Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Excerpt From a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

For Students 7th - 8th
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
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Other

Louvre Museum: A Closer Look at the Portrait of the Marquise De Pompadour

For Students 9th - 10th
Media-rich module examines a pastel portrait of Madame de Pompadour, an influential member of the court of Louis XV and patron of the arts. The work, by French artist Maurice-Quentin Delatour, conveys much useful information about the...
Interactive
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: George Washington: Portrait for Kids

For Students 3rd - 5th
Many components of a portrait of George Washington have been removed. You need to uncover them with the red spyglass. As you find each piece you will learn how it plays an important roll in the value of the painting and why the artist...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: A Brush With History

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibition of portraits of American heroes, statesmen, writers, artists, scientists, and historical figures draws on the paintings in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery to consider the story of America. View portraits from...
Lesson Plan
ArtsNow

Arts Now Learning: Self Portraits With the Touch of a Finger [Pdf]

For Teachers K - 1st
For this lesson, students will explore self-portraiture by looking at classical portrait paintings, such as Diego Velazquez's La Infanta Margarita or Raphael's Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione. A close look at these works reveals...
Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art: Van Gogh's Self Portraits

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners will examine Vincent van Gogh's self-portraits and letters to better understand the artist's life story and personality. They will paint two Van Gogh-style self-portraits to show two parts of their own personality and write a...
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TES Global

Tes: Teaching Shakespeare: Tudor Art and Artists

For Teachers 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This is a slide show of charts showing Tudor art, artists, themes and techniques, portraits, and art skills.
Handout
Bibliomania

Bibliomania: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

For Students 9th - 10th
Read an introduction as well as the full text of James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, an autobiographical novel tracing the author?s youth from his birth to his departure from Ireland.
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New York Times

New York Times: Photographic Portraits of the Year's Best Actors (2004)

For Students 9th - 10th
This portfolio of black-and-white portraits of Oscar-nominated film stars captures a range of faces, poses, moods, and points of view. Excellent site for comparing and criticizing artistic choices and approaches and for inspiring...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

The National Portrait Gallery

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a great website of portraits of famous people. Includes pictures, biographical information, and general information on artists' techniques. Includes a "Hall of Presidents" and portraits of various celebrities and artists...
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Other

National Portrait Gallery: Collections: Sitters a Z

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the official National Portrait Gallery of the United Kingdom is a resource to search the collection by typing in a subject's name or access the section on artists.
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Inventing Marcel Duchamp:the Dynamics of Portraiture

For Students 9th - 10th
An exhibition delving into the life and works of one of the leading Dada artists, Marcel Duchamp. Includes examples of his alter-ego portraits and videos of interviews with the artist and with experts discussing his art. [Videos are...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Philippe Halsman a Retrospective

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution provides an online exhibit of portrait photographer Philippe Halsman who photographed famous people from Presidents to entertainers.
Website
Other

National Portrait Gallery

For Students 9th - 10th
The home on the web of Great Britain's National Portrait Gallery is a repository of the likenesses of famous British men and women. Portraits stretch back in time into the the sixteenth century and run right up to the present. Includes...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Zaida Ben Yusuf: New York Portrait Photographer

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibit documents the life and work of early twentieth-century New York portrait photographer Zaida Ben-Yusuf, who broke with many of the conventions of portraiture and, thereby, attracted the attention of prominent artistic, literary,...
Lesson Plan
J. Paul Getty Trust

J. Paul Getty Museum: Writing About Art: Comparing Portraits

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will compare and contrast an academic and an Impressionist portrait through a writing exercise and discussion. Each student will then write a formal commission letter to one of the artists, requesting a portrait. Adaptations for...
Lesson Plan
Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Albright Knox Art Gallery: Grid Self Portrait

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This lesson plan explores how Chuck Close uses photography and a mathematical grid to create his large portraits. Hands-on activities encourage students to create using the grid, during which they will learn about variation, repetition,...
Website
National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art: George Romney

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about portrait artist George Romney. There is a biography, and different examples of his art from 1770-1790. These are high-quality images, with details available.
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Thomas Sully

For Students 9th - 10th
From the Luce Foundation Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, this is a short biography and photographic portrait of the 19th-century miniature portrait artist Thomas Sully.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Portrait of an Artist

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This nonfiction passage shares a first person account of an artist's life. This passage is intended for guided practice and is designed to reinforce essential reading comprehension skills.
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National Library of France

National Library of France: Portraits/faces

For Students 9th - 10th
A virtual exhibit presenting a variety of nineteenth- and twentieth-century portraits. As you browse through the pages, click on each portrait to see larger version and related information (date, artist, dimensions, etc.). Images are...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: A Brush With History: Mark Twain

For Students 9th - 10th
This portrait of Mark Twain painted by John White Alexander is accompanied by information about the artist himself.
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The National Gallery (UK)

The National Gallery: Self Portrait of Rembrandt

For Students 9th - 10th
As part of the National Gallery's tribute "Encounters with Rembrandt" at its Rembrandt 400 online exhibition, this site focuses on Rembrandt's self portrait and is featured alongside two other self portraits by Lievens and Flinck who...
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Other

National Portrait Gallery of Australia

For Students 9th - 10th
Delve into the depths of the Australian National Portrait Gallery. There are captivating exhibits featured online.