SELF-PORTRAIT LESSON PLAN
Lesson Plan Prepared by Peach Tao, IG: @peacheeblue
GOALS
Thrive Collective provides project-based learning that teaches both art and life skills. To the
extent possible, every lesson plan provides three clear goals. First, what art skill, subject area,
or big idea is being taught (the art “learning”)? Second, what will the students produce by the
end of the class (the “project”)? Third, how does that art skill translate into an everyday life skill
(the life “learning”)?
1. This class will teach students the importance of story-telling and attention to details in
order to make a drawing more interesting and profound.
2. By the end of the class, students will complete a self-portrait, filled with as many
elements of oneself as possible. The ending presentation will have students guess
whose self-portrait belongs to whom.
3. Students will be introduced to how the art skill relates to life outside the classroom by
gaining knowledge of many cultural and historic backgrounds and learning the
importance of attention to details and a deeper sense of self-awareness and
self-reflection.
MATERIALS
Blank paper, color markers, crayons, and/or color pencils.
EXPECTATIONS
Students are expected to finish a self-portrait which can tell us as much about one person as
possible. The paper should be filled with elements that include, but limited to:
1. The representation of one person (face, full body, profile)
2. Their cultural background, life stories, family, etc.
3. Their favorite food, things, activities, etc.
4. Their fears, hopes, dreams, etc.
5. Color patterns, color splashes, and more
WHAT TO SHOW
The teacher can take about 7 min to show a slideshow, consisting of art pieces by artists such
as Frida Khalo, Paul Klee, Arcimboldo (Italian painter who paints faces made of vegetables),
etc.
WHAT TO TELL
A great way to introduce the lesson plan is to demonstrate drawing yourself while telling
personal stories about you and the item or part you are drawing until you have filled the page.
This will help the kids understand how to interpret their own stories into visual arts and help
build rapport amongst your class.
CLASS OUTLINE (Roughly 50 Minutes)
PROJECT: SELF-PORTRAIT WITH STORIES
OBJECTIVE
The main purpose of this project is to get the students to review themselves and ask what
makes them unique? How would they like to present themselves to the world? Additionally, they
will gain art and life skills such as:
● Drawing from life and observation.
● Drawing as a way of seeing, sharing, and remembering.
● Self-reflection, observance, openness, and respect.
STEP 1 (20-25 Minutes)
DEMO (5-10 Minutes)
Start by telling the students about yourself and at the same time drawing out your face, full
body, profile, your favorite pose, etc., in the center of the paper.
While drawing the face, ask the students to observe your facial features. Ask them many
questions to have them observe details they normally would not notice, such as:
● How long is my hair?
● What is the shape of my eyebrow?
● What color is my eyeliner?
Ask the students to use their hands and feel the contours of their own face. What shape do they
notice? Have them feel the curves in their ears and touch their eyebrows. Get them to notice as
many details about their face as possible.
Beyond facial features, ask them about items you may be wearing such as jewelry and give
them a story behind it and why you wear it. If it’s from a particular country, ask them if they know
about that country and what it’s famous for. Use those items as a chance to tell more about you
or about the world.
Next, ask them about what mood you might be portraying. Have them associate that emotion
with a color. If they are unable to do so, explain why certain colors symbolize certain emotions.
CLASS WORK (15 Minutes)
Have the students start drawing their self-portraits. First let the students work in the center of the
paper on their own appearances. Let them decide if they want to do just a face, the whole body,
or a profile. Allow them to decide what hairstyle, outfit, or accessories to go with it.
Note: Encourage the students NOT to just draw a circle for mouth or face but to observe
themselves and talk out loud about the shapes of their faces, mouths, eyes, eyebrows, and hair.
GROUP CHECK-IN / PRESENTATIONS
Students’ center piece should be done at the end of 15 minutes.
STEP 2 (25-30 minutes)
DEMO (5-10 Minutes)
Now that the center piece is done, in the surrounding areas, draw elements of your home
country. Using China as an example , elements you can include could be soup dumplings,
noodles, chopsticks, the great wall, temples etc. At the same time, you could ask them: “Do you
know what country this is? Can you guess where I’m from?”
Tell them some of your favorite things to do while you draw them out. Ask about their own
favorite activities like sports, games, foods, etc. Draw images about where you’ve traveled to
with images of suitcases, airplanes, etc. Use those as an opportunity to ask where they’ve been
and where they would like to travel to.
Keep drawing and asking questions until the paper is full. At the end, do a review of the portrait
with the students, letting them summarize your life based on what they see and remember from
the drawing.
CLASS WORK (15 Minutes)
Have the students start filling in their self-portraits. Keep reminding them of some key questions.
Note: Encourage the students to draw as many elements as possible to fill the paper.
If they are not good at drawing, have them write things out in colorful lettering instead, such as
“I love my cat,” “I like my sister,” etc.
GROUP CHECK-IN / PRESENTATIONS (10 Minutes)
After about 15-20 minutes, the students’ portraits should be done. Have the students show their
drawings one by one, as the artist hides behind their drawings.
Ask the other students to talk about what they saw and what they can learn about the artist from
this drawing and see if they can guess who the artist is.
