Designed as the final project concluding a study of Mississippi Trial, 1955, readers select a character from Crowe's novel and craft a portfolio of six entries that reveal not only aspects of the character, but similarities between...

Casting, setting, context, frame, camera angle, lighting, soundtrack. Every choice a writer or director makes is conscious. Here's a worksheet that asks readers/viewers to examine these choices and consider how they are used to to...

A carefully crafted three-day instructional activity integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The...

Students explore characterization in Little Women. In this literature lesson, students participate in written analysis and research in order to explore Alcott's characterization in the novel.

Here's a art project that lets kids use bold colors to express their inner wild beasts, and maybe even attract a few wild birds. Using old picture frames, canvases, and screen mesh, young fauvists craft bird feeders and...

Learners investigate the concepts related to the Appalachian area and the movement of Folk Art. They conduct research using a variety of resources and use the samples as inspiration for creating their own works of art. They could...

One of the most famous and well-crafted speeches of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, consists of rich metaphors and rhetorical language. Using a provided graphic organizer, students analyze five quotes...

Learn about why the citizens of Washington, D.C. feel unrepresented in Congress with an article about D.C voting rights. Individuals read about the movement toward congressional representation in Washington, D.C., before...

Artists of many ages use steel, plastic, tree branches and other natural materials to weave a wall hanging. The materials needed for this fine plan are easy to procure, and the process is clearly-described. The results are beautiful, and...

The evolution of modern dance, and the dance history of many of the key figures in the development of this uniquely American form, are the focus of a 13-page packet that includes photos of revolutionaries.

Not all technology is digital. Teach learners about the low-tech maker movement with a photo essay about six artisans from California and two articles about the local creator movement. After tackling the photo essay in small...

Kids consider how the body functions and moves, how each structure has a specific movement and purpose. They apply that idea as they construct a sculptural piece that moves. For inspiration they look to the work of Alexander Calder,...

Good books are accessible through a variety of literary lenses. To consider how the same story can be seen in different lights, groups develop a storyboard for a movie teaser that would focus on one of six concepts found in Suzanne...

Young artists learn to build rhythm into a design by repeating colors, shapes, and patterns in a 3-D sculpture activity.

What strategies are most effective in changing an unjust law? Class members examine the tactics used in the Birmingham Campaign of 1963 (Project C) to achieve social justice and social transformation. After examining documents that...

Learners gain an understanding of a resident's lifestyle of North Carolina. They analyze five objects the are representation of the culture of North Carolina. Critical thinking skills are used to describe the geography through using the...

Young artists use Paintstik colors on paper, canvas, metal, fabric or another surface to create a work of art to be presented in a gallery. Students research the origins of the "Snakebasket" they are creating. These art lessons produce...

A reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech launches a study of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, connotative language and parallel structure. Class members then...

“When a great truth once gets abroad in the world, no power on earth can imprison it, or prescribe its limits, or suppress it.” These words come from Frederick Douglass’ April, 1888 speech to the International Council of Women. One of...

“America herself is an improbable journey.” So is Deval Patrick’s journey from the South Side of Chicago to the governorship of Massachusetts. The complete text of Patrick’s inaugural speech, delivered outdoors facing Boston Common,...

Explore the history of the American novel in the contexts of literature and US history. How does a novel or piece of writing from a particular time showcase the mood during that historical period? After conducting research and discussing...

Students read and analyze the clay sculpture art of Robert Arneson and create their own clay sculpture. In this clay sculpture lesson, students create a three-dimensional relief sculpture of a face and experiment with creating emotional...

Students examine the works of abstract and collage artists. They explore alternate methods of paint application that reinforce the elements of rhythm and movement and create collages based on these principles.

High schoolers explore common advertising strategies used by the media. For this advertising lesson, students identify persuasive language in advertisements and construct their own persuasive ad.