J. Paul Getty Trust
Picturing a Story: Photo Essay about a Community, Event or Issue
Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.
Curated OER
The Great Gatsby: Symbolic Story Representation
The themes of The Great Gatsby are embodied in the images F. Scott Fitzgerald creates. To encourage reader interaction with the text, individuals create a symbolic representation of themselves, place themselves in the story,...
Tasha McKelvey
Clay Whistles
Create clay whistles with your elementary or middle school learners. The project is outlined in great detail here, complete with step-by-step photographs, finished examples, a materials list, student handouts, and a rubric. Students...
Contemporary Arts Center
Mughal Miniature Paintings: Pattern Transformations
What is the artist's role in the post 9/11 world? How do artists use imagery to convey meaning in their work? After examining the work of Mughal artist Imran Qureshi, class members create their own work that uses combative imagery to...
Curated OER
Behind Closed Doors
Young scholars explore different types of doors from an artistic point of view. In this creative thinking lesson, students look at different types of architectural doors and doorways and analyze them. They create a project of a door as a...
Curated OER
Understanding and Fighting Stereotypes through Words and Images
Use some provocative modern art to get your class considering stereotypes and the impact they have on us all. Your class will discuss the print art Indian Look-Alike by Melanie Yazzie and stereotypes in general before...
Curated OER
Perceiving Place
Students observe how color creates the mood of a place, and generate sketches and drawings that capture their observations.
Curated OER
As Good as Gold
Students create a Mother's Day Coupon Book, full of coupons that can be exchanged for special services rendered by students!
National Gallery of Canada
The Body Tells Its Story
Incorporate sculpture into your art curriculum. To start, pupils discuss the artistic process and topics of marginalization. With the discussion in mind, individuals select images to inspire sculptures of people that they will present to...
Curated OER
Masks of Many Cultures: Celebrations of Life
Bring art and society together with this highly creative and interesting lesson. Learners research various uses of masks in ceremonies. They then create a ceremony of their own and a mask to go along with it. They film themselves...
Curated OER
Becoming One With Clay: Pinch Pots
Explore the making of a pinch pot using this resource. Learners discuss the properties of clay, including its molecular structure. Then, they make their own clay pot. As they work, they identify the techniques used to make a pinch pot,...
Curated OER
Silhouettes
Students explore the challenges of creating a silhouette. In this silhouette lesson, students learn to produce a silhouette from a projected image. Students compare and contrast the making of a silhouette to a drawing or painting.
New Class Museum
Lesson: Elizabeth Peyton: Portraits: Androgyny in Contemporary Culture
Portraiture, artistic expression, romanticism, and androgyny are discussed in a thought-provoking lesson. Upper graders first discuss and examine the history of portraiture and the elements common to the Romantic style. Then they turn...
Curated OER
Bust Of Virgo, Bust Of Pisces
Students analyze the relief designs of Petra and design their own personal sacred image in the same style using plaster of Paris or Model Magic. This instructional activity should be completed within 45-minutes of starting construction...
Curated OER
Museum Gallery
Children of all ages examine original art in an art gallery. They view art at an art gallery, then view reproductions, and compare and contrast the two works of art.
Curated OER
Pet Pellets
Students create and design advertising for a tempting new pet food! They create an imaginary pet food, analyze and identify types of propaganda and design packaging and advertising for the pet food.
Curated OER
Describing Paintings: Calm or Stormy
Young writers use nouns, verbs, and adjectives to describe details in two paintings. One depicts a sunny landscape, and the other shows a cloudier view. They write a narrative inspired by the paintings, paying attention to transitional...
Digital Forsyth
Parts of a Whole
High school artists create a collaborative piece based on a historical image. Each member of the class is given two days to draw one part of the whole image, when the two days are up; they put their pieces together and discuss the...
San Francisco Symphony
Dear Mr. Copland and Mr. Ellington
After a teacher-led demonstration on the lives and music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, learners write a letter to them which shows their understanding of how a person's life experiences can be reflected in a composer's music. They...
Curated OER
Reporting Live from the Twentieth Century
Students create a news story on one of the top 100 news stories of the 20th century.choose one past news event. They write a news story about that event, and provide a continuation of the story based on their research.
Curated OER
Shadows & Light, Science & Puppetry
Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...
New Class Museum
Lesson: An Exploration of Places and Spaces Part II
How does your location alter or impede your movement? An interesting question posed by two artists, who work to show the restrictions of people in various landscapes. Learners analyze both exhibitions, discuss location and movement, then...
Curated OER
Story Totems
Students write and illustrate a story to describe the habitat and life cycle of a selected animal. They write and publish their story, and create a picture of the animal on a wooden board.
Curated OER
Drawing Peace
Students create a drawing representative of what peace looks like and evaluate their thinking process. In this art for peace lesson plan, students use paper to begin their drawing. Students also have the option to use a drawing...