Lesson Plan
Collaborative Canvas: Piece It Together
Students will collaborate in small groups to create a cohesive piece of art, demonstrating teamwork, communication, and creative problem-solving skills within a 15-minute timeframe.
Teamwork is a crucial life skill! This lesson helps students understand the value of working together, respecting different ideas, and combining individual contributions to achieve a shared goal, all while having fun with art.
Audience
6th Grade
Time
15 minutes
Approach
Hands-on collaborative art project with group discussion.
Materials
Small groups of 3-4 students, 1 large piece of paper (e.g., 18x24 inches) per group, Art supplies (markers, colored pencils, crayons, pastels – a variety for each group), and Scissors (optional, for dividing paper)
Prep
Gather and Prepare Materials
10 minutes
- Gather Supplies: Collect large sheets of paper, markers, colored pencils, crayons, and pastels. Ensure each group has a good variety of supplies.
- Review Materials: Familiarize yourself with the Collaborative Canvas Slide Deck and the Collaborative Art Activity instructions.
- Optional: Pre-cut paper: If desired, you can pre-cut the large paper into smaller, equal-sized pieces for each student in a group, or have students cut them during the activity.
Step 1
Introduction & Setup (5 minutes)
5 minutes
- Hook: Start with a quick question: "What's something awesome we can create together that would be really hard to do alone?" (2 minutes)
- Introduce Activity: Explain the Collaborative Art Activity. Emphasize that each group will create one large, cohesive artwork, even if they start with individual pieces. (2 minutes)
- Form Groups: Divide students into small groups of 3-4. Distribute art supplies and one large sheet of paper per group. (1 minute)
Step 2
Collaborative Creation (7 minutes)
7 minutes
- Individual Start: Instruct each student to take a section of the paper (if pre-cut) or divide the large paper mentally/lightly draw lines. They should start drawing on their section, keeping in mind it will eventually connect with others. Encourage a theme or common idea within the group without strict rules. (3 minutes)
- Connect & Combine: After a few minutes, have students physically connect their pieces (if cut) or encourage them to start drawing across the imaginary lines to connect their individual contributions into one unified piece. The goal is a single, flowing artwork. Remind them to communicate! (4 minutes)
Step 3
Group Share & Reflection (3 minutes)
3 minutes
- Gallery Walk (brief): Have groups briefly display their finished collaborative artwork. (1 minute)
- Discussion: Lead a quick Reflection Discussion using prompts about teamwork and collaboration. (2 minutes)
- Cool Down: Use the Artful Exit Ticket to gauge understanding of collaboration.
Step 4
Differentiation & Support (Ongoing)
Ongoing
- For Students with Communication Disorders/Autism:
- Assign clear roles within groups (e.g., 'Color Manager', 'Shape Connector', 'Idea Sharer') to provide structure for interaction.
- Use visual timers for each phase of the activity.
- Provide sentence starters for group discussions (e.g., "I think we should..."; "Can we try...?"; "My idea is to...").
- Offer a non-verbal option for sharing ideas (e.g., pointing, drawing small sketches).
- For Students with Specific Learning Disorder/ADD:
- Break down instructions into smaller, numbered steps (already done in activity but reinforce verbally).
- Provide a checklist for each phase of the activity.
- Allow for movement breaks if needed (e.g., stand up to get supplies, walk to view other groups' progress during quiet work).
- Offer preferential seating for students who may be easily distracted.
- For All Students (IEPs):
- Circulate frequently to provide direct support and check for understanding.
- Pre-assign groups thoughtfully to ensure balanced skills and support.
- Provide positive reinforcement for effort, collaboration, and communication.
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Slide Deck
Collaborative Canvas: Piece It Together
Creating something amazing, together!
Welcome students and get them thinking about group work. Ask: "What's something awesome we can create together that would be really hard to do alone?" (Encourage varied responses, accepting gestures or single words if full sentences are challenging for some students.)
Our Goal Today
Objective: You will work in small groups to create one cohesive piece of art, using teamwork and communication to combine your individual contributions.
Why It Matters: Learning to collaborate helps us achieve bigger and better things than we could alone! It’s about sharing ideas and making something unique together.
Explain the objective and briefly discuss why teamwork is important, especially in creative projects. Keep language concise and use visual cues on the slide to support understanding.
The Challenge: Collaborative Canvas!
Each group will receive one large piece of paper and art supplies.
Your mission: Create a single, unified piece of art as a team!
Introduce the activity. Explain that it's an art project focused on working together. Use a clear, step-by-step tone. Consider displaying the physical materials as you mention them.
Phase 1: Your Piece of the Puzzle
- In your groups, each person will get a section of the paper (or mentally divide the large paper).
- Start drawing or designing on your section.
- Think about a theme or idea your group might share, but don't worry about perfect alignment yet.
Detail the first part of the instructions. Emphasize starting individually but keeping the group in mind. Remind students of the time limit for this phase. Encourage them to use visuals if verbalizing their ideas is difficult.
Phase 2: Connecting the Dots
- Now, it's time to connect! If your paper was cut, physically join your pieces.
- Start extending your drawings across the lines, blending your work with your teammates
- Talk to each other! How can your individual parts flow together to make one amazing piece?
Explain the transition to collaborative work. Highlight communication as key. Model sentence starters for discussion (e.g., "What if we add...?" or "I can connect this by..."). Provide a visual timer for this phase.
Share & Reflect
Once your masterpiece is complete, we'll do a quick 'gallery walk' to see everyone's work.
Then, we'll talk about what we learned about working together!
Prepare for the quick share and the debrief. Remind students that they can point to their favorite parts or use the sentence starters from the Reflection Discussion Prompts to share their thoughts. Offer the option for verbal or drawn responses for the Artful Exit Ticket.
Activity
Collaborative Canvas: Piece It Together!
Objective: Work as a team to create one unified piece of art, showcasing how individual efforts can combine into a magnificent group creation.
Materials per Group (3-4 students):
- 1 large sheet of paper (e.g., 18x24 inches)
- A variety of art supplies (markers, colored pencils, crayons, pastels)
Instructions:
Part 1: Individual Beginnings (3 minutes)
- Divide Your Space: As a group, decide how to visually divide your large sheet of paper into equal sections for each team member. You can lightly draw lines, or if your teacher has pre-cut the paper, each person will take one piece.
- Start Your Design: On your individual section, begin drawing or designing. Think about a theme or a general idea your group might want to explore, but don't worry about it being perfect or fully connected yet.
- Keep it Open: Try to avoid creating a design that is totally contained within your section. Leave some elements open towards the edges, as if they could extend or connect to the next person's part.
- Tip for Collaboration: Even while working individually, glance at your teammates' sections. Are there shapes or colors you can echo or prepare to connect?
Part 2: Connecting the Dots (4 minutes)
- Bring it Together: If your paper was pre-cut, physically join your individual pieces to form one large canvas. If you drew lines, erase them or work over them.
- Collaborate! Now, as a group, work together to connect your individual designs. How can you blend the different parts to make it look like one cohesive piece of art?
- Can you extend colors or shapes across sections?
- Can you add new elements that bridge the different parts?
- Communicate! Talk to each other! Use clear language or point to areas. Share your ideas and listen to theirs. "What if we add a line here?" "Can I use your blue to match this part?" (Teacher may provide sentence starters for students with communication disorders).
- Visual Check: Take a step back. Does it look like one unified picture, or are there still distinct individual parts? Work together to smooth the transitions.
Part 3: Final Touches (2 minutes)
- Refine Your Masterpiece: Work together to add any final details that make your collaborative art truly shine as a single creation.
- Team Decision: Quickly discuss one final element or color you can all add to make it truly complete.
Discussion
Reflection Discussion Prompts
After completing your collaborative canvas, let's reflect on the experience as a group. Discuss the following questions with your team and be ready to share your thoughts with the class:
- Tip for Communication: If you find it hard to start, try using these sentence starters: "I noticed...", "One challenge was...", "We solved it by...", "My favorite part was...", "I learned that...". You can also draw or point to parts of your artwork to explain your ideas.
- What was it like to start working on your own section, knowing it would become part of a bigger piece?
- What were some of the challenges your group faced when trying to connect everyone's individual art into one unified image?
- What strategies did your group use to communicate and make decisions about how to blend your work?
- How did your group ensure everyone's ideas were heard and incorporated into the final piece?
- Look at your finished collaborative canvas. What do you like most about it? What does it show about your group's teamwork?
- How does creating art together compare to creating art alone? What did you learn about the power of collaboration?
Cool Down
Artful Exit Ticket
Before you leave, please answer the following question on a sticky note or a small piece of paper:
In one sentence, how did collaborating on today's art project help you understand the importance of teamwork?
- Tip for Response: If writing a full sentence is challenging, you can draw a small picture or tell your answer to the teacher or a partner.