Winter Cardinal Art Lesson Winter Art Project for Kids Winter Art Activity

The bright red of a cardinal stands out beautifully against a snowy background. In this Winter Cardinal Art Project, students use oil pastels and paint to create a bold cardinal perched in a winter scene. It works as a Christmas art project or a seasonal winter lesson.

With step-by-step instructions, students layer color, blend oil pastels and add texture with paint to bring their cardinal to life. The lesson is low prep and suits elementary and middle school students, and the finished pieces make an eye-catching bulletin board display or classroom decoration.

WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING

★★★★ “This is an excellent resource. It is so easy to use. I love how it outlines each step of the art activity and each step is very easy. At first students see the finished product and say "I can't draw that." Yet as they go through each step their mindset changes and they say "wow, this is actually pretty easy to draw." I will certainly purchase more art lessons from this seller.” Melissa PF

WHAT'S INCLUDED (NON-EDITABLE)

• 2-Page Detailed Lesson Plan with materials, learning objectives and step-by-step teacher guidance
• Grading Rubric
• Winter Cardinal Step-by-Step Drawing Handout to help students draw their bird
• Art Piece Demonstration with step-by-step descriptions and images (25 slides)
• Poster Example of a completed Winter Cardinal art piece for display and inspiration

HOW TO USE IT

Look over the lesson plan and gather your materials in advance: pencil, eraser, black marker, card stock or watercolor paper, gray paint (any kind, watered down) and oil pastels, plus a class set of the step-by-step drawing handout and rubric. You may want to make a sample yourself first so you can help students later.

Print the poster sample in color and show it before the lesson as your hook. Then project the step-by-step pages from the PDF, show them under a document camera, or use them as your own guide while you demonstrate. Every step has a visual and a text description, so students can follow along clearly.

FAQ

What grades is this for?

Elementary and middle school students.

What materials do I need?

Pencil, eraser, black marker, card stock or watercolor paper, watered-down gray paint and oil pastels.

Is it editable?

No. It is non-editable.

Get free, classroom-ready art lessons and printables in my Free Art Lesson Library.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen McGiveron (Ms Artastic) is an artist who has been featured on NBC LX News and designs art lessons for kids and educational resources for teachers. She is the founder of Ms Artastic and hosts the Ms Artastic YouTube Channel and Podcast.

TERMS OF USE

Images and lessons are copyright products.

YOU MAY: use this in creative ways and have as much fun with it as you like. Clip art may be used as clip art, website graphics, binder covers or bulletin board decorations. Additional licenses are available for school use.

YOU MAY NOT: share it with other teachers, administration or districts (admin can buy additional licenses), sell it, give it out for free or photocopy it for others.

Sincerely,

Ms Artastic

ALL TEACHER REVIEWS

★★★★★ “Great Lesson and step by step drawing directions! Thanks!” Jamie E.

★★★★★ “These came out great!” Debbie L.

★★★★★ “Great project. My students were amazed that they could draw beautiful cardinals. They add the perfect winter decor to our room!” Celia C.

★★★★★ “Easy to use, great final product!” Rebecca M.

★★★★★ “My students were so excited about how nice these turned out. Thank you!” Caitlyn L Wilkinson

★★★★★ “I love all of your art lessons! I’ll be using this project this year.” melissa C.

★★★★★ “Considering my students completed this with a supply teacher, it came out pretty good! They also enjoyed it.” brooke W.

★★★★★ “These turned out amazing!” Lisa G.

★★★★★ “The instructions are really great. My classes artwork came out great!” Amanda M.

★★★★★ “Directions and examples are easy to follow. It helps build confidence in the students. Thanks!” Lindsie W.

★★★★★ “i loved this, and so did my kids. They were amazed at what they could do” Lada k.

★★★★★ “There is a lot of detail in this art lesson. Students really appreciated it.” Darlene M.