Build an entire unit around literacy and art with these downloadable lesson plans from RIF.

Please note: In order to download these lesson plans, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer.  

Pre-K

• Colors of the Rainbow 
  Children will learn the basic concepts of primary and secondary colors and how to do crayon scratching similar to scratchboard illustrations, all through the use of colors represented in the rainbow.
  
  
• Finger Painting & Feather Painting with Nature
  Teach young children how to recreate the look and feel of objects in nature, also they will explore fingerpainting and painting with feathers.
  

Grades K-2

• Making Movable Books
  Help children understand the various parts of a book and their correct names, increasing their literacy skills.
  
  
• Paper Art
  Teach students the artistic styles that children’s book illustrators employ when using paper in illustrations such as cut paper collage, employing die-cut pages for effect, and using objects as a stencil for relief printing. 

Grades 3-5

• Book Swap
  Kids can experience the publishing process first-hand by playing the role of both the author and the illustrator. The twist? As in the publishing world, they will not be illustrating their own story.

Grades 6-8

• Art as Storyteller  
  By reading biographies and picture books about famous artists and carefully examining their work, students learn to “read” the story communicated in a painting.

Explore picture books as a class
with these engaging, hands-on art activities. 

Pre-K

• “Bumpy Road” Paint
• Color Magic
• Raised Relief Art

Grades K-2 

• Dough Modeling Sculpture
• Junk Sculpture
• Tasty Impressions
  

Grades 3-5

• Caldecott Cut Ups
• Collage
• Wordless Books

Grades 6-8

• Abstract Art
• Folk Art
• Fresh Fresco
  

For more activity ideas, try the Activity Database where you can search for ideas by category, keyword and age group.

View the following resources that we've compiled to help you use art themes to promote reading.

Booklists
Help your students find great book titles about artists, art history or other art themes.

• Great Books for Young Artists
• Books for Exploring Fun with Colors
• Artistic Discoveries
• Booklist for Museum Visits
• Books to Help Make Arts Part of Literacy Development
• Suggested Reading About Children's Book Illustrators

Web Resources
We've compiled several great web links for you to explore. Click here for a full list. Check out these featured links:

• Crayola's "Books & Beyond"
  http://www.crayola.com/educators/booksbeyond/index.cfm
  A fun site for all, the Crayola website focuses on reading, writing and crafts. Parents will find lots of activity ideas.  Kids can submit their artwork, play games and design e-cards.
• KinderArt
  http://www.kinderart.com
  This site offers the largest collection of free art lessons on the Internet. Parents will find an enormous collection of resources featuring art activity ideas.
• Picturing Books
  http://picturingbooks.imaginarylands.org
  A site devoted entirely to picture books, this website provides information about artistic media, the anatomy of a book and how to evaluate picture books.

Fun and Games for Kids
Visit the RIF Reading Planet Art Studio to find online activities for kids. Kids will have a blast with these web features:

• Riffington's Coloring Book
• Illustrate a Story
• Read It & Draw It
• Poetry In Pictures