Curated OER
19th Century Chandelier
Young scholars discuss the lines, shapes, and patterns used to decorate a 19th century chandelier. For this visual arts lesson, students examine the lines and identify the patterns on the chandelier. Young scholars create a papier-mache...
Curated OER
Flat Shapes in Three Dimensions
Students examine the 20th-century sculpture "Gandydancer's Dream" by Mark di Suvero. For this visual arts lesson, students examine the sculpture and then use flat shapes and wire to create their own sculpture. The students are...
Curated OER
Color in Paintings
Students examine the color in paintings. In this visual arts lesson, students explore the 1821 painting by Jacques-Louis David and identify the colors in the art piece. Students write an original fairy tale and create an illustration...
Curated OER
Camels and Pyramids
Students examine and create artwork. In this visual arts lesson plan, students examine the motif present in "Camels and Pyramids." Students design their own motifs that they incorporate into a painted and stenciled piece.
Curated OER
Potato Stamps
Students create stamped patterns. In this visual arts lesson, students use potatoes to design useful art stamps. A game, a song, a craft, and a recipe are all included with the lesson.
Curated OER
Paul Gauguin: Complimentary Color
First introduce your art class to the master, Paul Gauguin, then to the concept of complimentary colors. This slideshow provides a bit of background on the famous artist then walks kids through a step-by-step process intended as a study...
Curated OER
Fall Cubism Collage
Fall is an amazing season and leaves are fantastic subjects for artists to examine. Young artists use leaves to create fall collages using the rubbing technique.
Oglebay Institute
Post-Impressionism: Mosaic Still-life
A still life with tissue paper? Why not! Using Paul Cézanne's art as inspiration, learners create their own still life pictures by gluing various colors of tissue paper onto a paper or pattern.
Achievement Strategies
CCSS Unit Design Template for Art
Art classes, like any lab class, require extensive preplanning and set-up time. Use this planning template in the quiet before the storm to identify the equipment and materials that will be needed, the procedures and processes...
Curated OER
Pastel Parfleche Pouch
Students investigate different types of Native American Art. They conduct research using a variety of resources. They create art that recreates the pastel parfieche pouch and then explain the meaning as part of a portfolio. The...
Curated OER
Miraculous Milagros
Learners investigate the use of Milagro charms in different cultures. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students create a shape that is meaningful to them and then copy the charm of magic and explain its significance to...
Curated OER
Stewart's Boxes
Learners collect memorabilia and create shadow boxes in the style of David Stewart. They also compose a poem and explain their identity in an oral presentation. This is a rare lesson that works quite well for a variety of age levels.
Curated OER
Bust Of Virgo, Bust Of Pisces
Students analyze the relief designs of Petra and design their own personal sacred image in the same style using plaster of Paris or Model Magic. This lesson should be completed within 45-minutes of starting construction due to the drying...
Curated OER
Museum Gallery
Children of all ages examine original art in an art gallery. They view art at an art gallery, then view reproductions, and compare and contrast the two works of art.
San Francisco Symphony
Dear Mr. Copland and Mr. Ellington
After a teacher-led demonstration on the lives and music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, learners write a letter to them which shows their understanding of how a person's life experiences can be reflected in a composer's music. They...
Curated OER
Describing Paintings: Calm or Stormy
Young writers use nouns, verbs, and adjectives to describe details in two paintings. One depicts a sunny landscape, and the other shows a cloudier view. They write a narrative inspired by the paintings, paying attention to transitional...
Curated OER
Drawing Peace
Students create a drawing representative of what peace looks like and evaluate their thinking process. In this art for peace lesson plan, students use paper to begin their drawing. Students also have the option to use a drawing...
Desert Discoveries
Sonoran Desert ABC's
Third graders make alphabet cards that depict the wide variety of life forms found in the Sonoran Desert. A terrific lesson that combines language arts, visual arts, and life science all into one wonderful package. Each of the cards has...
Curated OER
Doodles
Here is a fun drawing activity that is sure to develop listening, shape recognition, drawing, skills and eye-hand coordination. The class doodles over an entire page based on the instructions they are given. This resource includes...
Lied Center of Kansas
The Ugly Duckling and The Tortoise and the Hare
Both The Ugly Duckling and The Tortoise and the Hare are great additions to an elementary language arts lesson. Young readers focus on the literary elements of each story, including characters and plot development, and apply...
Curated OER
Adventure Into The World of Shapes
Students view Elmer Holtzrichter's work Mystery Planet and discuss basic shapes and patterns. They create their own collage. and discuss the patterning they created. Students demonstrate how this pattern would sound with clapping and...
Curated OER
Carnival Celebrations: Masks and Vejigantes
Learners explore Carnival. In this Puerto Rico Carnival activity, students discover the history of the cultural celebration as well as the significance of the elaborate masks worn for the festivities. Learners create their own Carnival...
Curated OER
Landscape Painting
Third graders paint a landscape that demonstrates the illusion of space. In this visual arts lesson, 3rd graders paint a creek with reflections as the focus and include images showing foreground, middle ground, and background...
Curated OER
How To KidPix II
Students practice using KidPix to create illustrations. In this visual arts activity, students define key vocabulary words, such as "palette" and "toolbar" to familiarize themselves with the KidPix program. Students create...