Curated OER
From Foreground to Background
Students examine the composition of landscape paintings with an emphasis on foreground, middle ground, and background. They view and analyze a painting by Poussin, and create an original imagined landscape.
Curated OER
Environmental Impact
Students analyze a 20th century photograph of a Los Angeles landscape and examine the population expansion of L.A. They discuss the principles of design, complete a worksheet, and write a research paper on overpopulation in Los Angeles.
Curated OER
Marshland Ecosystems
Learners identify animals in ecosystem depicted on 16th Century ceramic basin and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores based on physical characteristics and prior knowledge, determine which life forms in ecosystem are...
Curated OER
Combating Corrosion
Students perform an experiment to show the chemical reactions that occur when metal corrodes. They apply the results of the experiment to the conservation efforts of art curators trying to restore an ancient Greek bronze. This lesson...
Curated OER
Neoclassical Influences
Students analyze neoclassical art. In this art history lesson plan, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the details of the art produced during the Enlightenment.
Curated OER
Friendship Portraits
Students explore sculpture. In this lesson about sculpting, students create a portrait bust. Students choose a classmate to make a bust of and apply all of the necessary elements to their bust. Students will have a better understanding...
Curated OER
The Poetry of Chinoiserie
Students study Asian works of art and Japanese haiku. They then take this knowledge and create an original haiku in response to other works of art.
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange Image as Metaphor
Students define metaphor in both art and writing. In this metaphor lesson, students examine a photograph by Dorothea Lange and discuss the metaphor that is displayed in the picture. They write about an object that symbolizes a personal...
Curated OER
The Photographs of Dorothea Lange
Students examine theme in the photography of Dorothea Lange. In this photography lesson, students analyze photography taken by Dorothea Lange and identify themes that run through each. They design an exhibition that shows how the theme...
Curated OER
Looking at French Decorative Arts: The Science of Good Design
Young scholars examine the style of an 18th-century compound microscope and its case. In this scientific design lesson plan, students look at Jacques Caffieri's, "Compound Microscope and Case" before comparing the design to a modern...
Curated OER
Objects of Adornment
Students examine the portrait of two historical princesses. In this art history lesson, students define the term "adornment" and discuss the characteristics of each painting. Students compare and contrast the objects worn by women. As a...
Curated OER
A Story on a Vase
Students analyze a scene depicting Herakles and the Hydra. In this Greek art lesson, students read Greek myths and choose one scene from a myth to illustrate. Students use tempera paint and a scratch technique using a wooden...
Curated OER
Writing about Art:Comparing Portraits
Students compare and contrast an academic and Impressionist portrait. In this art history lesson, students look at two different styles of painting and write a paragraph as if they are the subject in the painting. They compare and...
Curated OER
Historical Context: Discovering a Painting
High schoolers analyze a work of art. For this historical context lesson, students research the time period in which the art they observed was created. High schoolers consider differing opinions about a work of art.
Curated OER
Breaking the Chains, Rising Out of Circumstances
Students investigate a sculpture from the 17th century. In this art history lesson, students examine Bust of a Man by Francis Hardwood and discover the meaning behind it. Students create their own portrait bust of somebody...
Curated OER
Celebration and Satire- Beginning Level
Students examine art elements in a late-19th-century self-portrait painting. In this visual arts activity, students analyze the painting "A Centennial of Independence" and identify the color, shape, and symbols in the art piece. Students...
Curated OER
Land Use and Lawmaking in California
Students investigate the laws of using land. In this California Government lesson, students examine the many uses of land in California and find an environmental issue they care about. Students write a letter to a politician...
Curated OER
Land Use and Lawmaking in California
Learners design a plan for a housing development in their city. In this house development lesson plan, students observe pictures of land use, research lawmaking, and develop a plan for an environmentally friendly housing development in...
Curated OER
Putting a Spin on Current Events
Students examine the symbolism on a 17th-century cabinet. In this symbolism lesson, students view samples of a 17th century cabinet and identify it's symbols. Students create their own cabinet by using various art supplies and paint...
Curated OER
Putting a Spin on Current Events
Students discover propaganda. In this Greek mythology lesson, students discuss meanings of ancient art work with their class. Students investigate the dishonesty behind propaganda.
Curated OER
Working in Photographs
Students analyze illustrations of workers in the 19th and 20th centuries. In this social science lesson, students examine photographs of workers and identify the types of work that were available in the 19th century compared to the 20th...
Curated OER
Contemporizing Myths
Students examine Rembrandt's "Abduction of Europa." In this Greek art lesson, students discuss how the artist has taken an ancient Greek myth and contemporized it. Students read origin myths and choose a scene to illustrate in a...
Curated OER
Writing Mythological Narratives
Students compose a creative writing piece based on a painting of a mythological scene. In this creative writing lesson, students write about the scene in the painting and tie in their original stories into tales from the life...
Curated OER
Portrait of Nadine Dumas
Students explore a portrait and then create their own portrait as a gift. In this bust art activity, students use model techniques to create a three dimensional bust portrait. Students analyze the elements of the design...