The set for a play combines design elements (style, line, shape, mass, measure, position, color, and texture) and principles of composition (unity, harmony, contrast, variation, balance, proportion, and emphasis) to create a particular...

Putting together information gained from their script analysis, their readings, and their research, groups create a conceptual design statement for their assigned scene. The statement explains how their scenic design creates the mood and...

The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan, provides a series of exercises designed to be used with a reading of the graphic novel version of Hosseini’s The Kite Runner....

Young artists don't need to be skateboarders to enjoy this assignment. Class members use the provided worksheet to craft 10 sketches that convey action or motion using no more than seven lines. They then select their three best ideas and...

A language arts instructional activity helps young writers identify elements that make up historical fiction. First, it guides them through elements of fictional pieces with vocabulary cards. Then, pupils work collaboratively to...

Extracting oil is more difficult than many think! Learners work together and get hands-on as they represent oil companies drilling for oil by simulating oil extraction using beans. They identify the challenges faced in using...

As part of their study of set design, theater arts students put together what they have learned so far and create a thumbnail sketch of a set that they feel captures the style and mood they want to project. 

Whether new to the Kodály Method of music instruction or an experienced veteran, you'll find much to make your heart sing in a teacher guide that was designed for a music appreciation project. 

This link takes you to a comprehensive unit that delves into emission spectra and supernovas. There are four parts: How and where elements are created, electromagnetic radiation, spectroscopy, and the newest technology for studying our...

While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet.  Although designed for gifted learners, the...

Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...

I always knew there was a connection between art and math, and this lesson proves it. Fifth graders will use what they know about ratios and percents to design art inspired by Polynesian kapa cloth. A grid, specific guidelines, and the...

Skyscrapers are amazing feats of architectural design that create the iconic skylines of the world's biggest cities. Young architects explore the defining characteristics of these monstrous towers with the first lesson in this four-part...

Here is an amazingly thorough, and detailed, lesson plan on elements of art and art appreciation. Designed for third graders, this series of lessons should open up the eyes of your charges to the wonderful world of art that is all around...

Open this lesson by demonstrating the production of acidic carbon dioxide gas by activated yeast. Emerging ecologists then experiment with seashells to discover the effect of ocean acidification on shelled marine organisms. They measure...

Great for a reading intervention or remedial Language Arts class, this lesson plan uses two stories from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III ("Terri Jackson" and "Mary Lou" to reinforce note-taking skills, story elements, and comparing...

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...

Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...

Young geologists learn how to use an identification key in order to classify rocks. The key is designed to help them classify rocks into three types: ignesous, metamorphic, and sediimentary. After an initial teacher-led demonstration,...

Your class will be blown away when they build their own city tower structure! Engineering scholars partner up to plan, build, and test their own paper towers. As they build, they gain valuable design skills, learn about wind tunnel...

Create a little harmony with Amani Project! Young musicians create their instruments using found or recycled objects. As an introduction, class members first experiment with sounds they can make with their bodies (clapping, stomping...

Here is a lesson designed to acquaint learners with two amazing forms of entertainment from the 19th century: The Cyclorama and the Moving Panorama. After seeing what these two contraptions were all about, pupils make their own version...

An interesting cross-curricular lesson on dairy farming awaits your students. Elements of language arts, math, social studies, and agriculture are all present. Many excellent worksheets and a good article on dairy farming are included in...

Here's a tutorial designed to introduce Mac users to the basics of Microsoft's PowerPoint software and to help them develop their skills using the program.