Curated OER
Henna Hand Designs Art Lesson: Make a Unique Self-Portrait
Explore the art and cultural significance of henna hand designs. You engage the class by providing background information that describes who, what, where, when, and why henna designs are used. Then, the class uses the included templates...
Curated OER
What is Art?
Students become familiar with the art and architecture and history of the Chicago World's Fair. In this public arts project lesson, students compare and contrast fine art and public art through a study of the exhibits at the...
Yale University
Islamic Art; Exploring the Visual Arts of the Middle East
The intent of this unit is to demonstrate some of the traditional arts of the Middle East. Extensive background information on the religion, culture, and nature of Islamic art found throughout the Middle East is provided. Each of the...
Washington University in St. Louis
Teaching Jazz as American Culture
Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...
Newsela
Mexico: Art, Food and Culture
What can we pick up from the culture of others? Scholars learn much about people of Mexico by completing a close reading of articles about the country's culture. After completing the selection, readers carry out tasks, complete quizzes,...
EngageNY
Introducing The Lost Garden and Finding Evidence of Laurence Yep’s Perspective on What It’s like to Fit into Another Culture on Pages 66– 67 of Dragonwings
How does culture shape perspective? Pupils consider the question as they read an excerpt from Laurence Yep's autobiography, The Lost Garden. Using a graphic organizer, they gather textual evidence and make inferences about the author's...
Peace Corps
Introducing Culture
Growing up within a culture leaves a lot of ideas and values unspoken. Take a closer look at the cultures in which your learners live with a discussion activity that addresses cultural identity and traits of those living within the...
Curated OER
Pop Culture and Art
Learn about American pop culture, art, and the social voice that art can convey. The class discusses the life and art of Barton Benes, views his piece Reliquarium, then discusses what they see and feel when they view his work. Make sure...
Curated OER
Lesson: Cultural Comparisons
A game, research, and cross-cultural comparisons are in the works as you open an artistic lesson plan. Upper graders get analytical as they make observations that will help them create a link between abstract and creative thinking. They...
Curated OER
Lesson: A Collage of Cultures
The blanket being analyzed here seems simple and plain, but it reflects the culture and geography of the people who made it. Learners critically examine the influence geography and culture had on the creation of the blanket and on...
Brown University
Culture Connect: Experience the Culture of the World
A rich series of activities introduces learners to the concept of culture by closely examining the behaviors, practices, and art of three distinct peoples: the Highland Maya of Guatemala, the Hmong of China and Southeast...
Curriculum Corner
Native American Literature
Celebrate and honor Native American culture with this set of graphic organizers that showcases literature like The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses and A Boy Called Slow as well as three other Native American literature books....
Curated OER
Ambassadors of Art
Have your class create their own art exhibit. Learners study the exchange of artwork between the Louvre in Paris and two American art museums, and create an introductory exhibit featuring European and American art from the Renaissance...
Curated OER
Art Critic for a Day!
Middle schoolers practice evaluating art by creating a research project and presentation. They use the Internet and library to discover a piece of art or artist whom they feel has an impact on the world of art. Next, they create a...
Curated OER
A Critical Look at Aboriginal Art
Students observe art from different Aboriginal cultures. In this art evaluation lesson, students discover the different traditions of cultures from the Pacific North West. Students judge the art from these cultures with a...
Curated OER
A Gallery of Mexican Art
Students tour a virtual gallery of Mexican Art and create a glossary of art terms. They explore the history and culture of Mexico through studying Mexican art. They access websites imbedded in this plan to study the artwork.
Curated OER
Dance: Discovering the Culture of Gullah
It's wonderful to see a lesson that incorporates art, movement, and writing. These three forms of creative expression are explored as learners dance to music from the Gullah people of West Africa. They analyze several paintings, listen...
Curated OER
Visual Arts - Mexican Indian Yarn Painting
Have you ever seen a Mexican yarn painting? They're beautiful! Create a Mexican yarn painting with your class using this lesson. Start by discussing Mexico's culture and viewing different yarn paintings. After reading about important...
Curated OER
The Eyes Have It: Learning About Cultures Using Photos
Young scholars focus on determining what the characteristics of culture are. They look for these characteristics in a set of photos. They complete a worksheet imbedded in this plan.
Curated OER
How Cultures Differ "Two Different Perspectives on the Same Event
Students read excerpts from Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze and discuss his difficulties in learning the language, cultural clashes and how cultural perceptions shape our understanding of the world.
Curated OER
Art Reflecting Life
Have your young television viewers discuss popular shows among their peers. After choosing one show to analyze, middle and high schoolers read about the 2007-2008 network television lineup with the New York Times article "Gauging...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...
Curated OER
Oaxacan Animal Art
Kids of any age can experience the beauty, color, and patterns of Oaxacan art. They view, discuss, and then make their own versions of Oaxacan animal sculptures using sulphite paper. This would be a good follow-up activity to accompany a...
Curated OER
Pop Art Pins & Magnets
Young scholars examine cereal and snack boxes and then create magnets and/or pins using the Pop Art demonstrated in these pieces. This multi-level lesson emphasizes the differences between commercial art examples and fine art examples.