Discover stories about women's history in beautiful stained glass windows. The second in a three-part series teaches scholars about a famous artistic style of stained glass windows and the influential women that used art to impact...

The Vietnam War and World War I were two very important—and different—wars. To understand the differences, and similarities, class members watch videos, examine primary source documents, and then create a newscast that examines the...

Compare and contrast World War II to the modern Iraq war with this instructional activity. After watching a film, learners use supporting evidence to support their point of view of the conflicts. Using the internet, they create a...

Upper graders explore the concepts of landscape art, man, nature and their inter-relationship. This is a critical thinking and analysis activity intended to prepare the class for an up coming trip to a local art museum. They analyze,...

After looking into the life, art, and social contributions of artist Emory Douglas, learners analyze several social art pieces. They use Emory Douglas as an example of social art, then consider 10 other pieces. They write a paper...

Learners formulate a definition of art in the introductory activity for a unit on various art forms. The learning emphasis is placed on Oregonian artist Duff Severe and reflective writing. Students compose an essay describing various art...

Bring U.S. history to your language arts class with this lesson. Middle schoolers complete an interview for an oral history project, and discuss the importance of oral histories - and how they embellish written accounts. They write...

Designed as a resource for teachers who use Man's Search for Meaning, this seven-page packet includes a list of related informational texts, research issues and project ideas, central questions, background information on World...

Tenth graders discuss collage and photomontage techniques and artists, and how the art form can convey cultural or current issues. They research a collage artist, then design a topical or personally symbolic collage. Present their...

Elizabeth Peyton is an artist who creates images of people (often famous) that she doesn't personally know. These images become part of her imagined community. Learners analyze her work, her community of imagined friends, and then create...

Uncle Sam wants you! During World War II, the US government and military created a propaganda campaign to gain public support. The activity uses primary documents such as photos to explain how and why the propaganda campaign was...

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...

War is one of the most profound human experiences in history, and is often best depicted in works of art and literature. Introduce class members to the poetry of World War I with this resource that uses John McCrae's "In Flanders Fields"...

Tenth graders analyze a biographical piece of art by Raymond Saunders. They identify shapes, symbols, and lines that are used, and how the piece relates to the artist's life and modern society. They design and create an original piece of...

Students analyze art and examples of Cubism art. For this art analysis lesson, students analyze how artists use symbols and complete image based discussion. Students make a list of technological innovations and design a symbol for each...

Art can enhance the understanding of history. That's the big idea in a lesson that has young scholars read Randall Jarrell's poem "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" and an excerpt from John Hersey's Hiroshima, which provide a...

Though December 7th, 1941 was a day "which would live in infamy," World War II had provided many infamous days, events, battles, and atrocities in the years before. So why were American forces so surprised when Japan attacked Pearl...

Considering using Tolkien's The Hobbit for book circles or whole-class reading? Check out this packet that provides an overview of the novel, some interesting background materials, and links to additional resources.

How did the women in France feel about their country’s involvement in World War II? Class groups are assigned a country involved in WWII, and individuals within the group adopt the point of view of leaders, laborers, businessmen, women,...

Explore ethnicity and identity with a research and writing assignment. Class members conduct online research, looking in particular at images and carefully noting down their sources on notecards. They read about identity and compose...

Visit 19th century Grand Isle, Cheniere Caminada, and New Orleans! Meet the inhabitants, learn about their history and culture, and view landmarks and industries! After reading Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, class groups research the...

Students explore Jananese history through the use of the woodblock print called "ukiyo-e" prints. The audience attracted to the prints, their interests and tastes as well as how the prints reflected the life of the merchant class is the...

What is real or imagined? The lines of beauty reality, and imagination are blurred in Elizabeth Peyton's portraits of her community. Learners analyze her use of artistic technique in conveying real and imagined communities. They then use...

To gain an understanding of Imperialism, class members read Rudyard Kipling's poem, "The White Man's Burden" and Mark Twain's essay, "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." Groups compare these perceptions of non-white cultures with the...