7th/8th Mixed Grades

My Story In Color

Students create a small book or zine that showcases their thoughts, interests, and personal imagery. Students plan their pages in advance, design each spread with drawings or mixed media, and have the option to sew the booklet together.
This project allows students to express their identity while demonstrating the skills they already have, practicing planning and sequencing, and exploring simple bookmaking techniques.

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Paper Characters

Students create an original movable paper character inspired by their interests, hobbies, or personality. Students design the figure, construct articulated parts using paper, brass fasteners, and straw tubes for simple movement, and assemble the character so its parts can shift or rotate.
This project encourages creativity and personal expression while helping students practice drawing, cutting, construction, and basic mechanical movement. It also supports students in developing their personal art style through expressive features, patterns, and individualized design choices.

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Mini-Lesson: Expressions

Students use mirrors and their own faces as reference to create eight thumbnail sketches showing different facial expressions and emotions. Students observe changes in eyebrows, eyes, and mouth shape to capture each expression accurately.
This project builds observational drawing skills, helps students understand how facial features communicate emotion, and supports their ability to create expressive characters and portraits in future work.

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Mini-Lesson: Patterns

Students practice creating patterns inspired by both natural forms and graphic design. Students observe patterns found in plants, animals, and textures, then compare them to geometric or stylized patterns seen in design.
This project helps students develop an understanding of repetition, rhythm, and visual organization while strengthening their ability to design both organic and structured patterns.

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Change the Channel

Students work in groups to create a historical period diorama that fits inside a small “TV” frame. Each group designs a scene using mixed media and builds clear foreground, middle ground, and background layers to create depth.
This project encourages collaboration, research, and creative problem-solving while helping students understand spatial layering, narrative storytelling, and mixed-media construction.

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Mini-Lesson: Layers of Space

Students create layered, collage-style artworks that emphasize foreground, middle ground, and background. Using specific colored papers, students demonstrate color and value to create the illusion of space, and use size, placement, and detail to show depth within each layer.
This project helps students understand spatial composition and atmospheric depth while practicing intentional layering, color relationships, and visual organization.

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Mini-Lesson: Haunted Windows

Students choose a colored paper and cut it into a window shape, then sketch and outline window frames using marker. Students fill the panes with spooky-themed silhouettes that create strong visual interest.
This project emphasizes contrast and balance, helping students understand how dark shapes interact with a colored background to create a clear and compelling composition.

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