Substitute Lesson Plan: Drawing Basics — Exploring Line

Objective

Students will use the Drawing Basics textbook (Chapter 3: Exploring Line) to learn about the visual element of line — including line quality, direction, and characteristics — and will practice contour line drawing and basic mark-making techniques.

Materials

• Drawing Basics textbook (Chapter 3: Exploring Line, pages 40–52)
• Plain paper (one or more sheets per student)
• Pencils or pens
• A simple object for students to look at (a shoe, a water bottle, a hand, or any classroom object)

Warm-up (~5 min)

1. Have students open their textbooks to Chapter 2: Observational Drawing, and briefly look at the section title "Learning How to See" (p. 31).
2. Ask students to spend one minute simply looking at an object in the room (their shoe, a bottle, their own hand) without drawing — just noticing its outline and edges.
3. Briefly discuss as a class: "What did you notice about the edges/outline of the object?" This sets up the idea of line and contour used in the main activity.

Main Activity (~25 min)

1. Direct students to Chapter 3: Exploring Line in the textbook and have them silently read the section "Exploring the Nuances of Line in Art: Line Quality, Direction & Characteristics" (p. 41).
2. As a class or in pairs, have students identify and jot down the terms used in that section heading (line quality, direction, characteristics) as a short list in their notes.
3. Have students read the section "The Role of Contour Line in Basic Drawing" (p. 43).
4. Drawing Exercise: Using the same object from the warm-up, students create a contour line drawing — drawing only the outline/edges of the object with a continuous line, without shading.
5. Have students then read the section "Techniques in Mark Making" (p. 48).
6. On the back of their paper or a new sheet, students experiment freely, making a variety of marks with their pencil/pen, exploring different line qualities and directions as introduced in the chapter.
7. Circulate and remind students there is no "wrong" way to make marks — the goal is exploration of line quality and direction as described in the text.

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

Have students answer the following on a slip of paper to turn in:

1. In your own words, what is a contour line?
2. Name one line quality or characteristic mentioned in Chapter 3.
3. Which mark-making exercise did you find most interesting, and why?

If Time Remains

Have students briefly look ahead to Chapter 4: Exploring Value, specifically the section "Value Shading Techniques" (p. 63). Ask them to add simple shading to their contour line drawing from the main activity, previewing how value will build on the line work done today.