Curated OER
CREATIVE PRINCIPLES
Jr. high learners review the basic principles of design (balance, unity, movement, rhythm, pattern, contrast and emphasis) by watching a video by Gerald Brommer. Then they provide "aerobic exercise" for the right side of their brains by...
Curated OER
Nature Abstractions - Georgia O'Keeffe
Students examine the work of Georgia O'Keeffe and forms of nature. Sketches are made of natural objects and then abstracted. Clay forms are then made using draped slab method and hand building techniques.
Curated OER
Kandinsky on Computers
Students investigate expressionist art by researching Wassily Kandinsky. In this abstract art lesson, students utilize the Internet to visit a web museum which showcases Kandinsky's compositions. Students analyze the artistic lines and...
Curated OER
Technology as a Design Tool for Abstract Artwork
Young scholars manipulate pictures using Adobe Photoshop and digital cameras to produce unique abstract works. This lesson can be modified to include a painting/mixed media element. State standards are addressed in this lesson.
Missoula Art Museum
Dance with Your Fingers, Draw with Your Toes
Pair dancing, music, and art into one elementary lesson. Using the work of Henri Matisse and Rudy Autio as inspiration, kids spend a few days listening to music that fits the moods of various pieces of art, then work on their own...
Weber County Library
Abstract Ideas Explored: Writing with Extended Metaphor
A 25-page packet includes eight detailed lesson plans centered around poems by Emily Dickinson. Each lesson begins with a burning question that students attempt to answer by using evidence from Dickinson's poems.
Curated OER
6th Grade Art
Sixth graders create "macquette" sculptures, which would be models for larger playground pieces.
Curated OER
Lesson: Elizabeth Peyton: Artist's Community: The Real
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...
Curated OER
Art in Nazi Germany When Art and Politics Didn't Agree
Five lessons display the art created by Germans under the Weimar Republic. The focus of these lessons is to help learners understand the role of art in politics, government censorship, and Nazi tactics. Web links are included.
Curated OER
Sculpture in Balance
Students discuss the difference betwen two-dimensional vs. three-dimensional art. In this art instructional activity, students discuss what symmetry or balance is in art and construct a symmetrical and an asymmetrical mobile.
Curated OER
Abstract Flowers Inspired By Georgia O'keeffe
Pupils create "abstract flowers" using the artwork of Georgia O'Keefe and knowledge of warm and cool colors in this Art lesson for grades K-12. The lesson includes a short recommended book list and a biography of Georgia O'Keefe.
Curated OER
Abstract Painting - Inspired By Textiles
Sixth graders compare and contrast various forms of artistic expression. They create an abstract painting.
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Do You See What I See?
Can art play tricks on your eyes, and can a still painting really appear to vibrate? The second lesson in a four-part series discusses the way our beautiful brains translate visual images. It highlights the style of optical art and...
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Strangest Dream
Do words change or add meaning or interest to a work of art? The final lesson in a four-part series on the beautiful brain as a work of art focuses on art analysis. Scholars write a story about exploring art from the inside. Reflections...
KERA
Matisse and Picasso
Discover Modernism through the eyes of artists. Over the course of six well-thought-out lessons, learners examine works by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse while completing a range of collaborative and hands-on activities. A great resource!
Curated OER
Collaborative Collage - A Lesson in Creative Chaos
Students examine the works of abstract and collage artists. They explore alternate methods of paint application that reinforce the elements of rhythm and movement and create collages based on these principles.
Curated OER
Pantomime vs. Abstract Gesture
Students explain dance as a way to create and communicate meaning and demonstrate the difference between pantomiming and abstracting a gesture.
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Art
Practice the skill of compare and contrast. First, show learners the different pairs of artwork in the project packet (included). Then, each learner chooses one of the pairs and finds the similarities and differences between the...
Curated OER
Paper Maché Mancala Game Boards
Seventh graders create three dimensional works of art from two dimensional plans, develop skills in papier-mach?? technique, utilize elements and principles of design to create 3-D form, and develop math/strategy skills in playing the...
Curated OER
Amos and Boris: Text Study
Twenty insightful questions follow a read aloud of the story, Amos and Boris by William Steig. Scholars then show what they know through completion of a cause and effect chart, reading fluency assessment, and a written explanatory or...
Sargent Art
Kandinsky - Inspired by Music
Who is Wassily Kandinsky? Introduce your young artists to the wonders of abstract nonobjective art through music. They'll listen to music as they cut, paste, and paint emotional works of art. The activity suggests the use of soothing...
ReadWriteThink
Looking for the History in Historical Fiction: An Epidemic for Reading
Combine informational reading skills with fictional text in an innovative historical fiction lessons. After reading a fictional text related to diseases, class members read non-fictional text to gain knowledge about specific infectious...
Curated OER
Splash & Splatter
Young scholars research the work of Jackson Pollock, a 20th century painter. They experiment with splatter-painting methods and discover the meaning of field or action painting, terms used to describe Pollock's abstract work. Students...
Curated OER
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Art
Kids may be a little resistant to this rainy day idea, but it could produce some amazing art. They paint a watercolor picture of anything they like. When they are done, they take their paintings outside and let the rain work its magic!...