Create a heartfelt, meaningful art project this November with this Poppy Primary Art Lesson—a cross-curricular art, reading, and writing resource that helps young learners understand the meaning of the poppy while building early artmaking and literacy skills.

Perfect for Kindergarten to Grade 3, this lesson uses a step-by-step guided art tutorial to teach students how to draw and paint a poppy while learning about its symbolism of love, peace, courage, and remembrance. The project integrates reading comprehension, writing prompts, and vocabulary development—making it a powerful, easy-to-teach resource for your Remembrance Day or Memorial Day lesson plans.

This resource includes a lesson plan, reading comprehension passages, sight word activities, writing pages, and reflection sheets, all designed to help young learners connect art to emotion, gratitude, and remembrance.

This Resource Includes (Non-Editable):

• Teacher Guide: Poppies — lesson objective, background information for students, and teaching instructions.
• Lesson Plan and Step-by-Step art tutorial in both PDF and PowerPoint Versions.
• Art Lesson Objective: Students explore the symbolism of the poppy and use color, texture, and contrast to create a meaningful artwork that honors remembrance and peace.
• Background Knowledge for Students — simplified historical context of the red poppy and In Flanders Fields by John McCrae.
• Anchor Chart Ideas titled “Poppies Remember” with color symbolism (red = love/courage/ remembrance, black = loss/memory, green = hope/growth).
• Discussion Prompts — guiding questions on remembrance, peace, emotion in art, and symbolism.
• Art Vocabulary List: Symbolism, Contrast, Texture, Warm Colors, Shape, Composition, Emotion.
• “About Poppies as a Symbol” reading passage — age-appropriate informational text for young learners.
• “How to Draw a Poppy” step-by-step drawing page for students.
• Art Rubric — four-level rubric assessing creativity, craftsmanship, responsibility, and meeting project criteria.
• Puzzle Hook Activity — cut-and-assemble prediction puzzle to introduce the lesson and spark curiosity.
• Remembrance Day Reading Comprehension page with short text and comprehension questions.
• Memorial Day Reading Comprehension page with short text and comprehension questions.
• Word Bank of Tricky Words (Memorial, Tradition, Veteran, Ceremony, Sacrifice) for vocabulary support.
• Sight Word Tracking List (high-frequency words used in stories) and Teacher Instructions for pre-reading, treasure-hunt, and review activities.
• Writing Activity: Opinion — “Do you think it’s important to have special days like Remembrance Day and Memorial Day to honor soldiers?”
• Poppies Write & Draw — creative writing and drawing reflection about visiting a memorial or ceremony.
• “The Message” Artist Reflection — students explain what they want people to feel or think when viewing their artwork.
• Additional Drawing and Art Activities to Extend the Lesson or Use as Fast Finishers!