13 Winter Lessons with Substance

For most of us, December brings cooler temps and the craziness of the holiday season. If you’re looking for some seasonally appropriate lessons that go beyond cute snowmen and reindeer, check out all of these great options for every grade level from our archives. Warm wishes!

K-2 Lessons

Winter Birch Trees

Have your students experiment with different watercolor techniques while creating stunning work.

Pastel Landscapes

Use cool colors to take this lesson from warm weather to winter!

Artists Know How to Be Safe

The nuttiness of the holiday season is a perfect time to review art room safety with your students.

3-5 Lessons

Winter Castles

This is a great architecture lesson with a little added sparkle.

Chinese Dragons

Chinese New Year starts February 8th, 2016. Start these stunning dragons now for a spectacular celebratory display.

Russian Buildings

Add a little white paint to the tops of these completed buildings for a magical winter touch.

Middle School Lessons

Radial Printmaking

Use whites and blues to make these look like snowflakes.

Painted Paper Landscapes

Use cool colors to give these landscapes a wintery feel.

Oil Pastel Nature Drawings

Choose seasonally appropriate imagery like pinecones, frost patterns, or evergreen needles for this beautiful project.

High School Lessons

12 Days of Photoshop and Another 12 Days of Photoshop

Get your students in the holiday mood with some festive graphic design.

Narrative Photography

Encourage students to create their own winter narratives. You may want to look to classic stories like The Snow Queen for cross-curricular inspiration.

Bleached T-Shirts

Take this lesson to the next level by requiring students to design a second t-shirt to give as a holiday gift.

Whatever lessons you choose, I hope the next few weeks are as stress-free as possible. Winter Break isn’t far away!

What are your favorite winter lessons?
Share your examples in the comment section below!