Elementary

The Essential Questions
What symbols are commonly associated with specific holidays, and how do artists use them to convey meaning? How can we express the emotions and values associated with holidays through artwork?

Objective
Students will work collaboratively to create a coloring book, each picking a different holiday to illustrate digitally using the symmetry tool.

Materials
computers or tablets with a digital drawing app such as Procreate or Sketchbook

Procedures
1. Ask students to choose a holiday that is significant to them or that they find interesting. Holidays could include cultural celebrations, religious observances, national holidays, or personal events.
2. Explain that symmetry is a balanced arrangement of parts on either side of a dividing line or plane, where one side mirrors the other.
3. Introduce the digital drawing app chosen for the lesson and demonstrate how to use its symmetry tool.
4. Prompt students to illustrate a symmetrical coloring page using subjects and symbols that represent their chosen holiday. (Remind them not to color it in!)
5. Allow students to share their work with each other digitally to color each other’s work.
Optional: Print out the pages to create a physical coloring book for the class or to share with other grade levels.

Assessment
Students should show their understanding of symmetry by pointing out the line(s) of symmetry in their work or the work of their classmates or by explaining how their drawing relates to the holiday they chose.

Jessie Grubb is a digital art teacher at Fairview Elementary School in Bloomington, Indiana.