Paul Klee’s unique blend of surrealism and Cubism makes his art a perfect teaching tool for elementary students. His playful use of geometric shapes, bold colors, and childlike figures resonates with young learners, making his work easy for them to relate to and be inspired by. Klee’s experimentation with different media and techniques also opens up exciting possibilities for art lessons that encourage creativity and critical thinking.

In this post, we’ll explore how to use Klee’s work to engage elementary students in both art-making and analysis. This will help them develop their artistic skills while learning from a master.

Why Paul Klee's Art is Ideal for Elementary Students

Paul Klee’s style is known for its uniqueness, owing to his surrealism and Cubism influences. This Swiss-born German artist was a highly skilled draftsman, meaning he could make detailed technical drawings of intricately designed objects. 

Klee was as much an art scholar as he was an artist. He explored color theory and wrote extensively about the subject. His lectures titled “writings on form and design theory” are as influential as Da Vinci's writings on painting, where Da Vinci argued that painting is a science. Moreover, Klee taught at the Bauhaus School with Kandinsky and other influential artists. 

While he dabbled in scholarly works, Klee generally created his art in isolation. Perhaps that isolation is what made him feel free enough to be so experimental for his time. He experimented with different media, including oil paint, watercolors, etching, ink, pastel, and acrylic collages. He would also combine different media in his art. 

He worked on canvas, cardboard, metal, fabric, muslin, linen, newsprint, wallpaper, and other surfaces. His versatility was mind-blowing because working on diverse surfaces resulted in unique textures. He even used spray paint and knife application stamping. In today’s art scene, we would consider him a mixed media artist. 

His experimentation with materials and processes brought a surrealistic quality to Klee’s work. His art also has a childlike quality because he incorporated geometric shapes and forms, letters, numbers, and playful figures into his work. 

Exploring Klee's Use of Shapes and Color

The childlike nature of Klee’s art is another reason his work is closely associated with surrealism and Cubism. The use of geometric motifs in his drawings is indicative of Cubism, while his surrealist style is shown through the use of stick figures and basic shapes to create fantastic compositions. 

Paul Klee’s style is the reason I use his works with elementary students. This childlike quality and experimentation with media lend naturally to elementary students and art processes. The kids can identify with his work. It's easy for them to be inspired by Klee’s work because it looks like something they can create. 

Using Klee’s Art to Teach Abstract Portraits

In my abstract portrait art lesson, my students analyze Klee’s Senecio (otherwise known as Head of a Man Going Senile) from 1922 – a face that's divided into sections. It has warm colors and geometric shapes. The facial features are very stylized and broken into basic shapes, making the painting easy to draw.

In all my Paul Klee lesson plans, my students study his work and analyze it until they understand it. They create artwork using a game board with rolling number cubes as a prompt. (I recommend these dice/number cubes.) Then, they use a graphic organizer to compare their work to Klee’s. The comparison adds a reflective element to the lesson and allows students to respond to reflective questions. 

Encouraging Reflection and Analysis in Art Lessons

The analysis and reflection parts of the lessons are critical to art instruction because this is where the students get to think about their processes. Unfortunately, reflection and analysis are often overlooked in art classrooms because instructors skip to art-making. 

So, Paul Klee is a great artist to use with children. I have some lessons developed around his works with art-making and art analysis built-in. They're open-ended and have prompts that give students enough structure to help them succeed. The students can reflect on their work, closely work together, and then reflect on their process.

Final Thoughts: Lesson Plans to Inspire Creativity with Paul Klee

Using Paul Klee’s artwork as a teaching tool in elementary classrooms offers students the chance to explore art in a way that feels accessible, exciting, and thought-provoking. His childlike compositions and bold experimentation with different techniques provide endless opportunities for students to create and reflect on their own work.

By integrating art analysis and reflection into lessons inspired by Klee, students can deepen their understanding of the artistic process and develop critical thinking skills. Check out the lesson ideas I've developed around Klee’s work to inspire your students to experiment, create, and reflect just like this legendary artist.

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