Curated OER
An American Scene Painter
Students study the work of American scene painter Charles Burchfield. In this visual arts lesson, students research the nature paintings of Burchfield and then paint their own watercolor scenes in his style.
Curated OER
Textured Metal Boxes
Discuss the art process called repousse with this lesson. Learners discuss the history of this artistic method, talk about the technique, and create their own examples. They use boxwood tools, paper mache boxes, and sandpaper to create...
Curated OER
Fiber Fusion
Create works of art using fabric. Learners use fabric, tissue paper, acrylic gel, and paint to create a unique and interesting piece of work. They discuss the different techniques that can be used to create works of art and evaluate...
Curated OER
Silk Dragons - Activity 1
Students investigate and discuss Japanese art and culture through an online video and a KWL chart. This lesson is an introduction to Japanese art with two supplemental lessons provided for further activities.
Huntington Library
Light in Painting
How do painters use and manipulate light in their artwork to give emphasis and establish mood and emotion? Pupils will analyze a few examples of landscape and portrait painting in order to explore the how light is used in art,...
Curated OER
Flora and Fauna as Figures of Speech
What a lovely way to incorporate artwork into your language arts lesson. View artwork in illustrated manuscript pages, depicting insects, animals, plants, flowers, and ornate writing in the Getty Museum. Practice using figurative...
Curated OER
Native American Story Necklaces
Combine a study of Native American history and art in this lesson. Learners discuss the importance of fetishes in Native American culture, the history of necklaces, and create their own works of art. Your class will find this to be both...
Curated OER
Monoprint Screams on Clay
Using a famous painting as a model, have your class create their own works of art. Learners take a look at the painting "The Scream" by Edvard Munch, discuss their thoughts on it, and use a similar process to design their own art. What a...
Curated OER
Cross-Curricular Language Arts Lessons
Here are lesson ideas to begin integrating social studies content into the language arts classroom.
Curated OER
Hands-On Ways to Engage Students during Youth Art Month
Enjoy an artful departure from spring fever through creative art lessons.
Curated OER
Pastel Scratch Portrait
A great cross-curricular project for any art classroom, this activity encourages young artists to consider color, pattern, texture, shape and line in their depiction of a historical figure. After researching a historical figure of their...
Curated OER
Painting Faces: Interpreting Portraits
Over the course of four sessions, upper elementary learners explore the elements of visual art and portraiture and the work of Canadian painter Robert Harris (links included). (Paintings by any portrait artist will fit the plan; choose...
Curated OER
Informed Drawing Through Observation
Students practice observation techniques to improve their drawing skills. For this drawing technique lesson, students assess drawing as an art media and discuss realism. Students view examples of animal drawings and practice drawing...
National Gallery of Canada
Who Am I?
Connect design elements and principles to identity a culture with a discussion and related art activity. After analyzing artwork in relation to design, class members talk about personal and cultural identity. Using items that...
Andrea Mulder-Slater
Happy Accidents Painting
A person can see a lot of different things when he looks at the amorphous clouds. The same is true when you let your watercolor paints do as they please. Little artists create haphazard art with watercolors, then use ink or marker to...
Art Institute of Chicago
Act It Out
Examine two works of art and use these pieces as inspiration for dialogues. The whole class discusses Renoir's Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise and Toulouse-Lautrec's At the Moulin Rouge. Then, in groups of either three or ten, pupils...
Curated OER
Technology in Art
Complete three different self portraits in this art technology lesson plan. Your class will discuss the cubism genre and its characteristics. They create a regular self-portrait, a cubism self-portrait, and a cubism digital picture of...
Curated OER
Art Is More Than Just a Pretty Picture
Students create unique art piece from litter. In this visual art lesson, students learn the importance of recycling and create a unique art piece. Students construct collages.
Curated OER
Water Bottle Flowers
Students create recycled art. In this visual arts lesson, students follow the provided steps to create their flowers made from recycled water bottles.
Curated OER
Make Something Beautiful
Students create an art piece using recycled objects. In this environmental lesson, students collect and sort recycled objects and create a three dimensional art piece.
Curated OER
Greek and Roman Symbolism
Young scholars explore Greek and Roman symbolism in art. In this visual art lesson, students draw portraits of ancient leaders based on the written descriptions they read about them. Young scholars also design campaign posters using...
San Diego Museum of Art
Tapa-Inspired Pattern Painting
Middle schoolers are encourage to try their hand at traditional Oceania tapa art by crafting their own cloth using brown paper bags. Included in the resource is background information about the cultures of Oceania and their art.
Earth Day Network
Conserving Water Through Art!
Having fresh, clean drinking water is a privilege many people take for granted. Help raise awareness about the scarcity of water and the importance of conservation by discussing different ways water is used in everyday life. Brainstorm...
Curated OER
Middle-East Reflections
Practice symmetry and patterns with this Mid-Eastern art project. Your class will create beautiful, reflective mosaics that will brighten up the classroom! A list of necessary materials is included.