Curated OER
They Put on Masks
Young scholars discover Native American culture by creating masks. In this customs instructional activity, students create their own masks in class from plaster and paint. Young scholars perform a skit in front of their...
Curated OER
Composition Compositions
Students explore composition and symmetry to create their own digital media piece. In this design composition lesson, students visit the online websites and examples of asymmetrical compositions and symmetry. Students sketch a...
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Fantasy Visualization
Young scholars view and discuss a selection of paintings from Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, and other Surrealist artists. They play a game in which each person in a group writes a sentence and passes it on to the next person without...
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Creating Animal Prints
Students investigate the habits of animals by studying their prints. In this animal life lesson, students investigate the different types of tracks left from animals by researching the Internet. Students utilize clay or...
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Underground Railroad
Fourth graders use internet cites to explore the Underground Railroad. They also learn the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Focus questions are included.
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Democracy: Understanding the Canadian Parliamentary System
Pupils study democracy, levels of Canadian government and the responsibilities of elected officials. They write letter's to the Prime Minister about their pride in Canada.
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Word Structure-Prefix and Suffix
Students identify the common prefixes and suffixes used in the English language. They dissect a word into its various (root, prefix, suffix) parts and use a dictionary to determine the proper usage and derivation of each word part. ...
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Short Stories Through Multimedia Presentations
Ninth graders summarize and paraphrase a short story read in class. They identify the six story elements of character, setting, plot, conflict, solution, and tone/mood. Students create a PowePoint presentation that illustrates the...
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Road Trip: Line, Pattern, and Movement
Students examine and explore various line, color, and movement elements in artwork. They view and discuss examples of abstract artwork, and create their own original abstract design that tells the story of a road trip.
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Cyber Museum Page
Ninth graders create webpages similar to that of a local artist and then help fourth graders create artistically balanced webpages with colorful backgrounds, appropriate fonts and interesting graphics using Netscape Composer.
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"Kookie Kitties" - Paul Klee: Finger Puppets
Learners examine and discuss the painting, Cat and Bird, by Paul Klee. They identify the various types of lines, shapes, and colors in the painting, and design and create finger puppet versions of the animals from the painting.
Curated OER
Portraits That Capture Character
Students explore the definition of a portrait. For this portrait analysis lesson, students discuss two of Dorothea Lange's portraits and create their own portraits of their classmates.
John Lentine
Butterflies and Bugs
Symmetry, line, shape, art, and math are all connected through a fun hands-on craft. Included are instructions to a classic activity, where learners create butterflies to show symmetry in nature and then discuss symmetry in math. It is...
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Character Bust: Ceramics Lesson
Whether it is a protagonist, antagonist, hero or heroine, characters are a must in any story. Learners analyze a character from a narrative they are reading, then use that character as inspiration. They create a ceramic bust depicting...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
Curated OER
An Uplifting Experience
Students examine the forces that affect the flight of airplanes through the use of paper airplanes. They conduct Internet research, conduct experiments demonstrating Bernoulli's Principle, and design and construct a paper airplane.
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You Can't Sell This Thing
Students, in teams, design and create a logo/trademark, packaging box, and poster for advertising their new product/invention. They present their new product/invention, and information about the target audience, to the class.
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Keeping Us in Stitches Activity: Whole Cloth Quilt Design
Students examine how decorative motifs are adapted to other types of objects by craftsmen and artists. They examine photos on the Illinois State Museum website, discuss design elements, adapt a motif to a line drawing, and transfer a...
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Advanced Presentation Boards
Students are introduced to the proper way to make presentation boards. Individually, they use the elements of design to make a presentation board for one room and create a legend. To end the lesson, they present their boards to the class.
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Creating a Place of Contemplation Based on Hindu Temple Architecture
Learners study the architecture and decoration of Hindu temples, compare them with, and apply them to, a place of contemplation they will design for themselves.
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4 Part Color Study in Painter Classic
Students use the Wacom tablet to demonstrate observational drawings, design principles, and color schemes. Students create four different images of a common art or graphics tool based on four color schemes and a different effect.
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Logos and Commercial Arts
Students identify popular logos and discuss the purpose they serve in advertising. They take a familiar logo and redesign it based on their own experience with the company it represents.
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Flowers a la O'keefe
Students are introduced to the artwork of Georgia O'keefe. The lesson presents the history and style of the artist. Then the learners are given the chance to create their own artwork. The goal of the lesson is to build art appreciation...
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Paper Molas
Students examine different cultures and their artwork. They create a mola of their own. They also analyze other molas for different types of design principles.