“Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”
We recently had the honor of working with the English department at Pearson Online Academy to offer an Art Workshop, inspired by the poem or song “Imagine” by John Lennon, to their high school students. And now we’re sharing this inspiring activity with all of you, so we can all be dreamers with John and imagine a better world together.
You can facilitate or try this activity using any type of art supplies – crayons, colored pencils, markers, oil pastels, watercolor paints, acrylic paints, etc. – and you can even combine it with other techniques like the Crayon Resist Technique (see here for details). At minimum, you will need a piece of paper, pencil and/or pen (Sharpie recommended), and your preferred art medium to add color!
Allocate 10-15 minutes for a warmup. The specific recommended warm-up activity will depend on the age of the children, their needs, etc. However, here are some quick ideas for groups of participants:
Go around your group and ask each child to share their name and one adjective to describe themselves. You can create a virtual or visual circle, ask for volunteers, or use the chat. You could have the participants draw their name and adjective or write it. Zoom Idea: You could have them each participant edit their Zoom name to include their first name, adjective if not everyone can share their screen.
Do a quick feelings check-in with the participants. Use an image and have the students volunteer to share their answers or put their answer in the chat. Here’s a Beatles themed feelings check-in image that is a little more “advanced” for older children.
After your initial introductions and warm-up, you can briefly discuss the history of The Beatles and the world at the time John wrote the song (1971).
To warm up to the main art activity, you can review “Imagine” by John Lennon, taking a moment to listen to the full song while reviewing the lyrics. Before you play the song, ask yourself or your participants, “If there was one word to describe what John is imaging in his poem, what do you think it is?” Then play the song. At the end, use this as an opportunity for everyone to share their thoughts on the lyrics and their one word, knowing that there is no right or wrong answer. You can mention that the song has become an international anthem of peace and imagination.
Then, you can briefly introduce famous pop artist, Robert Indiana, as the visual inspiration for today’s art activity. You can show photos of his iconic LOVE pieces and comment on how Robert Indiana thought most people never stopped to think about the beauty of words and numbers.
Wrap up with the idea that imagination is powerful and words are powerful! With John Lennon’s Imagine song, as well as Robert Indiana’s powerful word art, we’re going to all imagine a better word together using words.
Here Are The “Imagine A Better World” Art Activity Instructions:
Pull out one piece of watercolor or mixed media paper (regular paper is ok too if that’s what you have!), and tell yourself or your participants that you’re going to each think of a word that ignites positivity and inspiration for a better world for everyone. Imagine… what if one word could change the world for the better. What would that word be for you? Proceed to follow the instructions in these slides:
This activity has a lot of flexibility, so you can adjust the examples for younger or older children with different skill levels. You can also tailor it to teaching certain art techniques.
For older children, we like to introduce the concept of Zentangle, or drawing pattern designs, and the meditative and therapeutic benefits of this method. In this activity, the participants can create or use patterns that reflect their chosen word.
Here’s an example of one of the drawings from our workshop participants:
If participants finish early or you have more than one hour together, you can ask participants to also write a haiku poem to go with their drawing and chosen word. They can title the haiku with the word used for their artwork! For the haiku, they can think about what this word means to them in their own lives – maybe they have a specific memory that comes to mind.
Once You’re Done…
When everyone is done with the activity, you can invite each participant to share their artwork and tell you about it, if they would like to do so. If they don’t feel quite comfortable sharing or are shy, you can propose they share just a glimpse of their artwork visually or their haiku in the chat. Or if they don’t want to share at all, you can ask them if they can simply share the word they chose, either verbally or in the chat (and you, the facilitator, can read it).
Once the artwork is dry, you can hang or frame it to inspire you and remind you to live your word for a better world! If you’re working with a group of participants, ask everyone to hold up their artwork, even if it’s not complete, so that you can imagine a better world together, with all of our words, and take a photo! It’s fun to see all the different words chosen to ignite positivity in our world. You can also have participants send photos of their artwork or upload it externally to create a digital collaborative piece.
Try this activity for yourself, with your kids at home, or those children that you support through volunteering or your work endeavors. Comment below to let us know how it goes. You can also post and tag us in your drawings @GiveKidsArt – we love to see their creations!
Need art supplies for your home, classroom, or organization?
We love using Color Swell art materials in our Art Kits and for our art programs, especially their watercolor paint sets. We originally found them on Amazon and have ordered their crayons, markers, paints, and oil pastels. They are great quality, while also being affordable and they offer bulk quantities. Plus, it’s a better deal to purchase on their website.
