Lesson Plan
Incredible Art

Painting with Dots - Kirkland Style

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Pointillism is the focus of a lesson plan that asks young artists to compare Vance Kirkland's painting style with aboriginal dot art, and then to produce their own piece of dot art.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Studying An Artist

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the artwork of a specific artist and attempt to create a painting in the style of the studied artist in this middle and high school level Art lesson. Rubric is included for self- and teacher assessment after the project...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Art of Nonviolence: Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Concepts of Nonviolence in Indian Art

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students make connections between nonviolent ideals and art. In this visual arts lesson, students discuss the successes of the American Civil Rights Movement and discuss Gandhi's influence on the movement. Students then examine images of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Problem Page Letter

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners discuss a dramatic situation involving realistic characters and create response "letters" to the situation in this Drama lesson for the high school classroom. The lesson emphasizes the study of empathy and sympathy as it relates...
Lesson Plan
Incredible Art

Micrography Self-Portraits

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Words. Words. Words. Class members create micrography self-portraits combining a high contrast portrait photo with words that express themselves. Complete directions for the project, student samples, along with links to professional...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Character Building from Inside Out

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students relate the facial muscle location with a person's expressions. In this visual arts lesson, students write a fictional story about a character. They use digital cameras and computer softwares to create an animation film about it.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Water Water - Costume Designing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create costumes using recycled materials determined beforehand by the teacher in this High School Drama/Art lesson on costume designing. The example lesson is based around the title of "Water, Water, Water" but can be adapted...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Elizabeth Peyton: Artist's Community: The Real

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What is real or imagined? The lines of beauty reality, and imagination are blurred in Elizabeth Peyton's portraits of her community. Learners analyze her use of artistic technique in conveying real and imagined communities. They then use...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Lisa Signal: Altering Perspectives

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Kids make big artistic gestures, just like the abstract artist, Lisa Signal. They use her work as inspiration for making simplistic, abstract, statements in an artistic way. They analyze her work, then walk through an unfamiliar...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Public Arts Programs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners choose a project from one of the public art programs and work on it as a collaborative project. The goal is to encourage students to research art programs in their city, and communicate with learners from another city.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Telling Stories in Art: Symbols of a Life

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Through a series of activities, learners are exposed to how artists use symbolic imagery to create the narrative of a subject’s life. They study The Birth of Alexander and some manuscripts kept at J. Paul Getty Museum. They then draft...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Mary Heilmann: To Be Someone

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Kids consider the pure abstraction and minimalism found in Mary Heilmann's work. They analyze several of her pieces through critical discussion and then think about her use of a song title as the title of her exhibit. Learners then use a...
Lesson Plan
J. Paul Getty Trust

Still-Life Painting: Arranging Nature—Lesson 1

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Art learners examine still-life arrangement images and respond to a series of prompts. In a whole-class discussion, pupils list elements and qualities that still-life paintings can have. After instructors create an arrangement and model...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Descriptive Writing: Using Art to Inspire description

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...
Lesson Plan
Khaled Hosseini Found

Lesson One: Exploration of The Kite Runner Graphic Novel

For Teachers 10th - 12th
What is a graphic novel? How does it differ from a traditional novel? These questions launch a discussion of Fabio Celoni and Mirka Andolfo's graphic novel adaptation of The Kite Runner. Through a series of literature circle discussions,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

General Lesson Plan for Documentary Lens

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Use this general lesson guide to inform your instruction surrounding a documentary. The lesson is made up of five activities. The activities are intentionally general because they are designed to adapted for specific films. While the...
Lesson Plan
Walters Art Museum

The Symbolism of Allegorical Art

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Introduce learners to allegorical art with four bronze sculptures by Francesco Bertos. After modeling how to recognize bias and allegory in Bertos' Africa, class groups examine the other three sculptures in the series before creating...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

High School Lesson Plan

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students compose and arrange music within specific guidelines. They # identify and explain compositional devices and techniques used in a musical work. They compare and contrast the use of those techniques between different compositions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Looking and Learning in the Art Museum

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Pupils analyze art in a museum and write an essay about the responsibilities of museum professionals. In this museum and art lesson, students identify the roles of an art museum. Pupils evaluate the ability of a museum to fulfill its own...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Unmonumental: Yesterday's News

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Upper graders are tasked with developing a social consciousness as they analyze the impact of the news media. They view a presentation depicting various media events in order to understand threshold moments in history. There are three...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: An Exploration of Places and Spaces Part I

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The concept behind this lesson is fantastic. Learners explore how different locations and situations affect them as individuals, focusing heavily on the impact of the urban environment. They question how location can make them change...
Lesson Plan
J. Paul Getty Trust

Portraits That Capture Character

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
One of the great things about technology is that it lets youngsters visit museums that may be many miles away. With this resource, middle and high schoolers can visit the portrait galleries at J. Paul Getty Museum, located in Los...
Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Beautiful Brain: Do You See What I See?

For Teachers 5th - 9th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Beautiful Brain: Strangest Dream

For Teachers 5th - 9th Standards
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...