14 Easy Art Sub Plans for Elementary

Easy art sub plans for elementary – is there such a thing? Being out for even a single day is more work than actually teaching! Scrambling to figure out engaging, no tech art sub plans for elementary kids can be incredibly stressful and time-consuming. There’s nothing worse than being sick and thinking, “And now I have to write emergency lesson plans?”

Emergency Art Sub Plans (No Prep Required)

In my 20 years of teaching elementary art, writing emergency sub plans was the worst. Especially early on when I didn’t know what would actually work for a sub.

So what do you leave for an elementary art substitute in a pinch? Here’s a list of some easy art sub plans that I’ve used in my own art room in case of an emergency. Some of these you can prep during the summer to set yourself up for success in the fall. Others are things you can quite literally print and go.

1) Design Your Own Worksheets

I love letting students pick one of these easy ‘Design Your Own’ activities. They get an engaging art project that stretches their brain. And I get the joy of a no-prep emergency plan. Bonus points because it uses basic art materials like crayons, colored pencils, or markers.

Pro tip: I keep a labeled ‘Sub Day Supplies’ bin with crayons, colored pencils, and markers so subs aren’t digging through my cabinets.

2) Finish the Drawing Worksheets

When you’re absent? Not a lot will get done. And the kids? They’ll act like they have two left hands and can’t hold a pencil in either. You really need to have easy art sub plans in place that will get them moving.

One way to do that is with finish the drawing worksheets. Draw out some simple objects on the page – a skateboard, surfboard, glass bottle, whatever. Kids have to be creative and draw something to complete the unfinished picture.

3) Finish the Picture Worksheets

Just like the finish the drawing worksheets, these finish the picture activities require the child to complete them how they see fit. The difference here is an object is placed on the page to prompt them. A lot of room is left for students to interpret how they want to complete the picture. I always get such fun and silly drawings back!

4) Zentangle Templates for Kids

In the handful of times I’ve had to call out last minute, having some already printed zentangle worksheets has been a lifesaver! Even better is they’re tied to the nearest holiday or season to keep kids working while I’m absent.

5) Art Choice Boards

Art choice boards are like a restaurant menu in that students can select what they want to do off the menu of ideas. They’re similar to a list of sketchbook assignments. I suggest actually designing one to read like a menu or a gallery to get your class excited about it.

I think the beauty of art choice boards is that “choice” is the main aspect of the lesson. Happy students are more likely to be content, especially when you’re absent.

Pro tip: I print my kindergarten choice boards on red paper, first grade on orange, second grade on yellow, and so on. Then I laminate them. It makes grabbing the right grade level super quick for my subs.

One Day Art Sub Plans

Sometimes you know you’re going to be absent and you need an easy art sub plan for one class period. These ideas are low-prep, engaging, and require minimal clean-up. I like to make copies in advance for my emergency art sub binder.

6) Kindergarten Paper Crafts

Am I the only one who struggles with what to leave kindergarten? It has to be simple enough for kinders to handle and the art sub teacher to not get frustrated with too many steps or student inattention. Trust me, the simpler the better. I learned this the hard way when I left construction paper for my sub to cut so kids could trace their craft shapes onto. I came back to so much wasted paper!

So keep it easy with some no prep paper crafts! These are designed to look like cute art supplies.

7) Roll A Dice Games for Grades 1-5

Idle hands are no good. They lend themselves to getting in trouble. Especially when you’re absent. So keeping students engaged for a sub is important. That’s the beauty of roll a dice games. I’ve found these keep even my chattiest classes focused because they’re invested in what they’ll roll next.

Roll the die. Collect the parts, designs, or patterns needed to create the piece. And then color it in. Easy peasy!

The best part about them is that they’re not always something to be completed in a 30 – 45 minute class. So when you come back from being absent and you need time to catch up, have your class finish their drawing. It’ll give you time to catch up from being gone.

When you’re absent, the best thing you can do is leave limited supplies. So think of lessons like this Romero Britto roll and draw game that only use markers. And consider having all your other sub plans be as easy as one type of material.

8) Elements of Art and Principles of Design Worksheets for 3-5 (Upper Elementary)

Do you focus on the elements and principles of design in your art lessons? I use them in big and small ways during every unit I teach. And each element of principle is taught using a spiral curriculum. For example, I teach about color every year, building on what kids learned the previous year.

I love using these elements and principles interactive booklets to reinforce concepts at every grade level. They’re coloring, drawing pictures, and doing enough writing to count as literacy in the Arts.

Quick Art Sub Plans (15-30 Minutes)

Have you ever been pulled into a last minute meeting? Had to rush off to a last minute doctor appointment? The following activities are as easy as running off copies or cutting paper into small cards to create miniature artworks. Plus, they work for several grade bands, so less planning to do!

9) Artist Trading Cards

I’m such a huge fan of artist trading cards. They work for everything. Need a fast finisher activity? Quick art sub plan? Fun Friday activity? Artist trading cards are an awesome way to keep your classes motivated to be creative while you’re absent.

They can be created with any materials. So give the sub access to markers, crayons, colored pencils, and a stack of pre-cut cards, and you’re all set! Bonus points: they’re great for all grade levels!

For younger grade levels, I’ll leave a specific artist trading card task for them to complete along with an example artwork. For older grades, the work is self-guided.

10) Directed Drawing Worksheets

Chances are your students have encountered step by step directed drawing worksheets before. They’re quite popular in arts and craft stores where you can purchase them in book form. The beauty of them is they break down the drawing process into small, manageable bits. So kids feel like they can tackle drawing something challenging.

My upper elementary kids especially love these. I’ve come back to find subs left notes saying ‘They were so proud of their drawings!’

11) Echo Drawing Worksheets

When you’re absent, it can be hard for a substitute teacher to be in your place and keep engagement up. One way to do that is to have a 2 – 3 small activities for students to complete. Echo drawing worksheets are quick drawing activities where kids copy the lines and shapes to see if they can match them. 

They make great bellringers to warm-up for the lesson, too!

12) Geoboard Drawings

Real geoboards are wooden pegboards where students create shapes with colored rubber bands. But for the purposes of art class, especially one with a small budget, having a printable version of it makes the task more versatile.

While these are primarily used in math class to talk about area and perimeter, I like them for drawing in art class, too! Give each child a page. Have them use a black marker to draw the outline of an object in its most simplest form. And then fill them in with colored markers.

What’s great about geoboard worksheets is they force students into simplifying their ideas. Kids have to think creatively on how to best represent free-form shapes more geometrically. It’s a mind bender for sure!

Easy Art Sub Plans by Grade Level

Great art sub plans keep kids on-task, have predictable steps, and are above all classroom management wins for the substitute teacher. That’s why I’ve loved compiling mini booklets for kids to use in my absence. While they do take me some prep time in the summer, they’re super easy to leave last minute. Simply leave them out with paper, crayons, and markers.

13) Easy Design Doodles Pattern Booklets

Drawing patterns and designs is a fun and simple assignment to leave for upper elementary students. Plus, it can be meditative and therefore relaxing.

First, make copies of step-by-step zentangle designs. Or, leave two Design Doodles interactive fans per table for the sub teacher along with drawing paper and markers.

Then, write your instructions to include some basics on what to draw or how to divide up the space into several areas using lines. Lastly, students fill in the areas with zentangle patterns.

It’s up to you if you choose to leave coloring materials. I prefer to leave just basic markers and colored pencils.

14) Sketchbook Prompts as Sub Plans

As an art teacher, you can never have enough fun and engaging sketchbook prompts on hand. They’re great for building foundational art skills. But they also make easy one day art sub plans for grades 1-5. 

Going to be absent? Simply make copies of your sketchbook list and leave them with basic art supplies. The only downside to a one-page sketchbook list is that if you’re absent several times, the list needs to be revised. Otherwise, they’ll get bored of it. And that always spells trouble for sub teachers.

That’s why I love sketchbook prompts made into a mini booklet!

It’s a “one and done” kind of resource. You can make two per table and it’ll keep kids busy for eons. Prep them in the summer. Hang them in your art room. Done!

Returning From Being Absent

Whether it was one class period, a single day, or a 3 month maternity leave, returning to the art room after being away can be stressful. While you’re gone you’re wondering what’s happening there. And when you return, you’re sometimes inspecting the scene of a crime.

Case in point: I once had a sub cover a class last minute while I ran to an unexpected meeting. While I was gone, the sub pulled out chalk pastels from the storage cabinet. I had said kids could use markers. But the students talked the sub into letting them use soft pastels which were hidden in my storage cabinet. YEP. I returned to clouds of dust all. over. the. room. Total nightmare moment.

Conclusion: Stick with Easy Art Sub Plans

If anything I say sinks in, let it be this: it’s important to manage your expectations of the substitute teacher, student behavior, and the quality of their work. Because stuff is definitely going to happen while you’re out.

The easier you keep things, the better off you’ll be. Also, the more prepared you are at the start of the year, the easier taking a personal day off or sending in last minute emergency sub plans will be.

I hope you were able to find something you needed based on the type of day you’ll be taking!