Curated OER
Life Doesn't Frighten Me
Students work with younger students to collaborate to create a painting. In this activity, students read Life Doesn't Frighten Me. High School students write and discuss fears with Kindergarten children, and then create an artwork...
University of Colorado
Space Travel Guide
Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Step Inside the Brain
Before digital microscopes, scientists hired artists to draw the things visible in the microscope. Through training in neuroscience and art, Cajal revolutionized the way we view the beautiful brain. The third instructional activity in a...
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Do You See What I See?
Can art play tricks on your eyes, and can a still painting really appear to vibrate? The second lesson in a four-part series discusses the way our beautiful brains translate visual images. It highlights the style of optical art and...
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...
Media Smarts
Teaching TV: Television Techniques
As part of a five-activity unit on how television uses technology and film techniques to communicate meaning, elementary students create their own media productions that demonstrate their understanding of these concepts.
Endangered Species Coalition
Endangered Species Day Art
Albrecht Durer created a highly textured stamp or print of a rhinoceros. To better understand which animals are near extinction, upper graders create similar prints of endangered animals they've researched. The six-day lesson plan...
Curated OER
Coordinate Planes
Identifying the location of ordered pairs on coordinate planes is the focus in the math lesson presented here. In it, 4th graders are introduced to coordinate pairs, the x/y axis, and the techniques associated with this type of graphing....
Denver Art Museum
Descriptive Haiku
Even though this is technically an art activity, haiku poetry is actually the main focus! Learners view photographs of Japanese tea caddies. They list five descriptive words for the caddies, then write haiku poems using the caddies as...
Curated OER
A Different Point of View
Elementary schoolers utilize a pattern worksheet embedded in this plan to work on a deeper understanding of geometric concepts like symmetry and congruency. Since geometry is such a visual form of mathematics, this activity should fit...
Polar Trec
Swan Savvy
Just like so many other birds, swans migrate during the cold winter months. Your class can gain a better understanding of migration and bird life as they act out some of the activities common to the tundra swan. They make a nest, sit on...
Curated OER
Robe Design
You can learn a lot from a robe, especially if that robe is from the Qing Dynasty. Examine the beauty and symbolism that covers a functional and piece of clothing entitled Winter Dragon Robe. The class will consider and analyze all...
Curated OER
Sort It Out
Elementary schoolers engage in a game of logical reasoning called Secret Sort. A Venn diagram is used as a way to sort objects. This resource would be a great way to introduce the Venn diagram (maybe the most famous, and most-useful...
Curated OER
Pretend Memoirs
Elementary schoolers explore the concept of a memoir. The teacher tells a story from his/her childhood as an example of what a memoir is; a written account of one's past. The kids are asked to pretend that they are now adults, and are...
Curated OER
A Soldier's View of the American Civil War
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing lesson. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The lesson includes several options to complete...
Curated OER
Cartoon Stories
All ages love to engage in cartoon writing –- little do they know that they actually learn quite a bit from it! In an instructional session focused on literacy syntax and vocabulary, your pupils work cooperatively to draw six pictures...
Curated OER
Clearly Classified
Young scholars review the classification system for living organisms and apply it the classification of insects and flowers in the still life by Ambrosius Bosschaert. They create a chart classifying the animals and plants in the painting...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
B. Franklin, Printer and the Public Eye
Students explore U.S. history by researching famous Americans. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson plan, students read portions of a biography about Franklin and identify his position within U.S. politics and as a leader in the battle for...
Curated OER
Monster In My Closet
Students create closet "monsters" using black and white construction paper, crayons, markers, pencils, and other standard art supplies in this early-elementary classroom Art lesson. The lesson includes a list of suggested books for...
Curated OER
Expressing Emotions Through Art Lesson 3: Everybody Works Together
Students examine works of art that convey the idea of working together and analyze how artists use foreground, middle ground, and background. They use two-and three-dimensional materials to create a work of art.
Curated OER
Clay Pot Santa And Mrs. Claus
Students create clay replicas of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus in this early-elementary Art lesson for the holiday season. Directions are included for both Mrs. Claus and Santa. The lesson also includes links for more art activities using...
Curated OER
Puzzle Trees
Elementary artists use a collage and multi-media technique to create textured trees. They study the fall trees, discussing texture and what bare trees look like. They then use a variety of materials to create a textural piece.
Curated OER
Fish Banners
An art lesson involving fish can accent a wide variety of subjects. Here are the steps needed to create a fish banner with paint, shapes, cardboard, and paper. This would be a nice way to start or finish a unit on fish or underwater...
Curated OER
Heart Mobiles
A variation on classic Valentine's Day lessons that is sure to please, your elementary class construct heart mobiles using construction paper, string or yarn, hole punchers, foil, and pencils.