Art standards for fourth-graders include lessons in the elements of art. Texture is one of the elements that students can demonstrate with a piece of paper and a crayon. Have students draw a picture using stick figures. Use texture from bricks on the wall, items in their pockets and other textures around the room to create details in the pictures. For example, the texture of a brick helps create a building or a coin will form the top of a table. Blend the drawings and the textures together to make a work of art.
Give students five 15-inch pieces of colored wire and a piece of corrugated cardboard. Have students cut geometric shapes from the cardboard to form the chest and hips of the body. Form a loop with two wires and twist it together to form a head. Push the wire through one cardboard shape. Make a couple twists of the wire below the cardboard. Separate the wires into two sections of two and put them through the second geometric shape. Twist the wires together to form legs and feet. Add two more wires through the "chest" cardboard and twist it to create arms. Use the fifth piece of wire to form hair to complete the lesson in line.
Give each fourth-grade child a thin sheet of cardboard and glue raised, geometric shapes on them using pipe cleaners, material, corrugated cardboard shapes and sewing items, such as rickrack. Use a roller and paint the entire project one color. Lay a complementary-colored sheet of construction paper over the cardboard. Use a dry paint roller and press down and roll it over the paper at least two times. Gently remove the paper and lay it flat to dry. Use the same pattern with reversed colors. For example, use orange paint with blue paper and then blue paint with orange paper.
Fourth-graders require instruction in the art element of shape. Use a simple still-life form, such as containers and fruit, to create a two-dimension picture. Sketch the shapes of the items, round, triangular, square or rectangular. Trace the shapes with blue paint. Outline the items on one side with light blue. Use a darker blue on the other side, showing the play of light. Add shadows to the items. As you fill in the shapes with details, use the actual colors of the items, but pay attention to the blue coloring. The correct shading will give the picture a two-dimensional look.
Provide each student with a black and white picture of themselves. Take quick pictures on your digital camera and copy them on the printer using only gray-scale. Give each student a piece of drawing paper and a drawing pencil. They should replicate the picture of themselves to show an understanding of value, the dark and light, including shading and highlighting a piece in art. Depth and dimension will be created with the use of darker and lighter shading.
Form involves the use of 3-D projects. Give each student at least 1/2 pound of air-dry clay. Allow them to choose their own subject and form it into a representative shape. Students can roll the clay to create snakes or pots, pinch the clay to form pots or squeeze it. Allow the clay to dry and add a lesson in color by allowing students to paint their creations using their own color design.