Introduce your class to the seven elements of art through a presentation and related project. Before beginning the project, class members take notes on the presentation, writing down the underlined items and adding drawings into their...

Introduce youngsters to the important role shape and form play in art with this extensive collection of activities and projects. From teaching first graders how to create mandalas to engaging third and fourth graders in the design...

Play with dimensions and practice making a two-dimensional scene look three-dimensional. Class members view pieces of art and then make their own scenes by layering different materials and drawing in details. Check out all the tabs for...

Focus on line and color with a postcard project. Learners view various works of art and discuss line and color before moving on to creating their own work. Using nature as inspiration, pupils decorate postcards and mail them after...

Explore contemporary American Indian art. After viewing a set of images, class members discuss the design elements of techniques present, as well as how these artists represent history and culture. Learners examine the parfleche and...

If you could build your own treehouse, what would it look like? Using a piece of contemporary art as inspiration, learners draw their own treehouses and add geometric and organic shapes. The lesson touches on Visual Thinking Strategies...

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. 

Clothes might not make the man but they certainly do help an actor create a character. How costume designers employ the same elements of design found in sets (line, color, texture, shape) to realize a character is the focus of a lesson...

Panel 58 from Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series" of paintings provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to sharpen their observation and analytical skills. After engaging in a warm-up activity that introduces the concepts of...

Connect design elements and principles to identity a culture with a discussion and related art activity. After analyzing artwork in relation to design, class members talk about personal and cultural identity. Using items that...

Line, shape, color, texture, space. The first in a three-part series of lessons intended for advanced theatre arts classes introduces the elements of set design. Class members examine maquettes and analyze how designers have put together...

Imagine a project that informs and entertains. Replace book reports with a bulletin board that highlights all the important elements of a novel. Readers research the author, create a timeline of events in the story, write a...

How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...

Designers communicate their vision for a set through a progression from thumbnail sketches, to drawings, to renderings. After examining a series of renderings, class members begin work on their own rendering paying particular attention...

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...

Introduce young thespians to all aspects of the theater. A syllabus for a one-semester drama course provides lessons that take learners from the history of drama to the many facets of play production.

Acquaint your class with line, color, shape, and texture through a study of artwork and an art activity. The resource includes images and information to share with your class before sending individuals off to sketch and paint...

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. 

Wrap up the unit in one final design. Pairs use their knowledge of aviation to design new flying machines and record how their designs take into consideration the forces that act upon airplanes. The pupils determine whether their designs...

The use of perspective is clear in Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte. Pupils study and discuss this example, marking the vanishing points and horizon line of a photocopy of the piece. They then create their own urban scene...

Dive into animation creation using Dreamworks® animated films. Compare and contrast characters, wonder and ponder why the plot is so important, and think of background and themes as your creativity unrolls onto paper.

As their final act in a 10-lesson theater arts unit, set designers present their models to the class and explain how their choices of line, color, and texture support the theme they wish to convey.

Is it a calendar? A religious symbol? A political statement? One thing for certain is that Aztec sun stone designs remain an important symbol in Mexican cultural art. Young artists craft their own Aztec Sun design incorporating ideas...

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,...