Curated OER
Flora and Fauna as Figures of Speech
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...
Curated OER
Manga and Me
Upper elementary and middle school learners study Manga cartooning and create a Japanese character based on their own features and personalities. This style of cartooning is easily-accessible for most students. With a little practice,...
Curated OER
The Dance of the Butterfly
Students explore butterfly life cycles and movement. In this integrated fine arts and biology life cycle lesson, students listen to the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and identify the related life cycle stages. Students...
Curated OER
Tour + Workshop = DESIGN: Shape
Ask elementary students to explore shapes in everyday objects. They will discuss the elements of design and describe the shapes they see in visual images. Students will then design and "build" a new 3D shape. Finally they will show and...
Curated OER
Learning to Analyze Characters
Students discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters. In this character writing activity, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as they listen. Students...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Narrating a Family Tradition
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...
Curated OER
All About Me Unit
Learners engage in an "All About Me," series of activities in the beginning of the year. All sorts of ideas are in this lesson plan to help students express themselves and get to know their classmates.
Curated OER
Graph Paper Patterns
Young artists divide a piece of graph paper into sections using rectangles, squares, and triangles. They then fill each section with patterns of shape and color. Elementary graders describe how their patterns are organized. Secondary...
Curated OER
Capturing Light: The Science of Photography
Students explore light, and how it travels in straight path, recognize that light-sensitive chemical processes can be used to create images using light as catalyst, discover that light can be refracted by convex lens to focus camera,...
Classics for Kids
Instruments Have a Family
Are the instruments in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in the same family as those in George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue? Elementary musicians work on their music theory and their instrumental ear as they listen to clips of famous...
Curated OER
The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, by Dr. Seuss: A Class Mural
A cut and paste mural activity is a fun activity to complete after reading a Dr. Seuss book. In this shape recognition and art lesson, students read the book The Shape of Me and Other Stuff and discuss the main idea. A class mural can be...
Curated OER
Dancing Polygons and Non-Polygons with Patterns
Second graders study movements. In this dance lesson, 2nd graders draw patterns selecting one to represent through movement with their body.
Curated OER
Men, Women, and Careers
Teach young learners that they can have any job they want, no matter their gender! An elementary lesson plan emphasizes that while some jobs may be more closely associated with men or with women, people of either gender can complete...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Photograph Art
Take a trip down Pearblossom Highway with this lesson plan about comparing and contrasting. Using David Hockney's Pearblossom Hwy and another image of the same highway (photograph or other image), students compare and contrast the two...
Curated OER
I Spy (Camouflaged Animals in Art!)
Make connections about animal characteristics and the animal's environment. For this animal characteristics lesson, students use a piece of art as a springboard for a discussion about animals and camouflage. Students choose an animal...
National First Ladies' Library
Ragtime: The First "American" Music?
Learners investigate the concept of ragtime music and the times associated with it in American history. They conduct research using a variety of resources and listen to a sample before writing down some of the results of the information...
Curated OER
Crayon Etching (Scratch Art)
What to do at a time when we have a little extra time to fill and need an activity that won't take a lot of prep? This art project is simple and can be linked to various other subjects. Learners use crayons to color in their paper, then...
Curated OER
Sexual harassment
Students research sexual harassment. In this sexual harassment lesson, students discuss and research sexual harassment. They write a script for a scenario dramatizing the incident, how to respond and or prevent the incident.
Curated OER
The Elements of Art Through Photography
Fifth graders photograph examples of the five elements of art: line, shape, color, pattern, and composition.
Curated OER
Greek and Roman Myths in Art-A Set of 7 Activities
Students paricipate in seven activities to investigate ancient stories about heroes, monsters, gods, and goddesses.
Curated OER
Once upon a Time in the 1800's
Young readers examine the details in an 1821 painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting two sisters who are exiled princesses. They read a tale about the Brothers Grimm, who were writing fairy tales during the same time period that these...
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Strangest Dream
Do words change or add meaning or interest to a work of art? The final lesson in a four-part series on the beautiful brain as a work of art focuses on art analysis. Scholars write a story about exploring art from the inside. Reflections...
Curated OER
Palace Adventure
Young language arts learners write and illustrate a short fantasy story based on the book Corduroy. First, learners need to develop a character. Then, through their writing and illustrations, they take their characters on adventures...
Curated OER
Color Graphs and Poetry
Learners explore color as they create graphs, write poetry, and examine varied interior designs. They respond to writing prompts describing their favorite color. Students collect data and create a bar graph based on a class survey. They...