Curated OER
The 1980's Series - Music
Students examine artwork by Keith Haring, and listen to music popular in the 1980s that influenced him. They develop storyboards, and film music videos for their favorite song.
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See What I Hear
Students examine relationships between music and color, emotion and imagery, listen to different passages of music, and visually depict what they hear.
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Creating the Pamphlet
Young scholars create philanthropic brochures. In this philanthropy instructional activity, students make promotional pamphlets and offer theirs products to philanthropic organizations.
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M. C. Escher - Design - Math Integration
Students create a tessellations using rotation and translation. They also create a tessellation using reflection.
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We're Going to the Zoo!
Students write and publish a poem as part of a class poetry collection after analyzing the poetic structures of haiku, limericks, sound poems and free verse. After viewing a multimedia demonstration of the poetic structures, and after...
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Create Your Island Paradise
Sixth graders create a descriptive essay and map describing their island paradise. They try to evoke the reader's senses: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. They revise their paragraphs using their partner's feedback.
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Families and neighborhoods
Students create their house to add to a class "neighborhood". For this lesson on family and community, students read the book Family by Todd Parr and discuss how all families and houses are different. Then, students create their own...
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Working with Clay
Second graders investigate how to work with clay after examine the book "Being Friendly to Trees." They make a clay square which they decorate with leaves that they find while taking a nature walk. They glaze their artwork and then...
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HyperStudio Book Reports
Fifth graders create a HyperStudio book report after reading a novel. They work in pairs or small groups to design a HyperStudio stack about a previously-read novel. They use a variety of graphic organizers to have Students gather...
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Technical Writing
High schoolers discuss technical writing and its importance in the work place and review the definition of technical writing They evaluate technical writing examples and look for characteristics of effective technical writing. They...
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Keeping Us in Stitches Activity: Whole Cloth Quilt Design
Students examine how decorative motifs are adapted to other types of objects by craftsmen and artists. They examine photos on the Illinois State Museum website, discuss design elements, adapt a motif to a line drawing, and transfer a...
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Rocky Observations
Students examine two images of rocks, make their own observations of individual rocks through drawing, and explain how the same observation skills can be used in the study of geology.
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Lots of Lines
Learners see that artists make many different kinds of lines. They discuss how artists use line to show ideas such as motion, mood, or emphasis and identify different kinds of lines in a variety of artworks and their environment.
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Miniature Stained Glass Designs
Third graders view examples of previous miniature stain glass designs. After making their own frame out of craft sticks, they create their own design using colored paper. They outline each piece with a black marker and share them with...
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Looking at Illuminated Manuscripts: An Illuminated Day Planner
Young scholars examine the contents of a book of hours and then compare it to the modern day-planner. They create class day-planners/ calendars with illuminations that correspond to modern holidays and season.
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Transforming Negatives to Positives
Pupils create double-exposed photographs, poetry, and multimedia presentations to celebrate their Open Court "City Wildlife" unit.
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First Things First
Fourth graders complete a narrative writing (focusing on voice) and an illustration about their earliest memory. After listening to a book that sets the stage, 4th graders work in small groups to brainstorm moments they can remember and...
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What Makes You Scream?
Eighth graders study Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream." They produce their own scream using directional lines as Munch did. Line was used by Munch in a variety of directions(horizontal, vertical and diagonal.
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Pop Shop 1 - Symbol Making
Students design their own symbols based on their experiences and feelings using Keith Haring's method of bold, direct lines.
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Characters in the Chocolate Factory
Students dress and act as selected characters from Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". They identify each other and make predictions about the upcoming chapters based on their observations about the characters.
The Imagination Factory
Design a Postage Stamp for Black History Month
Learners create a postage stamp for Black History Month. In this U.S. History lesson, students discuss the contributions of African-Americans and design a postage stamp to celebrate their impact.
Skyscraper Museum
Changes in a City Over Time
Investigate the growth and development of New York City with the final instructional activity in this four-part series on skyscrapers. Learners first explore the concept of urban growth by looking closely at a series of three paintings...
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Portrait of a Ruler
Students create a full-length portrait of the Emperor Hadrian that conveys his role through attributes and explain how this bust of Hadrian conveys a story about life as an emperor in ancient Rome.