Quick and Irresistible Abstract Collage Self-Portrait Art Lesson for Kids

This abstract collage self-portrait art lesson is perfect for kids, especially when you are looking for something quick and appealing. Not to mention, this lesson also offers lots of learning opportunities and chances to work on much-needed development skills.

abstract self-portrait art lesson

Quick and Irresistible Abstract Collage Self-Portrait Art Lesson for Kids

Although this was a project that was completed with students in a self-contained classroom, you can do it with any classroom of students. The teachers of the students' self-contained classroom used this lesson to work with them on naming the parts of the face and understanding where facial features actually lie on a human face. They also used this to springboard into lessons about reading facial expressions.

Lesson Setup

Students used a foam paint dotter to create the shape of a head on construction paper. Then, they cut out and tore images of facial features from magazines. I cut out some for students who were unable to cut or tear as a way of differentiating. They were then able to select from the pile of pre-cut images.

Afterward, they cut out the head shape and glued it to a sheet of scrapbook-style paper. Some of the students got to use donated scrapbook paper, but I also printed/copied some papers for some of the classes.

They glued the facial feature as the last step. Some students created what appears as an actual face. They got the features mostly in the right spot, even though they may have used more than the human number of features. Some glued randomly as well. I let them choose how to do this as a form of differentiating by choice and readiness level.

collage art lesson

Final Thoughts

The best part of this art lesson is that students are able to be creative, yet learn meaningful lessons at the same time. While this can be considered an arts integration and enhancement lesson, it’s not solely an art curriculum-only lesson.

I’m Amanda, and I align standards and integrate content to help teachers meet the needs of the Whole Child in art class! I have yet to find a standard that I couldn’t teach through art, and I want to share it all with you.

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I want all students to feel successful in the art room, so I created a standards-based Daffodil Collage lesson to do just that! The lesson includes an artist study, student reflection, and more, so push your artists to their full potential.

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Using Students’ Names to Create Unique Symmetry Artwork