National Endowment for the Humanities
“House by the Railroad”: A Painting and a Poem for the Common Core
Introduce your class to ekphrastic poetry with an exercise that asks them to examine Edward Hooper's painting House by the Railroad and Edward Hirsch's poem "Edward Hopper and the House By the Railroad." After a close reading of the two...
Curated OER
Mapping the Mediasphere
Learners compare/contrast the media messages they see in two different communities in their city. They list the elements of art and the principles of design in the photographs they have taken in those two different communities. They...
Curated OER
The Art Box
Sixth graders create a 3-D Art Box in this design-oriented art project for the 6th grade. Rubric is included for grading purposes. The elements of design are covered and applied (includes line, form, texture, shape, value, color, and...
Curated OER
Visual Arts: Art in Public Places
Students create 3 dimensional art. In this sculpture lesson, students collect objects that represent their community's values to include in a 3 dimensional sculpture. Students write a paragraph explaining the chosen theme of their...
Curated OER
The Art of Social Protest
Students investigate how art and music define and unify a social movement. They decide how art and music can act as symbols of protest. They view both contemporary and historical examples of art as a tool for protest and design an art...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Kapa Designs
I always knew there was a connection between art and math, and this lesson proves it. Fifth graders will use what they know about ratios and percents to design art inspired by Polynesian kapa cloth. A grid, specific guidelines, and the...
Curated OER
Understanding Short Stories and Their Elements
Students identify short story elements. For this story elements lesson, students review vocabulary about the elements of a story and then practice finding the elements in the short story links.
Curated OER
Children's Books Teach Diversity, Respect
Young scholars compare aspects of children's books that teach diversity and respect. They examine universal values such as courage and bravery, respect and apathy. They create a final project based on their ability to recognize the...
Curated OER
Hold a Discussion on a "Theme"
Groups hold a discussion to express and represent a feeling or value in that discussion. They study and take a digital photograph of their work and upload their work to HumanityQuest.Com to be posted on website and share with the online...
Curated OER
Novel Jeopardy
Play a classroom version of the classic game show Jeopardy, to review and discuss the novel your class has been reading. Questions about plot and other story elements are written on cards and given point values. Divide the class into...
Curated OER
Drama-Dialogue
Use drama to study and practice dialogue. Creative minds discuss what dialogue tells about a character, and how it can be used to advance the plot. They read a play, think about what they gleaned from dialogue, and record their...
Curated OER
Heroes Portrait
Eighth graders investigate art appreciation and Renaissance portraits through time. They create a portrait.
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Art
Practice the skill of compare and contrast. First, show learners the different pairs of artwork in the project packet (included). Then, each learner chooses one of the pairs and finds the similarities and differences between the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A “New English” in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”: A Common Core Exemplar
To examine the “New English” Chinua Achebe uses in Things Fall Apart, readers complete a series of worksheets that ask them to examine similes, proverbs, and African folktales contained in the novel. Individuals explain the meaning...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Romantic Age of English Literature
Introduce your class to the elements of Romanticism with these slides. The foundations of the movement, the roles of imagination and nature, and the value of art are all highlighted. Features of Romanticism are explained such as...
Curated OER
Television Newscasts
When we watch news broadcasts on television, we receive a much more visual perspective than when we read the newspaper. How do sets, clothing, and music contribute to our understanding of the story? Compare American and Canadian news...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Mask Symmetry
When you engage learners in creating symmetrical objects you are also building their vocabulary and math sense. Kids discuss key words such as, asymmetrical, symmetrical, balance, tint, and shade. They use these elements of design to...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 5
Eager readers have waited a long time, very patiently, for a set of literary analysis lessons that connect text structure to the work's central idea. As ninth graders continue reading "The Tell-Tale Heart," they focus on the central...
Curated OER
D¿rer Watercolor - Patterns and Texture
Students create watercolor paintings using their knowledge of elements of design, value, and texture, discuss concept of art reflecting time and place, review art-related vocabulary, and reflect on their work.
Curated OER
Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi": Mixing Fact and Fiction
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," from The Jungle Book, offers young readers a chance to examine how Rudyard Kipling uses setting and personification to bring to life the brave mongoose who battles cobras to protect his family. Class members explore...
Curated OER
Draw Me a Mammal!
Fifth graders illustrate at least three art elements in a drawing of a mammal they've read about with 100% accuracy. As a review, Bloom's Taxonomy questions are asked as they prepare to sketch something they pictured in the story they read.
Curated OER
Creating a Self Portrait painting With Decorative Frame
Sixth graders view a large image of a painting and discuss the history and its role in past and current culture in Mexico. Student list the symbols portrayed in the work and explain their significance. Students use elements of art to...
Curated OER
Joseph Stella Art: Line Designs
Students discover the focal point in pictures and create their own images using lines and space. In this art analysis lesson, students create a black dot on a white paper which becomes a focal point for the lines the student will paint...
Curated OER
Technology as a Design Tool for Abstract Artwork
Young scholars manipulate pictures using Adobe Photoshop and digital cameras to produce unique abstract works. This lesson can be modified to include a painting/mixed media element. State standards are addressed in this lesson.