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Constructing a Timeline of African History
Young scholars create a timeline of African History. In groups, they research and describe eight different important periods in the country's history. They apply this information to compare and contrast them and how it has allowed...
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African-American Artists
Students conduct research on a chosen African-American artist. They research how the artist's community influenced his art, analyze how themes are conveyed through the art, and create a collage depicting the artist's themes.
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Suffering and Sunset: An African American Artist's Impression of World War I
High schoolers study paintings by a Pennsylvania artist, Horace Pippin, to explore African-American contributions in World War I. They create presentations based on their impressions of the artwork.
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Clay Magic Pots
Fifth graders create clay artwork that resembles African and Egyptian monolithic sculptures. In this visual arts instructional activity, 5th graders are shown examples of monolithic and figural sculpture from Egyptian and African...
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If You Could Fly, Where Would You Go?
Young scholars explore story quilts. In this cross curriculum literacy and art lesson, students listen to the story Tar Beachand discuss the art form of story quilts as used by Faith Ringgold. Young scholars sketch their own "Where Would...
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Kindness Just Because
Students analyze an African folktale. In this literature lesson, students read the story "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters" by John Steptoe and analyze the acts of kindness in the story. Students identify the setting of the story and find...
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Art: Faith Ringgold Story Quilts
Twelfth graders examine the impact of African American culture on the United States by inspecting Faith Ringgold's story quilts. Working in groups, they create a collective story quilt about current cultural issues. They research their...
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The Civil Rights Movement
Students compare and contrast African-American, Asian-American, Chicano and Native-American movements with the civil rights movement and are exposed to the sociopolitical and economic factors involved in the rise of social movements.
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Wynton's Tune
Students examine the serigraph, "Wynton's Tune," by artist Faith Ringgold. They discuss the painting, listen to jazz music, create a drawing that tells a story inspired by their favorite music, and write sentences describing their artwork.
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A Journey To Africa: Art And Artifacts
Middle schoolers create a multimedia presentation based on a piece of African Art. They use the art piece to demonstrate the culture and ceremonies of the area in which it was produced. They research facts for a Power Point, write a...
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Artistic Symbols
Students compare and contrast symbols used in African and Plains Indian art. For this visual arts lesson, students compare symbols of 2 cultural groups found in their art. Students write a description of what items might have been left...
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Arm and Face Casts - body art
Students study African masks. They also study African American Art and look for its influence in Modern Art. They research and design their own culture.
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Folktale through African Art
Students study folktales and other stories from West Africa. By hearing and reading these stories they explore many new cultural and religious beliefs, such as spirits inhabiting nature and possessing special powers. Once the students...
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Power and the Communication of Values in West African Art of the Past and Present
Ninth graders examine art from West Africa from the past and present. In groups, they compare their community to the one depicted in the artwork and note the similiarities. To end the lesson, they discuss the concept of power and how...
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African American Voices
Students investigate the many forms of Haitian art. They compare the art of some different cultures, religions, countries, and philosophies. Students also read the biography of an artist to build context for a particular piece of...
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African Art and Personal Adornment: Jewelry
Students observe and identify examples of personal adornment in African art and recall how African jewelry relates to beauty, status, and wealth. They create their own clay pendants or other personal adornments.
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Introduction to African Folklore
Students are read "Anansi the Spider" to begin their discussion on continents. Using a map, they locate the continent of Africa and the country of Ghana. They discover who the Ashanti people are and view examples of their artwork. They...
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Common Visions, Common Voices
Students analyze common recurring motifs and themes found in literature and artwork from various cultures. They research and report of the "trickster" motif found in Native american, Mayan, and Ethiopian cultures.
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The Family Quilt
Third graders examine the artwork of Faith Ringgold. They create their own quilt pattern on fabric and piece them together to create a class quilt. They compare their similarities with one another.
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Balance in Visual Art
Students examine works of art to develop an understanding of the importance of visual balance in works of art and nature. Students research artists and their artwork for examples of visual balance. Students create works of art showing...
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The Meaning of Rock Art
Students examine the significance of rock art. They discuss and view examples of historical rock art, and create a design on a rock that tells a story using African and American symbols.
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Harlem Renaissance: Pivotal Period in the Development of Afro-American Culture
Students examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. In groups, they compare and contrast the type of art before and after the movement along with the state of society at the time. After reading a book on the topic of their...
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Gaining Ground
Students explore African-American art by researching, preparing and presenting reports on particular artists. They analyze what they have learned through the lens of modernism.
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Internet Art Research
Fourth graders choose two artists from a Yahooligans search of African-American artists, answer questions on an artist Biography Checksheet, and write an essay on the differences and siimilarities of the two styles.