Northern Lights Winter Art Project Winter Art Lesson Caribou Winter Art Activity

This Northern Lights Winter Art Lesson guides students through drawing a caribou set against the aurora borealis and a snowy landscape. It celebrates the winter season and connects art with geography and environmental studies as a cross-curricular project.

Students develop drawing, blending and shading techniques with pencil crayon, soft pastels and paint, creating depth, light and atmosphere, and experimenting with color layering and contrast to bring the Northern Lights to life. The guided, step-by-step format helps students of all skill levels complete their own winter artwork.

WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING

★★★★ “My students loved this activity. They were fully engaged throughout the process. The directions are easy to follow. The finished drawings look great on our bulletin board.” Katy F.

WHAT'S INCLUDED (35 PAGES, NON-EDITABLE PDF)

• About the Resource, an introduction to the lesson and its learning objectives
• Lesson Plan (2 pages) with materials, learning outcomes, goals and "Teacher Does/Student Does" guided steps
• Winter Caribou Step-by-Step Drawing Handout
• Northern Lights Color Blending Guide with tips for a glowing aurora effect using soft pastels
• Art Piece Demonstration Step-by-Step, 25 slides with images and descriptions
• Example of Completed Art Piece
• Bulletin Board Display Sign
• Rubric for Art Piece assessing craftsmanship, technique, creativity and effort

HOW TO USE IT

Read the lesson plan for the steps and the materials list, and gather materials in advance. You may want to make a sample yourself first. Print the finished example in color to show students before the lesson (it's your hook), and photocopy the step-by-step handouts and rubrics.

Then show the step-by-step pages on a projector or under a document camera, or use them as your own guide while you demonstrate. Every step has both a visual and a text description, which keeps the lesson clear for students.

FAQ

What materials do I need?

Pencil, eraser, black felt marker, black paint (any kind), chalk pastels or soft pastels, card stock or thick paper, pencil crayons, a paint brush and water.

Does it connect to other subjects?

Yes. The winter landscape and caribou connect art with geography and environmental studies.

Is it editable?

No. It is a non-editable PDF.

ALL TEACHER REVIEWS (11)

★★★★ “students really enjoyed and had fun with this resource this year” Madison P.

★★★★ “super fun and easy to use! I like that it is guided!” Michelle D.

★★★ “I thought this would be a simple and creative project for my 6th graders..it ended up for some of my students..being a bit frustrating because they felt as if they couldn't get the image they ha in their mind. I felt they all turned out beautifully, even thought many didn't look like the sample. I liked that the project had room for individual vision and yet they all were harmonious on the bulletin board, I think my 7th graders would feel more successful with this.” susan B.

★★★★ “Easy to follow instructions enable the students to produce art pieces they were very proud of!” terry H.

★★★★ “Love this lesson! Students enjoyed adding the art aspect to the zoology lesson during Christmas!” mandy T.

★★★ “This lesson went over so well with students all their work turned out so nice.” Shelby C.

★★★★★ “Looks wonderful, can't wait to use it” Eman A.

★★★★★ “Loved doing this product with my students! Love the step by step instructions!” Eizabeth T.

★★★★★ “This is a great easy to use resource.” Korie A.

★★★★★ “Interesting science integration and good visuals. Could show more individual steps for drawing caribou.” Tricia S.

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. For clip art, you may use the images 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