There is a lot to learn from art. This teacher's guide provides you with extensive background information, activities, and a scripted commentary to accompany a slide show on French artists in California during the Gold Rush Period. The...

Examine the works of Luisa Roldan and Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun. Learners view various pieces of art from each of the artists and read about their lives. They discuss the information and construct a Venn diagram, comparing the two...

Some kids know exactly what they want to be when they grow up. This careers activity aids upper graders in considering who they are as artists and how they can profit from their art, making a career out of something they love. This is a...

Students listen to books. They look at many examples of artwork. Students compare and contrast the various media in which artists work. They create a project for each lesson plan. Students explore about artists and their styles.

Young scholars determine the style of place cards as well as how to display phots of artwork. They organize and design an art museum for parents and other students to enjoy. Young scholars create place cards to explain the artwork,...

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...

Drawings may be worth even more than a thousand words. Curious scholars query an artist's rendering of troops leaving a ship after they have arrived in Europe to fight in World War I. By zooming in and looking at the entire piece, class...

The Kiowa Six, a group of Kiowa artists, are featured in the instructional activity that asks young historians to consider the importance of art in representing a culture and contributing to a group's legacy. After examining paintings by...

Connect art and history with a series of activities inspired by the work of contemporary artist, Kara Walker. After watching an Art 21 video about Walker and examining the images in a PowerPoint presentation, class members use...

Artists working in different media often explore the same themes—to model how these same themes weave their way through different forms of artistic expression, scholars analyze images by Dorothea Lange, identifying key themes in her...

Help learners construct relationships between written narratives and book illustrations, and between the narratives in formal visual art and the subject of the visual art. Look at Caldecott winning books and focus on the pictures drawn....

In the Enemy's Country is a painting that depicts several Native Americans dressed and ready for war. Youngsters analyze the artistic and storytelling elements the artist used to convey his idea. They then write a creative piece from the...

The Olmec were an ancient people native to Mexico who lived from 1000-500 BC. Young artists examine the Olmec piece Seated Figure to analyze the use of body language to communicate a tone or feeling. They then use clay or play-dough...

Why would an artist destroy his own work? Kids examine the Malagan practice of creating and then destroying art. They talk about the cultural and spiritual significance of this practice, as well as how it relates to consumerism in...

Art, identity, and an imaginary community, three components that should make for an interesting lesson. Critical thinkers explore and evaluate the work of contemporary artist, Elizabeth Peyton. They discuss her use of subject and art to...

A Venn Diagram is used to compare artistic and historical representations of a single event. Young analysts view the provided images, read textbook descriptions, and discuss the validity of each representation in terms of bias and...

Using a photo of themselves for inspiration, learners create a multi-media self-portrait. A digital image of each child is taken, it is uploaded into the computer where is can be experimented with in a digital format. Young artists then...

Critical thinkers compare the impact of visual versus aural perception in how they comprehend artistic intent. They consider the meaning of a set of pop lyrics first by reading them, then by listening to them orally, and finally viewing...

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....

Artists employ a basic metalworking technique by embossing lines and textures into a soft metal. They look for examples of embossed metals in historical and contemporary examples. This fascinating process has been used by many cultures...

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...

The Renaissance is the theme of a five-week unit designed to boost reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and expository writing skills. Scholars listen to and discuss daily readings and engage in skills practice activities...

Fifth graders study the artists and artwork of the Westward movement. For this Westward Movement lesson set, 5th graders examine the characteristics of the art of this era. They look at the lives of the artists and think about how the...

Students explore and discuss images of Canadian landscape focusing on the work of the Group of Seven. The discuss different Canadian environments in a group of art works and complete a chart categorizing the depictions. They complete a...