Young scholars make connections between two design objects intended for different purposes and analyze the social and political meaning in the designs. In this design analysis instructional activity, students complete image based discuss...

There is more to the solar system than the typical study of the sun and planets. Launch a study of asteroids, meteoroids, and comets by watching the video The Story of the Solar System, available for purchase through this...

Students find symbols and patterns in everyday life. In this patterns lesson, students break into groups and look for specific patterns and symbols. Students record their findings. Students create a graphic organizer with the information.

Students examine everyday Chinese objects and analyze why they are considered artwork today in this multi-subject lesson for Middle School. Small group colaboration is emphasized.

Young scholars create a new design for an everyday object using color and patterns after observing objects that surround them in the classroom; focusing on five examples that are either solid colored or patterned.

Students engage in a game of Exquisite Corpse. By looking at a painting by Ren?? Magritte and creating their own Surrealist "room," students further explore the Surrealist idea of placing common objects in unusual locations.

Learners analyze elements of design and compare/contrast elements of price and design. In this design lesson, students consider the differences between high-end and low-end design. After completing an analysis of design in small groups,...

Geometers explore mathematics by completing an object measurement worksheet. They utilize a variety of candy bars and rulers to conduct a measurement experiment in class. They complete worksheets as a group based on the measurement...

Examine two works of art and use these pieces as inspiration for dialogues. The whole class discusses Renoir's Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise and Toulouse-Lautrec's At the Moulin Rouge. Then, in groups of either three or ten, pupils...

Learners take nature walks to collect items from the environment such as leaves, shells, branches, feathers, and seeds. Working in groups, they assemble their items into mobiles and display them in the classroom.

Students examine ceramic vessels from different time periods. In this ceramic vessel instructional activity, students work in small groups to look at images of ceramic vessels from a number of time periods. They identify the...

Students compare Neoclassical objects from the Getty collection to American civic architecture of the time. They discuss the moral and political ideas of the Enlightenment and articulate how these art forms influenced democratic thought...

Learners discover fractions by creating models. In this fractions lesson, students read Give Me Half! by Stuart J. Murphy and view a video about what fractions actually represent. Learners divide a square piece of paper a certain amount...

Learners explain how political, social, and economic boundaries can be changed through cooperation and conflict. Small groups are assigned a particular trouble area of the world. Each group studies a particular side of the conflict.

Students observe and demonstrate pantomime and improvisation. They define and discuss improvisation and pantomime, then in small groups discuss and brainstorm ideas using a bag of props. Students then create and present a scene using...

Students explore electricity by completing Internet activities.  In this physical science lesson, students identify an electric circuit and describe the characteristics of conductors, giving examples as well.  Students...

First graders investigate the past and present by analyzing a group of images. In this community history lesson, 1st graders read the story Sarah Morton's Day by Kate Walters and discuss the time frame of the story. Students create a...

Students identify the textures of materials in their environments in order to expand their language, math, sensory, and observational skills. In this sensory activity lesson, students first write a list of different words to describe...

Students explore fossils by participating in an in class experiment. In this archaeology lesson plan, students utilize dough and classroom objects to create fossil imprints after hiding the toy/fossil in the dough egg. Students...

Students investigate modern transportation in the 19th century by examining artifacts.  In this U.S. history lesson, students read the story Joseph's Railroad Dreams, and discuss the Golden Spike used in the first transcontinental...

Study corrosion on bronze statues with a hands-on lesson. As pupils place a penny in water with salt, they observe the changes in the penny throughout a period of a week. They then analyze the pre-conservation and the...

Students listen to the story, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs". Then the class creates their own version of the story with a theme of their choice. In small groups, they write and illustrate a paragraph for the class book.

Middle schoolers generalize about a variety of designs of inventions. Students respond to a variety of visual designs. Middle schoolers become aware of the multitude of design variations in everyday objects.

Pupils work in small groups and design a ship out of balsa wood. They hypothesize what happens when the ship is placed in water then make predictions as to which ship stays afloat the longest with the greatest amount of weight added.