Portraiture is a great way for the young child to explore the concept of self. This visual arts lesson plan for preschoolers can help students to learn about what people look like, how different people are alike and different, and build additional skills such as shape and color recognition.
Self-Portrait Preschool Art Lesson Objectives
- Explore portraiture as an art form.
- Explore and experiment with art materials and processes.
- Develop basic math skills such as shape recognition and understanding the part to whole relationship.
- Build vocabulary.
- Increase awareness of the concept of self.
- Recognize and name facial features.
- Build color recognition skills.
- Follow steps in a sequence.
Grade/ Age Level
This lesson plan can be used, or adapted for, children ages four and up.
Materials Needed to Create Preschool Self-Portraits
- Construction paper
- Markers or crayons
- Modeling clay
- Clear drying non-toxic school glue
- Children’s scissors
- Yarn
- Tempera paint
- Paint brushes
Steps to Create Early Childhood Self-Portrait Art Project
Pre-activity
Discuss what portraits are with the class. The word portrait is probably a new word for most preschool aged children. Share a simple definition such as, "A portrait is a picture of a person". To enhance critical thinking skills, try showing a portrait before giving the definition. Ask the children to create their own definitions of what a portrait might be based on what is viewed.
Connect the concept of portraiture with the self-portrait. Ask each child what he or she will include in a self-portrait. Focus on specific attributes or features that the children might recognize such as hair color, shapes, or eye color. It may be helpful to have the children look into a mirror first and explain what they see.
Pre-planning/Preparing
- Create a head template for each child to use. The self-portrait will be from the shoulders up (focusing on the face). Draw an oval that is large enough to fill most of an 8 x 10 piece of paper.
- Get the materials ready. This includes pouring paint onto trays or palettes, and counting out brushes. Additionally, all other items used such as markers, crayons, glue, scissors, yarn, and clay should be brought out. Make sure to set these materials off to the side. Try to avoid overwhelming the children with too many materials choices at once.
Process Steps
- Give each child a piece of construction paper, head template, and marker (or crayon). Ask the children to trace the oval head onto the paper.
- Demonstrate how to draw two straight lines and shoulders below the head. Invite the children to try. Do not worry if the lines do not look realistic. The main goal in this section is for the children to experiment with drawing tools and lines.
- Have the children draw two, eyes, two ears, one nose, and one mouth onto the face.
- Using tempera paint and small brushes, the children can now add extra color to the self-portrait.
- Use yarn and glue (or paint) to add hair.
- Modeling clay can be used for embellishments or facial features such as lips or eyes. Simply ask the children to tear off small pieces and press firmly onto the paper. If the clay does not stick, add a small amount of glue to the paper behind it.
- Set aside to dry.
Self-Portrait Lesson Wrap Up
After the self-portraits have dried, display them in a prominent classroom space. Hold an art show and share, and ask the children to discuss these creations. Invite each child, one by one, to say something about his or her self-portrait. For those children who are unsure or tentative to talk about the art project, try one of these discussion starters:
- What colors were used, and why?
- How many eyes are on the face?
- How was the hair made?
- What art materials were used?
- What was fun about creating a self-portrait?
Preschool Classroom Enrichment Activities
Add to this fun art project by pairing it with other classroom lessons.
- Self-concept: This self exploratory art project is a perfect fit with a self-concept theme.
- Cultures: This can be a great way to introduce all of the different cultures in the classroom.
- Math: Use this project to help explain the part to whole relationship by building shapes into a picture.
- Early Literacy: Ask each child to tell a story about themselves that includes a beginning, middle, and end (it can be as short as three sentences). Write it or type it for the students, and display it with the artwork.
A self-portrait project can help young learners to discover art, self-concept, and much more. Introduce the concept of portraiture in a way that the children can easily understand. Allow the class to explore with a variety of art materials and processes, and watch as they create inspired mini-masterpieces!
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