Discuss the importance of a lead in writing with your upper graders. They examine several examples of leads from literature and practice writing leads for pieces of artwork. They then select a topic from a list and write an introductory...

What a lovely way to incorporate artwork into your language arts lesson. View artwork in illustrated manuscript pages, depicting insects, animals, plants, flowers, and ornate writing in the Getty Museum. Practice using figurative...

Learners choose meaningful objects for a still-life arrangement and paint it using watercolors. After reflecting on their choice of objects and composition, high schoolers begin to write an artist's statement.

Students choose meaningful objects for a still-life arrangement and paint it using watercolors and write an artist’s statement. In this still life art lesson, students identify and analyze the characteristics of a still-life...

Sixth graders assess how a Native American's environment and the geographic region where they lived influenced their food, clothing, shelter and the overall culture of a tribe. They study the impact of conservation, family, rural life,...

Students examine and paint still life paintings. In this still life painting lesson, students look at pictures of European still life paintings and determine the characteristics when using an opaque medium. They use an opaque medium to...

Students explore and discuss the objects commonly found in still-life paintings. They identify the objects pictured in still lifes indicating which objects are natural and which are man-made.

After examining a piece of art, scholars discuss what they see, paying close attention to details and space. A read-aloud introduces the topic of family traditions. Pupils interview their family members about a tradition in preparation...

Students investigate abstract artists as storytellers.  In this art analysis instructional activity, students observe the small details in the painting called "Release Your Plans" by Daniel Sprick.  Students collaborate in...

A series of 4 activities foster critical thinking, careful observation, and creative expression with the work of Canadian artist Robert Harris. Learners respond to half a painting and then to the whole picture while listening to a poem;...

To discover the impact of urbanization on the environment, learners compare landscape paintings from the past with contemporary photographs, create found poems from descriptions of artwork, design backyard or public garden spaces,...

A Reading Adventure Pack focuses on cooking. Scholars participate in three hands-on activities after reading the fiction book Easy as Pie by Cari Best and the nonfiction book How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? by Chris Butterworth....

Though this assignment may be thought madness, there is an actual method. Scholars perform a close reading of the original text of the soliloquies in Hamlet and modern translations to ensure they understand the speeches. They then select...

Art in one form can inspire art in another. Use images to inspire writing in your English class. The lesson described here is not detailed; however, the idea is strong. An engaging way to get class members interested in writing, the...

Fourth graders recognize works of art from various cultures and identify the artist and culture. They view the artistic style and write a response to questions about the style. Students create a still life painting using the techniques...

Students examine wordless books and other pictures in order to learn how the teacher "reads a picture" to tell a story about it. In this early writing instructional activity, students then create their own picture for story telling by...

An ESL class writes a description of an aspect of a holiday from another country. They illustrate their description and present their finished work product to their classmates. 

Students use their artistic skills to create a unique report cover that reflects the report's content. They combine their art and a written report to design an interesting and original presentation. The erasing technique presented can be...

Pupils visualize themselves standing by the sea or a river at night as part of a prewriting experience to generate ideas. They paint their impressions of night near the water. Afterward, they write poetry based on ideas sparked by their...

Learners summarize the important parts of a story, identify the characters, and decide how to picture several scenes that describe the setting and action. They graphically represent the important elements of the story on a fabric book...

The artistic choices Art Spiegelman made in his graphic novel, Maus, are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare classic comic book forms with Spiegelman’s panels and frames. Directed to specific pages and guided by a...

Students explore emotions represented in artwork.  For this cross curriculum social studies and art lesson, students explain examples of political and social issues expressed in artwork by Dorthea Lang, Diego Rivera, Dan Eldon, as...

Students explore 19th century American artwork.  In this cross curriculum New York history and art appreciation lesson plan, students view a reproduction of the painting "Situation of America, 1848," and identify visual symbols and...

Young scholars contribute to a classroom art show. In this art appreciation instructional activity, students research the lives and works of artists from different ages. Young scholars write reports, recreate artwork of their researched...