High School Art Curriculum for Long-Term Subs and Leave Cover
Taking over high school art classes during a colleague's leave means teaching students who already have a style and opinions about it. This grades 9–12 curriculum gives you 100+ resources on analysis and interpretation, plus studio work from drawing to conceptual approaches, so you can keep teenagers developing their own work for months while still teaching and grading in a structured way.
See the HS art curriculum →Art Complete – High School is a digital grades 9–12 art curriculum with 100+ resources, from $149.90. A long-term substitute can teach analysis of style, symbolism, composition and artistic intention across cultures and contemporary contexts, and guide studio work in drawing, painting, mixed media, design and conceptual approaches from concept to final piece. It is no-prep and sequenced; supplies and devices are not included.
The curriculum
Art Complete – High School, Grades 9–12
Start with the full curriculum. The other resources below are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
The real problem
Why high school art leaves are tricky
Older art students are often in the middle of something personal: a series of portraits, a design project for a portfolio, an experiment with digital media. A sub who resets everything to a uniform assignment can lose the class in a week. A sub who lets everyone do whatever they want loses it more slowly, and ends up with nothing to grade. The real job is to keep structure while respecting independence. Sections are usually mixed, with a ninth grader in a first art elective next to a senior building a portfolio for college applications. The absent teacher may have been mentoring individual students, and you will not know their plans. You also need to talk about art credibly. Teenagers will ask why a contemporary piece counts as art, what a symbol means, or whether their concept is strong enough. Without solid analysis material behind you, those conversations turn into opinion. And the gradebook still matters, especially for students who need the credit to graduate. Critiques, written interpretations and staged project milestones give you defensible grades in a subject that is too often graded by vibe.
Why it fits
How it supports older art students and you
The high school curriculum is built around increasing independence, which is exactly what a sub needs to balance.
- Lessons on style, symbolism, composition and intention give critiques a shared language you can grade.
- Concept-to-final-artwork structure lets students keep personal projects while meeting your checkpoints.
- Experimental and conceptual approaches give advanced students room without dropping structure.
- Traditional and digital media lessons let you adapt to whatever devices and supplies the school has.
- Analysis of fine art, design, media art and visual culture fills non-studio days with real content.
- Sequenced units across grades 9–12 suit mixed sections of first-year and senior art students.
Getting started
Settling in during the first two weeks
This is a suggested approach for the start of a high school art leave, not a calendar from the product itself.
- Meet each student's projectSpend the first studio day walking the room and asking each student what they are working on and why. Write it down. It tells you who needs structure and who needs to be left alone.
- Teach one analysis lesson to allUse a lesson on symbolism or artistic intention so everyone shares the same vocabulary for the weeks ahead. It also signals that critique in your room will be specific, not just praise.
- Set project milestonesUsing the concept-to-final structure, ask every student to submit a concept statement and a sketch by a set date. Ongoing personal projects fit in, and new students get a curriculum project.
- Hold a structured critiqueRun a short critique where students discuss composition and intention with the analysis vocabulary. Grade participation against clear criteria, which gives you a score that does not depend on artistic taste.
- Add a written interpretationClose the second week with a short written analysis of an artwork from a different culture or period. It balances studio grades and documents learning for the returning teacher.
Which version
Picking the right high school art version
Most long-term subs need only the $149.90 version, which includes all 100+ resources. The $189.90 version adds the Teach-Life-Balance course, a separate set of planners and templates for handling your own workload. It adds no art content. If the absent teacher's schedule includes a middle school art section, adding Art Complete – Middle School makes sense, and TEACHMORE15 gives 15% off when you buy the two together. The Complete Art Education Bundle for High School is also listed in the store if you want extra material.
Honest limits
What it does not cover
It provides no art supplies, software or devices, and the curriculum does not replace one-to-one portfolio advising for seniors applying to art programs. Students' individual projects still need your judgment. Check the content against your state's high school visual arts requirements and the course description, especially where the class counts toward a graduation credit. Department-wide use is possible after a short message to Teach Lessons. If the curriculum is not right for your leave, exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does it align with state arts standards for high school?
It is not approved or endorsed by any state or standards body, and we do not claim official alignment. It is written for U.S. high school art classrooms and covers analysis, interpretation and studio practice. Check it against your state requirements and the course description, particularly if students need the class for a graduation credit.
Students already have their own projects. Is that a problem?
Not really. The curriculum moves from concept to final artwork and builds toward independence, so you can map a student's existing project onto those stages. Ask for a concept statement and progress checkpoints, and use the analysis lessons for everyone. Students who have no project going can start a curriculum project instead.
Can it handle digital art?
The curriculum includes traditional and digital media and covers media art and visual culture in its analysis lessons. It does not supply software or devices, so digital projects depend on what your school has. Where devices are limited, the drawing, painting and mixed media lessons work without them.
How do I give grades that hold up?
Score stages, not just finished pieces: a concept, sketches, a critique and a final. Add written interpretations from the analysis lessons. That record makes grades easier to explain to students who care about their transcripts and gives the returning teacher something concrete to build on.
Is there enough for a full semester?
With 100+ resources, a semester-long leave is realistic for most schedules, though it depends on how long your projects run. One way to pace it is to alternate a longer studio project with shorter analysis lessons. The store also has the Complete Art Education Bundle for High School if you want more options.
How do I receive the files?
Right after purchase you get a download link by email, and the files remain in your customer account under Orders. Materials work printed or displayed on a screen, so you can start teaching from them the day you take over the classes. Spend the first evening choosing the analysis lesson you will open with.
Keep high school artists working while you cover
See the product page for the complete contents of the grades 9–12 curriculum.
See the HS art curriculum →