Curated OER
Elements of Art: Student Assessment
What a neat test! The class is asked to draw and color to create examples of eight elements of art. They focus on each element (line, value, shape, form, space, texture, primary and secondary color) by creating an original piece in each...
Curated OER
Night and Day: A Digital Art Lesson based on Monet's Rouen Cathedral Series
Think about your favorite place ... now, think about what it looks like at different times during the day. How does the change in lighting affect the colors you see? Young artists explore the tools available in digital art software to...
Curated OER
Roman Art, Architecture, and Engineering
There is no better tool to help you explain art or architecture than an image-filled slide show. Classic Greek art, architecture, and engineering are all described with excellent visual examples and text which defines each form by its...
Great Books Foundation
On the Origin of Species
How did Charles Darwin support his controversial theory of evolution with evidence? Use an excerpt from his 1859 work On the Origin of Species to reinforce the importance of making inferences within an informational text, and to discuss...
Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Tribal Origin Stories
The teacher reads and retells Californian tribal origin or creation stories that come from the traditions of a variety of California Indian tribes. Then, pupils get together in groups and retell the stories they just heard; just as the...
Curated OER
Pop Art Pins & Magnets
Students examine cereal and snack boxes and then create magnets and/or pins using the Pop Art demonstrated in these pieces. This multi-level lesson emphasizes the differences between commercial art examples and fine art examples.
J. Paul Getty Trust
Expressing Emotions through Art Lesson 1—Everyone Shows They Care
In a instructional activity that explores art and emotions, scholars analyze a piece of art and discuss which emotions it portrays. They go on to reflect on their own emotions and how they are similar to the feelings expressed...
Curated OER
Paper Ring Art
A few bits of paper can really go a long way when it comes to art. Learners build motor skills and a creative voice as they shape and glue thin strips of paper, creating an original scene.
Smithsonian Institution
The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana
Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Writing Through Reading
Improve writing skills using methods from Robert Gay's Writing Through Reading; Gay espouses reproducing the work of successful writers to build the ability to convey original ideas effectively. Young writers transcribe, paraphrase, and...
Curated OER
Building Original Narratives
Fourth graders act out and write original narratives. In this theater meets writing lesson, 4th graders work in groups to create original narratives; after students act out their story, they write it down as a narrative.
Curated OER
Youth Art Month Made Simple
Pragmatic projects designed to integrate Youth Art Month with your curriculum.
Curated OER
Crafty Literature Projects to Lure Language Arts Learners
Recognize National Arts and Crafts Month with language arts project ideas to inspire creative learning.
Curated OER
Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi: Mixing Words and Pictures
Create meaningful illustrations to accompany stories in a web-based art and literacy instructional activity focused on "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling. The class takes a virtual art safari with the Museum of Modern Art and then...
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
When Art Conveys Political and Social Conflict
Twelfth graders consider art as a medium to convey information and opinions on social conflict and issues. They analyze images from the Crocker Art Museum, discuss their effectiveness in raising awareness of an issue, and create a...
Curated OER
Cave Art Revisited
Young scholars research the sources of prehistoric cave paintings and engage in an activity of creating their own cave art. The lesson focuses on the design, composition style of the art, and importance of cultural contributions cave...
Curated OER
Splat! Boom! Pow! the Influence of Cartoons in Contemporary Art
Students relate abstract expressionism and cultural influences on 1960's art. They use images appropriated from comic books to create a painting in the abstract expressionist style by changing the scale of the comic and reducing content...
Curated OER
Medieval Art and Architecture
Detailing the characteristics of Medieval art and architecture, including Romanesque and Gothic architecture, these slides provide incredible views of some of the most famous buildings, cathedrals and castles in the world. A few slides...
Curated OER
Creating an Original Opera
This may be a lot to ask of a high schooler, but then again, who knows? Pupils work in groups to explore, write, and then perform an original opera. They view versions of The Magic Flute and La Traviata, then compose a plot, characters,...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 3
Curator, artist, art handler, archivist, conservator-restorer, guide. Who would have thought there were so many different kinds of museum professionals? After a visit to an art museum, class members reflect on the role of the museum in...
EngageNY
Summarizing Complex Ideas: Comparing the Original UDHR and the "Plain Language" Version
The eighth lesson plan in this series continues the focus on vocabulary and increasing young readers' awareness of academic language. Pairs of learners participate in a short vocabulary review activity called Interactive Words in which...
Curated OER
Magic Words, Magic Brush: The Art of William Butler and Jack Yeats
Young scholars explore the influence of the landscape of Ireland on shaping the poetry of William Butler Yeats. They work in groups researching the growth of the Irish Nationalist Movement, Celtic origins, invasions, and the impact on...
Curated OER
Origin of the Modern Summer Games
Where did the Olympic Summer Games originate? The class takes a look at ancient origins of modern Olympic games. They research the Olympics and write a compare and contrast essay that describes how the Olympic Games have changed since...