Learning About Lines

Esperanza Charter School
1st, 3rd, and 4th, Visual Art
Ms. Andrea / Ms. Morales, Ms. Small, Ms. Smallwood, and Ms. Dobard

In our introductory KID smART lesson, students made improvisational line drawings. We learned about improv as an approach to art-making: creating our work as we go, in the moment, rather than drawing with an object already in mind.

The first step was to draw a continuous line across the page. We listened to songs as we drew, eyes closed, letting the music guide us. Improvisation allowed us to explore drawing lines without having to find a “right” answer. When they opened their eyes, students were surprised and delighted to see the lines they drew as their hands and pencils danced to the music.

After repeating the line drawing to another song, students selected one drawing to color. The continuous lines—at times wavy, zig-zagged, long, and short—criss-crossed each other to form interesting shapes. Students filled in the shapes with both solid colors and patterns (of more lines!).

When they shared and reflected on their work, some students noticed their improv drawings reminded them of something else—a pumpkin or ferris wheel, say. It reminded us of how we sometimes see other objects when we look at clouds.

Since lines are a foundational part of both visual art and poetry, exploring lines was a great way to begin the year in KID smART!