National Gallery of Canada
My Abstraction
What makes a color warm, and what makes a color cool? Explore colors and abstract art through an observation activity and an art assignment. Learners look at images and talk about colors before making their own compositions with...
Curated OER
Lesson: Urs Fischer: Reviving the Past Art Movements
Seven major abstract art movements are analyzed by learners in groups. Each group analyzes various works by determining which work belongs to which movement. They then read Flatland, engage in an art and literary analysis discussion,...
Curated OER
Lesson: Tomma Abts: Abstract Painting
One must first learn how to analyze art before they can properly respond to it. Here, young analysts examine six abstract pieces in a systematic and formal way. They then respond to one of the pieces in either a poem or an essay. An...
Curated OER
Lesson: Unmonumental: War, Politics, and Protest
Get those upper graders thinking about the world, social conflict, and art as a catalyst for change. They'll uncover the meanings behind four abstract works, intended to spread awareness of the need for social change. Kids are then asked...
Curated OER
The New York School: Action and Abstraction
Young scholars examine the influences and similarities between the New York School poets and Abstract Expressionist artists. They analyze paintings and poems, and write original poetry.
Curated OER
Arbitrary Arrangements: Daniel Sprick's Release Your Plans
Students investigate abstract artists as storytellers. In this art analysis lesson plan, students observe the small details in the painting called "Release Your Plans" by Daniel Sprick. Students collaborate in groups to create their...
Curated OER
Lesson: Cultural Comparisons
A game, research, and cross-cultural comparisons are in the works as you open an artistic activity. Upper graders get analytical as they make observations that will help them create a link between abstract and creative thinking. They...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Kinds of Nouns
With so many different kinds of nouns, it can be hard for young learners to keep them all straight. Help clarify this important part of speech for your class with this series of worksheets which clearly addresses the difference...
Curated OER
Pablo Picasso Lessons
Middle schoolers explore art history by creating their own abstract art pieces. In this Pablo Picasso lesson, students read assigned text discussing biographical information about the artist and examine several of his paintings. Middle...
Curated OER
Lesson Learned: Creating a Life Reports Project
Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...
Prestwick House
Introducing Symbols–The Beach
Looking for a way to introduce class members to the concept of symbolism and multiple levels of meaning? Readers examine two different passages about the beach and consider how the writers use concrete objects, and places to represent...
Curated OER
Kandinsky on Computers
Students investigate expressionist art by researching Wassily Kandinsky. In this abstract art lesson plan, students utilize the Internet to visit a web museum which showcases Kandinsky's compositions. Students analyze the artistic lines...
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
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
More Joy of Abstract Nouns 1
Students are provided with a list of 20 adjectives that they must generate abstract nouns to match. For example, the first term, luxurious, would prompt the answer luxury. Directions for this activity explain that abstract nouns don't...
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...
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
Identify the Element of Line
Students explore the element of "line." In this beginning art lesson, students listen to the book Harold and the Purple Crayon, then describe the types of lines Harold drew. Students identify straight lines, jagged lines, curvy lines,...
Curated OER
Packing Nouns
Play a noun game with your class. Put a suitcase in the middle of the room and have each class member, in turn, name a noun that begins with a specified letter of the alphabet. To ramp up the challenge, assign concrete, abstract, proper,...
Curated OER
Writing: Mentor Text Lesson & Microteaching
Mentor texts are a great way to demonstrate how to write with purpose. Pupils will be reintroduced to two well-known books and then asked to think about them from the writer's point of view. They will see that the author had to use basic...
Boston University
South African Short Stories: Apartheid, Civil Rights, and You
How are short stories from South Africa connected to issues of civil rights in the United States? A unit plan uses South African short stories to discuss issues such as apartheid, colonization, and civil rights. Questions and activities...
Curated OER
Instruction on Nouns
More of a short lesson than a worksheet, this exercise gives instruction on the definition of nouns. Young writers discover common, proper, singular, plural, concrete, and abstract nouns. Excellent!
Curated OER
Poetic Elements Are Fun!
Engage your class in the elements of poetry with a series of lessons and activities. The plans cover simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and imagery. Learners come up their their own metaphors, identify poetic...
Curated OER
Creative Writing/Poetry Lesson Plan
Students complete poetry writing activities and art analysis activities. In this creative writing and art lesson, students analyze a cubist piece by Picasso and discuss abstraction. Students read a poem by Gertrude Stein about Picasso...