Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is beautiful and significant in both culture and tradition. Engage your class in this expressive fine art form through a lesson plan on using, holding, and creating brush strokes common to Japanese...

Peek into the art and history of ancient Mexico by analyzing the artifact Stone Serpent Heads. Learners examine images of the piece, discuss its origin, history, and significance. They experience the carving process by creating similar...

Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.

What a wonderful way to meld art and culture! Learners create art work in the Suminagashi style using this detailed lesson plan. This art form, which is Japanese in origin, employs ink to create beautiful results. This will be a hit with...

Combine a study of Native American history and art in this lesson. Learners discuss the importance of fetishes in Native American culture, the history of necklaces, and create their own works of art. Your class will find this to be both...

A series of four lessons on the places, people, and landscape of Canada. These excellent lessons should provide your charges with an increased understanding of the history and culture of Canada - the largest country in North America....

While an interesting activity idea involving the exploration of a story about an Asian American boy named Imduk, a teacher would need to have assess to the Scott Foresman reading program to make this work. If not, a teacher could use...

Learn two dances that your class can perform at a Cinco De Mayo school celebration. This is really an outline and would be better used if there were plans for how to teach the dance steps. The idea is good to teach the cultural...

Learners work in small groups to investigate a variety of art and architecture forms common during the Old Kingdom epoch in Ancient Egypt. Learners then evaluate how these art forms reflect a culture's beliefs and values. And, finally,...

Inspire first grade artists to learn about abstract and realistic art while reading Eric Carle's Where are you Going? To See My Friend. Young artists design and make a mural collage by tearing shapes of paper while comparing English and...

Culture and art are two things that change with time and context. Learners compare and contrast two landscape prints from different time periods. They work through art terminology to help them describe what they see in each piece. The...

Africans transported to the Caribbean as part of the transatlantic slave trade brought with them a rich tradition of music and dance. Four lessons teach young musicians the rumba clave rhythm, cascara rhythm, and the 6/8 bell patterns...

Bring the sounds of the deep South vocal blues to the classroom with a Smithsonian Folkways lesson. In preparation, scholars listen to and count the 12 bar blues patterns in several works and identify the I, II, IV, and V chords as well...

Middle schoolers are encourage to try their hand at traditional Oceania tapa art by crafting their own cloth using brown paper bags. Included in the resource is background information about the cultures of Oceania and their art. 

Upper grade and middle school writers study the art of parody. In this language arts lesson, learners study the work of Lewis Carroll, read and discuss parodies from the book, Alice in Wonderland, and construct their own parody based on...

Here is an art instructional activity that combines visual arts and language arts into one very nice package. In it, youngsters study a fascinating painting called Painting of Bear and Sun Dances. They begin to understand the...

Even though this is technically an art lesson, haiku poetry is actually the main focus! Learners view photographs of Japanese tea caddies. They list five descriptive words for the caddies, then write haiku poems using the caddies as...

Delve into the history of textile art using this resource. Learners discuss the history of molas, a type of textile art made in Panama and Columbia, and talk about the importance of this process in the Kuna culture. Then, they create...

When you engage learners in creating symmetrical objects you are also building their vocabulary and math sense. Kids discuss key words such as, asymmetrical, symmetrical, balance, tint, and shade. They use these elements of design to...

Discuss the art process called repousse with this lesson plan. Learners discuss the history of this artistic method, talk about the technique, and create their own examples. They use boxwood tools, paper mache boxes, and sandpaper to...

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day by teaching your class how to do an Irish jig. This type of dance is very fast. Break it all down and teach each section of the dance thoroughly. There are plenty of hops, kicks, toe touches, and stomps in...

Let your class explore their sculpting skills with a lesson on making clay masks. Each step in the process is fully described alongside a helpful image. Kids of any ages will be able to construct fantastic representations of the human...

Here is a lesson designed for pre-schoolers and kindergartners that will pique their imaginations. They study images of a very interesting ceremonial hat from China's past called a Summer Official's Hat. These hats were worn by people of...

Before digital microscopes, scientists hired artists to draw the things visible in the microscope. Through training in neuroscience and art, Cajal revolutionized the way we view the beautiful brain. The third lesson in a series of four...