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Conserving Water through Art!
Students study water conservation. In this water conservation lesson, students investigate the scarcity of water and determine reasons for conserving water. Students estimate how much water they use in one day and identify ways to...
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So Much Water, So Little to Drink
Students explore salt and fresh water. In this water lesson, students investigate the amount of Earth covered by water. Students compare the amounts of salt water to fresh water. Students create a visual representation to aid comprehension.
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Lesson: A Garden for Monet
To better understand artistic style and expression, your class compares two different paintings. They analyze each painting for style, technique, similarities, and differences. They then experiment with a variety of art materials and...
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Lesson: Contemporary Tribal Designs
There is a lot to be learned from a horse. Kids analyze a contemporary tribal design found on a large installation piece. Then they create tribal designs of their own that show similarities and difference between cultures and time...
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Apple of My Eye
Learners study apples. In this apple lesson, students read Apples by Gail Gibbons. Learners discover the life cycle of apples and determine the many uses of apples. Students write a list of factual information on strips of construction...
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Good Apples
Students investigate diversity. In this diversity lesson, students look at a variety of apples in order to compare and contrast their physical characteristics. They apply the concept to people by listing how people are the same and...
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Lesson: Painting Stories
You're never too young for a lesson in fine art. Explore the painting Deucalion and Pyrrha, based on the Greek myth of the same name, with your class. You'll look at color, composition, texture, and technique, which are easily outlined...
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Lesson: What's your Passion?
What inspires people and fuels their creative endeavors? Passion! Find out what drives your learners as they examine a painting as it relates to a person's passion. They create a reflective visual or written piece that describes their...
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Lesson: Possible Perspectives
Visual art is the inspiration for a creative writing activity focused on having learners write from different perspectives. They analyze the image Yellow Rain Jacket, picking out details to help their storytelling. They use the details...
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Lesson: While You Were Sleeping....
Imagine you are a bug living on a leaf in the painting, Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase by Maria van Oosterwyck. This is what you'll tell your class as they analyze the lovely image. They list details in the painting, find two insects in...
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Lesson: All in the Family
Who was the Radcliffe family? Young learners find out about the life and times of a family from long ago. They analyze the family portrait, write a story about the family, and then use their story to create thought or word bubbles which...
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Lesson: Transformational Tapestries
Art can be found anywhere, even in the class recycle bin. El Anatsui is an artist that uses found materials to create two and three-dimensional art. Kids examine his techniques, discuss the differences between found art forms, and then...
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Lesson: Deities & Superheroes
Here's a twist on the old compare-and-contrast lesson. Budding art historians compare an Assyrian limestone relief to comic book superheroes. They discuss the similarities and differences in the three-dimensional relief to...
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Lesson: That Long Jakes
Cross-media analysis takes time and attention to detail. The class analyzes the painting Long Jakes and the poem "Backward Bill." They pay attention to the similarities and differences in each piece, looking for details that describe the...
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Lesson: Creating a Superhero Sculpture
Indian art depicts an amazing pantheon of gods and goddesses, each having interesting powers and purposes. Young art historians use the provided images to analyze a carved sculpture of a monkey-god. They then brainstorm the attributes...
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Lesson: Creative Containers
Even functional everyday objects can be highly ornate and thoughtfully designed. Art analysts look at the form and function of an Inca jug used to transport liquid. They consider this jug in relation to other jugs fashioned throughout...
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Pumpkin and Ghost Garland
Reading scary stories on Halloween is frightfully good fun! As elementary learners read several stories for the holiday, they choose a favorite and create a decorative garland representing the characters and setting elements found in the...
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Principles of Kwanzaa Plaque
Study African culture and learn the origins of Kwanzaa with an artistic lesson plan. Learners recognize that Kwanzaa is Swahili for "first fruits of the harvest." They identify and comprehend the values and meanings of the nguzo saba,...
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Lesson: From the Horse's Mouth
Kids turn a critical eye on a wooden horse that was carved in ancient China. They analyze the horse as far as its purpose, historical significance, and artistic style, then write a story from the horse's perspective.
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Lesson: One of These Things is Not Like the Other
Kids kick of the lesson by comparing and contrasting the focus painting to other similar paintings of Native American women. They then compare their own personal portraits (photographs) in a similar way. They use the differences in each...
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Lesson: Communication Through Clothing
As we all know, some clothing has a way of letting us know a little something about the person wearing it. Kids explore the idea that clothing can be a form of communication and artistic expression. They analyze a Native American textile...
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Lesson: Taking Risks & Making Comparisons
Kids are asked how an Indian mandala was made. They devise a hypothesis and then use colored sand to test if their guesses were correct. They document the experience, examine a mandala, and write a comparative piece about the differences...
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It's All About the Brushstrokes
Afte analyzing the painting, Autumn Poplars by Camille Pissarro, learners explore self-expression through painting techniequs. They disucss the piece, consider Impressionist painting, and then create masterpieces that represent a...
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Lesson Plan: How Coyote Came to Shuffle Off to Buffalo
Creative kids read, discuss, play-act, and sketch to examine the cultural significance of Old Man Coyote. They listen to several stories involving Coyote, analyze the Harry Fonseca painting Shuffle Off to Buffalo, and write Coyote...