that go with it shows in all the details ! For any one thinking about purchasing this lesson you will not be disappointed! Great job Patty! 🙂
Thank you! So glad you like the lesson. It’s one of my personal favorites now!
I love, love, love this class. I just started working as a art teacher and this lesson is going to be one of my in January.
God bless your talent.
I do art with children at risk outside the country. I can’t wait to share this video when presenting a lesson. The children usually have not had an opportunity to do any art, much less see an art piece come to life. Thank you sooo much, and God bless you as you share the wonders of art.
Cheryll
Hi Patty!
I’m a docent at LTES PTA with Kimm Lytle! I am checking to see if we’ve already purchased this class, but in the mean time I’m wondering if it could be done in one lesson… We’ve got our art walk coming & I’d love this to be on the walls, but don’t think we’ve time for 2 sessions…. Thank you so much for your wonderful program & ideas!!
Hi Jen,
I’m not sure if Kimm purchased Starry Night as she went through my TpT store and they don’t have a way for me to see what customers purchased. You’ll have to check with her. Your second question, I can help you with: If you have at least 60 minutes, then you could do this lesson. It actually takes time to create individual brush strokes (especially for kids) so if your time is less than this, I would break up the project into two. Another element that takes some time is constructing the paper houses. You could bypass this step by drawing houses with oil pastel.
Hope this helps.
Thank you so much! I believe our teacher would allow 60 minutes- maybe even a bit more! I will check with Kimm & if she doesn’t have it I think I can cover the cost 😉
I appreciate your feedback! It helps a ton!
Patty! Loved this one. Here’s our finished results! https://artlittlebennett.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/4th-grade-starry-night/ And don’t worry, I linked back to ya! 🙂 Thanks for always rocking!
Hello. Love the Van Gogh painting. The paint looks so vibrant against the black paper. Wanted to see if you mind sharing what brand paint you used for it. Thanks !!!
Hi Kathy,
You can download my free art supplies PDF in my Shop (under Freebies). It’ll give you the names and links to the brands I use.This lesson plan also has the details.
This looks great. I just did Starry Night with 2nd grade. I found some great images of Vangogh’s work showing the depth of his paint http://twistedsifter.com/2013/07/detailed-close-ups-of-van-gogh-artworks/ I then gave the kids black railroad board and had them cover it with glue stick glue. we used coils of model magic to make the swirls and stars and moon…It turned out to be fragile but looked so cool. Taped the boards to cardboard and painted with tempera and metalic paints. Made a foreground of snow on card-stock. Talked about how to draw a snowman that looked 3d. Considered where the moon was and how the light would fall, where the shadow would be. Added houses, birds foot prints. Put land on the sky using balls of model magic to elevate it a bit off the background. Very cool.
Hi Patty. This lessons looks amazing. Before I go ahead and buy it though I’m wondering if it would be suitable for first grade? Thanks a mil
Hi Mairead,
I did this lesson with 8 and 9 year olds so although it’s far easier scale up this lesson, you can also make it easier.
One thing that would help would be to have pre-cut squares and rectangles available for the little villages. That way, not as much tiny cutting! I love this lesson so I hope it works well for your little ones. Let me know how it turns out and what changes you made, if any.
enjoyed your video
I am an art docent at my daughters school. I’d love to hear more about the membership. Thank you
Hi Sarah!Here is an information page where you can download a blueprint and free lesson > https://deepspacesparkle.lpages.co/the-sparklers-club-waitlist/
Thanks so much for the interactive video. We loved it and it really inspired them.
Amazing!
Are these painting assignments done on regular black construction paper? They are great!
Thanks, Valerie
Hi Valerie! This is Bethany from Team Sparkle. I wanted to let you know that we used 12” x 15” black sulphite paper for the best results for this lesson! Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
I love this!
If you are a member already, where do you find this lesson?
Camilla
Hi Camilla! The Starry Night lesson is inside the VINCENT VAN GOGH ARTIST BUNDLE. You can find it quickly using the search tool in the upper right corner of The Sparklers’ Club website.
I so wish I could just buy this individual lesson without joining the club. I am a classroom teacher who is also responsible for teaching art, so I don’t need access to all the curriculum ( I teach just one grade level).
Hi Laura! There is a video showing the steps she took to create this lesson on the blog post which should help. Also, if you joined the membership you can choose to stay for just 1 month. A lot of people feel that they need to use every resource or lesson in order to get their “moneys worth”. However, in order to get value out of the membership you only really need to use one or two lesson. To join the Sparklers’ Club waitlist and learn more about The Sparklers’ Club click here: https://deepspacesparkle.lpages.co/the-sparklers-club-waitlist/
Love this!