High School First Week of Art | Back-to-School Lesson Pack Grades 9–12

Start the school year with structure, creativity, and meaningful activities designed specifically for high school art students. This 51-page High School First Week of Art Pack gives teachers a flexible collection of lessons, student surveys, creative challenges, classroom-management tools, assessments, reflections, and teacher planning pages for grades 9–12. The resource includes four complete first-week lessons focused on artistic identity, creative problem-solving, collaboration, and baseline drawing skills. Teachers can follow the suggested five-day sequence or choose individual activities to fit shorter classes, block schedules, or introductory courses. Students begin the year by sharing interests, identifying creative strengths, setting art goals, reviewing studio expectations, collaborating with classmates, and reflecting on how they learn best. Why Teachers Will Love It - Provides a ready-to-use structure for the first week of art - Includes four complete lesson plans - Combines creativity with classroom routines and expectations - Helps teachers learn about students quickly - Includes baseline drawing and studio-habit assessments - Works with traditional, block, and mixed-level schedules - Includes teacher observation and planning tools - Can be used as a full week or broken into individual activities Perfect For - High school art classes - First week of school - Back-to-school art lessons - Introductory art courses - Mixed-level art classes - New semester resets - Student interest and skill assessment - Classroom routine introduction - Art teacher planning Skills & Concepts Students practice: - Artistic identity - Creative thinking - Drawing - Observation - Collaboration - Studio habits - Goal setting - Reflection - Critique - Problem solving - Planning - Self-assessment Materials Needed - Printed student pages - Pencil - Basic drawing supplies - Classroom art materials as needed for individual challenges Estimated Time Flexible — designed for approximately five class periods, with activities that can also be used individually. Teacher Tip Use the surveys, observation pages, and assessments to learn about your students while they are completing creative activities. The information gathered during the first week can help guide grouping, differentiation, project planning, and classroom routines throughout the semester.