Curated OER
Newsworthy Images
Students examine images made for newspapers and create their own photos to tell a story. They experiment with cropping to reframe their images and explore how photographic images can be manipulated.
Curated OER
Messages in Art Work
Observe images and discuss what messages they convey. In this critical thinking lesson plan, students determine whether works of art are trying to persuade their audience. They also consider the media and how they communicate messages to...
Curated OER
Abraham Lincoln: The Face of War
Students compare life masks and photos of Abraham Lincoln that were made before and at the end of the Civil War. In this "Faces of War" lesson, students analyze images of Lincoln in a historical context and create a timeline of event.
Curated OER
What's in a Picture? An Introduction to Subject in the Visual Art
Learners discuss the subject and meaning of examples of visual art. They analyze various paintings found on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website, answer discussion questions, complete online interactive activities, and write an essay.
Curated OER
Oh, Say, Can You See What the Star-Spangled Banner Means?
Students research the historical inspiration for the lyrics of the "The Star Spangled Banner". They explore websites, read articles and analyze poetry in an examination of America's patriotic symbols and history.
Curated OER
The Power of Pictures
Students analyze the picture as a significant medium of communication. They view a photo from the "Images of War" website, answer discussion questions, complete an independent photo analysis, and create a photo essay.
Curated OER
The Art of Persuasion
High schoolers analyze images using several perspectives or entry points. They create images and develop accompanying texts that support a specific purpose or function. Students assess the effectiveness of collected images and those of...
Curated OER
Cultures
Students examine and analyze photographs of other cultures. They answer discussion questions, identify bias and point of view in the images, conduct research on another photo, and compare and contrast two cultural images.
Curated OER
Lesson: Paint Inspiring Words
The painting Three Young Girls circa 1620, was believed to be painted after the death of the subjects' mother. Art enthusiasts analyze the image details to determine if they come to the same conclusion. They then use the sensory details...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Labor Unions in an Industrializing U.S.
Have class members eager to enter the workforce? They'll be glad to learn that things aren't how they used to be. Have your young historians examine then discuss four primary source images related to the negative effects of...
Curated OER
Manipulating Digital Images
High schoolers work with pre-loaded images as well as with a digital camera to manipulate digital images. At the end of the instructional activity, they analyze and write about their work using complete sentences, correct grammar, and...
Curated OER
Documenting the Great Depression
Students compare and contrast two photographs from the Great Depression, and identify the ways in which the photographers depicted the hardships of everyday life during this period. They hypothesize about the story behind each photograph...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Burying Addie's Voice
Students explore the use of voice and title in William Faulkner's, "As I Lay Dying". They identify and discuss the use of image, symbols and narrative voice in the story.
Curated OER
I Hear the Locomotives: The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad
Students examine the effects the Transcontinental Railroad had on the regions through which it passed. They analyze and discuss maps, view and describe online images, and use photos and documents to develop a cause-and-effect ladder.
Curated OER
On Deck of a Union Warship
Young scholars examine role of Naval blockades in Union war strategy, and analyze primary source image "On Deck of a Union Warship" and make detailed observation about people and activities shown.
Curated OER
Oklahoma! The Cultural Myth of America
Learners explore cultural myths in America by collecting images and characteristics of stereotypical Americans. They read a primary source document, discussing the views of the author in class. Next, they compare the terms used to...
Brooklyn Museum
Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958–1968
What role did women play in pop art during the 1950s and 1960s? The class researches the role of women in mid-century America and how those roles were portrayed through the pop art of the time. They use an excellent set of guiding...
Curated OER
Art in the Mail
The "mail art" phenomena was started back in the 20's with the Dada and Fluxus art movements and revitalized in the 60's. The principle of mail art, is free exchange and artistic expression. Learners study these facts and then create...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Kapa Designs
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...
National Gallery of Canada
Who Are You?
What can a self-portrait reveal about an artist? Discuss various self-portraits before tasking your pupils with creating their own. Learners research artists, develop an idea of their own individuality, and create photo collages with...
Messenger Education
Mission: Possible—How Can We Plan an Exploration of Another World?
An astronaut's spacesuit weighs 280 pounds and takes 45 minutes to put on — that's a serious suit! The second activity of a three-part series allows pupils to see all that goes into space exploration. Through simulations, groups analyze...
National Gallery of Art
Van Gogh’s Self-Portraits
Scholars get to know famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh, as an artist as well as a person. After reading personal letters and analyzing paintings, participants paint two self-portraits that represent their personality. Then, write a...
Curated OER
In Depth: Pearblossom Highway
Learners analyze a photograph and a photo-collage showing the same highway. In this visual arts lesson, students write a descriptive paragraph about both images and identify one-point perspective in art. Learners then draw a desert...
Curated OER
The Candid Camera
Pupils examine the influence of photographer Jerome Liebling on documentary films. They read and discuss an article, take photographs, and create an original photo essay and artist statement.