5th Grade Personal Logos

Most of the lessons in 5th grade revolve around careers in the art field. When I was in elementary school, I don't think that I truly understood that all artists weren't just professional fine artists. After graduating from art school, I now know how many careers relate directly to visual art. I want my students understand that. 

The first project for 5th grade this year is based on the career of a graphic designer. Students were asked to design a logo that represents themselves. We really dove into a lot of professional examples and dissected them to figure out what makes a good logo work. We spent a lot of time on thumbnail sketches. A lot of time. Most students 20+ thumbnail sketches. After a couple rounds of peer review, students created two second drafts, then eventually made a large version of the final logo. 

I really like this project because it allows students to demonstrate their thinking throughout the entire design process. The final work is mounted along with the thumbnail sketch and second draft that most closely resemble the final logo. The final work turns out very nice and it allows me to get to know my students a little better. 

Click here to download my lesson plan!

This student enjoys hunting. What a well done logo!

5th Grade Personal Logos

Close-up of selection of original sketches for one logo. 

This project has quickly become one of my favorites in 5th grade. I feel like I'm constantly coming up with cool projects for my older students and I don't have enough time to teach them all. 

The underlying theme with my 5th graders is careers in art. Not every project hits on it, but many of the 5th grade projects directly relate to potential art related jobs. It's pretty obvious that this is one of those projects. 

For this project, each student comes up with a personal logo. We get really in-depth about the design process. Students usually come up with at least 20 thumbnail sketches before getting together with two friends for peer reviews. They then create two second drafts in color before choosing the final design. I would love to have the kids do their final art on the computer, but computer access isn't terribly easy here and I don't have access to color printer anyway. We rock the colored pencils instead. The final logo is presented along with a selection of first and second draft sketches. 

Check out the full lesson plan here! 

5th Grade Art Career Choice Project

When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a paleontologist. I liked art, but my elementary art "program" was hit or miss. I think a parent even volunteered to teach art for a year or two when our art teacher was out due to budget cuts. I had a basic idea of what art was about, but I had no idea that it could actually turn into a job someday. Even throughout high school, I really didn't have a good understanding of how many careers are associated with art. Then I went to Columbus College of Art & Design.

I want my students to know that there are all kinds of art careers that are out there. I designed this project as a way for students to familiarize themselves with art careers and also a culmination of skills from elementary school. 

After learning about various art careers, each student had to fill out a fill out a project proposal sheet. They designed their own project around a specific art career. I wanted my students to have as much input as possible for this project. At the same time, I wanted to make sure each student planned a complex enough project for it to take 5-6 art classes. I reviewed each proposal, made notes for the students, then let them get to work the next class. 

Even with almost every single student doing something entirely different, I was impressed by how smoothly the project ran. The first week was a bit of a struggle helping each student get started with different materials, but the following classes were incredibly smooth. I only wish I had started the project a week or two earlier. We wound up running out of school year before some kids were able to finish. 

A purse made for a little sister.

Painting of birch trees using watercolor and colored pencil.

House model using various papers. Check out the amazing level of detail on the inside!

Baseball team logo redesign.

A fashion line by a very talented girl.

Fashion design - small model.

Personal art museum using miniatures of art he did this year.

Horse sculpture made from sticks. Wow.

Video game cover design.

Watercolor and tempera painting.

Students creating clothing samples.

Writing a game program using characters he developed!

Everyone was super busy with their projects.

I didn't write a true lesson plan for this project due to the fact that it was different for every student. If you want to give this project a try, using the project proposal form with your students would be helpful.