If you’re looking for an art integration lesson that combines drawing, painting, and creative writing, my unique Tall Farm Animals + Tall Tales project is such a fun one to do with your students.
In this lesson, students create a tall, exaggerated farm animal artwork and then write an original tall tale to go with it. It’s the perfect mix of visual art and English Language Arts, and it gives students so much room to be imaginative, silly, and expressive. I recommend this for grades 3 – 8.
Do you have to paint? No, not at all.
This lesson works beautifully with watercolor, but it can absolutely be modified with markers, crayons, or colored pencils. If you want a lower-prep or less messy version, that’s an easy switch to make. Regular copy paper will work if you are not painting.
My lesson promotes cross-curricular learning by combining visual arts with writing. Students explore the idea of exaggeration as both an artistic and literary device while creating an original tall animal and a story to match.
Part 1: Art Making
Students create a tall farm animal and are encouraged to exaggerate the height, proportions, or features for humor and creativity.
Part 2: Writing
Students write a tall tale starring their animal. Their stories can include wild exaggeration, funny twists, creative conflicts, and imaginative solutions. My resource includes support for brainstorming, rough draft writing, and a final polished writing piece.
I love this project because students get to be both the illustrator and the author. Their finished work makes a really eye-catching display, and the writing component adds so much personality to the final project. The resource is designed as a two-part lesson with art making first and writing to follow!
There are so many reasons this project works well in the classroom:
A Note for Teachers: Let Them Be Creative
If a student wants to go a little off-script, I usually allow it as long as they are still working within the spirit of the assignment. The resource specifically shows examples of students wanting to create something slightly different, like a jellyfish or a duck, and I encourage teachers to let that creativity happen. That flexibility can lead to some of the most memorable student work. I like to provide the inspiration and support and let my students take it from there.
Students begin by choosing a farm animal to draw. My resource includes 12 animal choices across three handouts, which makes it easy to support a range of learners.
Some students may draw directly from the handouts, while others may use them as inspiration and make their own changes. That built-in flexibility helps differentiate the project right from the start.
Students lightly sketch their tall animal in pencil on tall, vertical paper (4″ x 11″). If needed, they can practice first before drawing on their final paper.
This is a great time to encourage students to think about:
Use my templates for this step. Available HERE.
Once students are happy with their drawing, they can trace it with permanent marker.
If you are painting afterward, permanent marker is important so the lines do not run when water is added.
I used watercolor paint for this lesson, and it worked really well with the long format and whimsical style of the animals.
A few watercolor tips included in the resource:
After the artwork is complete, students move into the writing portion of the project. They can use the brainstorming page to develop story details like:
Then students write:
The rough draft guide encourages students to include:
Use my template for this step. Available HERE.
This project makes such a fun bulletin board display. In fact, at our annual art expo last year it was THE favorite project of just about everyone I polled—can’t ask for more than that!
The finished display pairs each student’s tall animal artwork with their writing. This is one of those final displays that instantly pulls people in.
I first did this less last year (2025). This year (2026) I had a group of 8th graders who had done this project last year ask if they could do it again. For students to want to do a project for a second time showed how fun the project really is.
Here is a display of the ones we made this year (2nd batch). Some kids deviated from farm animals, but kept the fun tall animal theme.
If you want an art lesson that also supports writing, storytelling, imagination, and creates a stunning classroom display, this one is a really fun option. Students get to create, exaggerate, write, and laugh a little along the way, which is always a win.
Tall Farm Animals + Tall Tales is a great choice for teachers who want a creative art integration lesson that feels meaningful without being overly complicated to set up.
You can find my resource on my Teachers Pay Teachers store HERE. Thank you in advance for supporting my efforts!
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