### Basic Shapes Art Lesson Plan for Kindergarten
#### Objective:
Students will learn to identify and draw basic shapes (circle, square, triangle, and rectangle) and use these shapes to create simple drawings.
#### Materials Needed:
1. Construction paper in various colors
2. Scissors
3. Glue sticks
4. Crayons, markers, and colored pencils
5. Large poster board or chart paper
6. Shape templates (circle, square, triangle, rectangle)
7. A book with illustrations of shapes (e.g., "Mouse Shapes" by Ellen Stoll Walsh)
#### Lesson Duration:
1 hour
#### Lesson Outline:
1. **Introduction (10 minutes):**
- Greet students and explain that today they will be learning about basic shapes.
- Show them the shape templates one by one and name each shape: circle, square, triangle, and rectangle.
- Discuss everyday objects that resemble these shapes. For example, "A pizza can look like a circle," "A book is often a rectangle," etc.
2. **Story Time (10 minutes):**
- Read a book that features shapes in its illustrations, such as "Mouse Shapes" by Ellen Stoll Walsh.
- As you read, pause to point out the shapes and ask the children to identify them.
3. **Guided Practice (15 minutes):**
- Gather students around a large poster board or chart paper.
- Using the shape templates, draw a large example of each shape on the board.
- Ask students to come up and trace the shapes with crayons or markers.
- Discuss the characteristics of each shape (e.g., "A square has four equal sides").
4. **Hands-On Activity (20 minutes):**
- Give each student a piece of construction paper, safety scissors, and a set of shape templates.
- Demonstrate how to trace and cut out each shape from the construction paper.
- Have students cut out at least one of each shape.
- Once they have all their shapes cut out, give them a blank sheet of construction paper to glue their shapes onto, creating a "Shape Picture." Encourage creativity; they could create a house using rectangles and triangles, a flower using circles, etc.
5. **Clean-Up and Review (5 minutes):**
- Guide students to clean up their work areas.
- Gather everyone back together and ask a few students to share their "Shape Picture" with the class and identify the shapes they used.
- Recap the shapes learned today and ask questions like, “Can anyone find something in the classroom that looks like a triangle?”
6. **Closure (5 minutes):**
- Praise the students for their hard work and creativity.
- Sing a simple shape song or rhyme to reinforce learning (e.g., "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.").
- Remind students to look for shapes at home and share them with their families.
### Assessment:
- Observe students’ participation during guided practice and hands-on activity.
- Evaluate each student's "Shape Picture" for correct identification and use of shapes.
### Reflection:
After the lesson, reflect on what worked well and what could be improved. Consider whether the students were engaged and if any concepts need to be revisited in future lessons.