Curated OER
Jazz Exploration: A Collage Project
Middle schoolers explore and experience jazz through collage. They listen to improvisational jazz, discuss the origins of jazz, then design and create a collage that shows jazz being played. This project will result in amazing works of...
Curated OER
Comparing Visual Interpretations and Actual Events: War & Battle
A Venn Diagram is used to compare artistic and historical representations of a single event. Young analysts view the provided images, read textbook descriptions, and discuss the validity of each representation in terms of bias and...
Curated OER
Lesson: Lisa Signal: Altering Perspectives
Kids make big artistic gestures, just like the abstract artist, Lisa Signal. They use her work as inspiration for making simplistic, abstract, statements in an artistic way. They analyze her work, then walk through an unfamiliar...
Memorial Art Gallery
Art Alive! - Beach at Blue Point
And then what happened? Class members engage in a series of activities that model for them how to read the story in a painting. Participants respond to questions that ask them to closely examine the elements in William Glackens'...
Curated OER
Women's Lives in American Paintings
Students analyze paintings to determine characteristics of women and attitudes toward them in different time periods. They create a portrait of a woman and discuss their views of women through their own artwork.
Curated OER
Printmaking
Analyze the process of printmaking and explore how prints reflect an artist's view of society. After viewing and analyzing the prints of Elizabeth Catlett, class members create an inner tube and a linoleum block print. They then research...
Curated OER
Clay Wipe Away: Ceramics
Discuss Pre-Colombian South American art with your class, then get out the clay and create some. Pupils practice using the wipe-away technique to create a ceramic tile similar to those made by the Maya. Great web links and a...
Curated OER
George Washington Crossing the Delaware: A Study of Setting and Character
Students examine "Washington Crossing the Delaware." In this American Revolution lesson, students analyze the painting, research its background, and then perform skits based on their findings.
National Gallery of Canada
Make a Parfleche
Examine American Indian art and culture by observing contemporary art and creating original pieces. Class members discuss artwork included in the plan and use these images to help inspire their own work, which should represent...
Curated OER
African Ceramic Portrait Vessel
Middle schoolers create a piece of art inspired by traditional African pieces.
Curated OER
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere: Fact, Fiction, and Artistic License
Students examine The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. In this visual arts instructional activity, students study the historical significance of the event as they examine the Grant Wood painting and primary sources regarding the event.
Curated OER
American Indian Art
Student complete a month-long unit on the symbolic and practical reasons for American Indian artwork. They explore websites, discuss elements of design, create an Indian backpack, Kachina Doll, weaving, sand painting, and totem pole.
Curated OER
The Persuasive Art of Portraiture
Students first explore the power of the visual image to convey a message by examining the portrait of George Washington on American dollar bills. They next use, 'Prolific Chinese Painter Is Anonymous No More,' to explore a famous...
Curated OER
Connected by Art
Students inspect visual arts by exploring images on-line. In this art analysis lesson, students discuss the history of art and the its ability to communicate with people through images. Students utilize pencils and charcoal to create...
Curated OER
Antebellum American Art
Dividing the art of the Antebellum period into several different genres, this vibrant presentation is sure to get your students' attention. It takes your students on a walk through an art museum with famous paintings, architecture, and...
Curated OER
"Music Be the Food of Love:" Found Poetry with Shakespeare and Hip-Hop
Lines from Shakespeare and from hip-hop artists provide learners with an opportunity to examine the literary devices these artists use to express their ideas about love. Groups use the provided lines to craft found poems, and then the...
San Francisco Symphony
Ballads for Americans
"Ballad for Americans" was a song written for performers participating in the Federal Arts Project, during The Depression. Learners will analyze the lyrics of the song and then create informational posters about other Federal Works...
Curated OER
Inuit Sculpture
Kids in grade four through eight research Inuit artists and art styles. After a critical look at Inuit sculpture, they use those forms for inspiration as they create one of their own. They practice using the subtractive method of...
Curated OER
Overcoming Censorship Through Art
Students create an art piece that expresses their opinions while circumventing hypothetical government restrictions in this lesson on art and government censorship. Emphasis is placed upon historical instances of censorship around the...
Curated OER
Racism, Gender, Ethnicity, and Aesthetics in the Art of Graffiti
Students describe how graffiti is a part of everyday culture. They develop basic vocabulary terms for thinking and writing about graffiti and make and justify judgments about aesthetics qualities in graffiti art. They compare and...
Curated OER
An American Scene Painter
Learners study the work of American scene painter Charles Burchfield. For this visual arts lesson, students research the nature paintings of Burchfield and then paint their own watercolor scenes in his style.
Curated OER
Literature: Satire in the American Dream
Eleventh graders examine cartoons for examples of satire, irony, and sarcasm. They write essays about cartoons, art work, or literature analyzing it for satirical elements. Finally, they create their own piece in one of the three areas...
Curated OER
Overcoming Censorship Through Art
Learners examine and discuss government-imposed censorship of art and artists' methods for counteracting censorship. They view censored artwork, write a persuasive essay, and create an art piece.
Curated OER
Trey and Dave go to Africa: Music
Trey from Phish and Dave from the Dave Mathews Band took a trip to Africa to explore music, culture, and history. Your class watches this episode from VH1's Music Studio to understand how African culture and music have influenced modern...