Curated OER
Eye-Popping Op Art
Students examine and discuss work of Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely, recognize visual components of Op Art, compare traditional Renaissance perspective with Op Art's illusion of three-dimensional space, and create original painting...
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Earthquake Detector
Students investigate earthquakes and describe the interactions inside the Earth that cause them to occur. Then they research the equipment and systems for detection and measurement of earthquakes. Students also build and engage in a...
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Dogsled Adventure
Students conduct research on dog sledding and the Iditarod dog sledding competition. They conduct research and write a report, then using a variety of craft materials design and create a dogsled musher and sled dogs to present with their...
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Diving Whale Sculpture
Students identify two types of whales: toothed whales and baleen whales, and understand that whales come to the surface for air. Then they recognize that whales are mammals (they nurse their young and are warm-blooded). Students also...
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Design Your Dream Stadium
Learners raise their design awareness about construction considerations for large public facilities including safety, accessibility, funding, construction materials, and space, use geometry and other mathematical skills to calculate size...
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Chinese New Year Dragon Parade
Students research Chinese New Year celebrations to find out about traditions such as food, music, red banners on doors, parades, and fireworks. Students then view images of traditional Chinese dragons, and create their own dragons.
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Celebrate Change
Students develop fantasy creatures and characters, describing personalities in terms of gestures, actions, and expressions displayed. Then they make fantasy masks, focusing on shape, form, proportion, line, and emphasis to demonstrate...
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Castle in the Countryside
Students research the architecture and agricultural products of European countries during the Middle Ages. Then they research the climates that are best for growing grapes or other crops. Students also sculpt a replica of a castle and...
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Carbon Atom Mobile
Students research the element of carbon, its composition, and the importance of carbon to life on earth. Then they design model mobiles of carbon atoms to demonstrate their understanding of the configuration of protons, neutrons, and...
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Building Boats
Students research different types of boats in various time periods and cultures. Then they locate photographs and information about construction details of one type of boat. Students also use their research as the basis for designing and...
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Lesson: Functional Fashion
Upper graders scrutinize the clothing worn by the vaqueros in James Walker's painting, Cowboys Roping a Bear. They pay close attention to the period style as well as the clothing functionality in the given context. Kids then design their...
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Lesson: Living For The City
Both Money and Cummings were able to capture the essence of Paris. Critical thinkers analyze how each artist used his medium to describe the same place in a different way. Kids then write a Cummings-style poem about Monet's Waterloo Bridge.
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Lesson: Tlatelocloc: The Localized Negotiation of Future Imaginaries
After reading though some great background information regarding Mexico's history, learners explore a terrible incident and the art that stemmed from it. They learn about the event surrounding the Tlatelolco Massacre and the art created...
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Lesson: Stepping into the Past
How have things changed from the past until now? Young art historians examine a screen painted in Mexico during the 1700s. They discuss the differences between a garden party then and now. They then write a journal entry about the party...
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Lesson: Lisa Signal: Altering Perspectives
Kids make big artistic gestures, just like the abstract artist, Lisa Signal. They use her work as inspiration for making simplistic, abstract, statements in an artistic way. They analyze her work, then walk through an unfamiliar...
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Mind Your Mannerists-Understanding the Art of El Greco
Kids become mini-experts on the Mannerist movement and the art of El Greco. They identify common elements of El Greco paintings and compare them to a work by Thomas Hart Benton. They use four ways to examine art taken from the book,...
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Lesson: Text Messages
Can a neon sign be considered art? Kids consider two different works that use neon text as the basis for conveying artistic social messages. They then analyze a truism from Jenny Holzer's web site that holds meaning to them personally....
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Lesson: Creating With A Purpose
Discovering the creative process can be done through critical analysis. Upper graders examine a hand -carved Shinto Deity, discussing purpose, technique, and artistic expression. They then read a poem about the creative process. and...
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Lesson: Sensing a Different Way
Problem solving and creative thinking are top priority in an interesting lesson. Learners explore how they can think creatively to use four common objects in three different ways, they discuss senses and using senses differently to...
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Lesson: Urs Fischer: Reviving the Past Art Movements
Seven major abstract art movements are analyzed by learners in groups. Each group analyzes various works by determining which work belongs to which movement. They then read Flatland, engage in an art and literary analysis discussion,...
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Lesson Plan: My Space
Everyone has a special, personal space; here kids will create a collage that reflects that space. They analyze the painting Soup Tureen and Apple, review two poems, and then conceptualize a personal space through art.
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Critical Listening: Music Vocabulary
The school band or orchestra analyzes their own performance after exploring musical terminology. They listen to a classical piece and describe it using only words. They look up musical terminology and then use those words to compare and...
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Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Shinique Smith
A critical discussion regarding the nature of Shinique Smith's second-hand clothing art is the foundation for the instructional activity. Critical thinkers fully analyze the meaning behind her work, taking close consideration of where...
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Lesson: Mary Heilmann: To Be Someone
Kids consider the pure abstraction and minimalism found in Mary Heilmann's work. They analyze several of her pieces through critical discussion and then think about her use of a song title as the title of her exhibit. Learners then use a...