Do your students struggle with value shading and making their drawings look 3D? Are you looking for a Valentine’s Day art lesson that doesn’t feel like a baby craft—but still feels fun, seasonal, and display-worthy? Do you want a lesson that teaches real art skills like tints, shades, highlights, shadows, overlap, and depth, while also giving you assessment + reflection tools that work for upper elementary?

This Valentine’s Day Value Heart Art Project is a complete, print-and-teach Grades 3–6 art lesson that blends oil pastel value techniques with a bold watercolor resist background for a finished piece that looks professional on a hallway wall. Students create layered hearts with strong highlights and shadows, then paint over swirling white pastel designs to reveal a vibrant Valentine background (the “WOW” moment happens in Step Six).

This is the kind of lesson that makes students say:
“WAIT… mine actually looks 3D!”
…and makes you think: “Finally. A Valentine lesson that teaches something legit.”

WHY TEACHERS BUY THIS ONE

Because it solves real February problems:

• Need a Valentine art lesson for older grades that doesn’t feel juvenile? ✅
• Want a project that teaches value + shading in a way kids actually understand? ✅
• Want a reliable lesson that fills 2–3 class periods with calm focus? ✅
• Need a lesson with rubrics, reflections, peer feedback, and artist statements already included? ✅
• Want stunning results without complicated materials? ✅

WHAT THIS RESOURCE INCLUDES (NON-EDITABLE)

This resource is 34 pages and includes:

Teacher Prep + How to Use

• About the Resource page with prep steps, teaching tips, and how to present the step-by-step visuals (Page 2)

Critical Thinking + Discussion

• A full page of Critical Thinking Questions to guide artistic thinking, risk-taking, art-making decisions, identity, and viewing art (Page 3)

Lesson Plan (Detailed + Ready to Teach)

• Lesson Plan: Value, Valentine’s Heart including:
  
  • lesson overview
  • materials list (oil pastels, cardstock/thick paper, watercolor paint + brushes + water, with option to use tempera)
  • participation strategy (Whiteboard Splash prompt)
  • poem hook suggestion
  • standards/curricular connections (Pages 4–6)

Hook + Reading

• Valentine’s Day Poem to read aloud as your lesson hook (Page 7)
• Student-friendly nonfiction reading: About Valentine’s Day (Page 9)

Student Pages

• Warm-Up Art Challenge page (Page 8)
• Title/Cover Page: “Hearts – Valentine’s Day” (Page 10)
• KWL Chart: Valentine’s Day (Page 13)
• Rubric: Valentine’s Day, Value Hearts (Page 11)

Step-by-Step Art Project (Visual + Text)

• How-to Create: Valentine’s Hearts overview (Page 12)
• Example Image (Page 25)
• Step One – Step Seven full-page instructions:
  
  • Step 1: draw 5 overlapping hearts (depth through overlap) (Page 26)
  • Step 2: add white highlights + light black shadows (Page 27)
  • Step 3: color one heart with a choice color to blend with tint/shade (Page 28)
  • Step 4: color all hearts with choice colors (Page 29)
  • Step 5: background dots + white pastel swirls (Page 30)
  • Step 6: paint entire background red watercolor to reveal resist swirls (Page 31)
  • Step 7: done + final polish (Page 32)

Upper Elementary Reflection + Assessment Tools

This is where it’s extra strong for Grades 3–6:

• Art Reflection: Analyze Elements & Principles (Page 15)
• Art Reflection: Message / Meaning (Page 14)
• Questions & Wonders reflection (Page 16)
• Goal Setting partner reflection (Page 17)
• Materials + Techniques reflection (Page 18)
• Artwork Reflection pages (Pages 19–20)
• Peer Feedback page (Page 21)
• 3 Stars and a Wish reflection (Page 22)
• Artist Statement pages (Pages 23–24)