Painting is a constant throughout the spectrum of educational art lessons. At the kindergarten level, students often get the opportunity to experiment with paint through finger painting, stamps and stencil exercises. At the youngest levels,they often use acrylic or non-toxic paint that is easy to clean up. As students progress through the grades, especially once they reach high school, they are exposed to a variety of painting mediums, such as watercolor and oil painting. At the high school level, art students also study the lives of famous painters and may be taught to mimic the style of renowned artists as well as complete a research project on a celebrated painter.
Drawing lessons begin with crayons, evolve to colored pencils and can eventually include charcoal pencils or ink pens, depending on a student's course of study. In a student's earliest grades, he learns the basics of drawing different shapes and colors, and may be given assignments of drawing simple, recognizable objects. In elementary school, pencil and colored pencil drawings can be included in students' assignments for title pages and in appendices and diagrams. In high school, art classes, students learn more advanced elements of drawing, including shading, drawing with a variety of utensils and technical drawing.
When kindergarten students are given modeling clay to play with, they might not see it as an art lesson. But this experience, for many students, might spark an interest in pursuing art electives throughout school. At the high school level, students learn modeling with clay, plaster and other materials during lessons on sculptures in art class. They also learn about famous sculptures and may be tasked with mimicking the work of a famous artist for a term project.
Modern art is taught through several grades at school and is a vast topic that can cover many types of art. Modern art may simply be abstract art and may include elements of painting, drawing, sculpture and collage. Students are often taught about some of the 20th Century's renowned modern artists and, because many large cities have modern art museums, art classes may take field trips to study the works of the masters.