Learners formulate a definition of art in the introductory lesson for a unit on various art forms. The learning emphasis is placed on Oregonian artist Duff Severe and reflective writing. Students compose an essay describing various art...

What inspires people and fuels their creative endeavors? Passion! Find out what drives your learners as they examine a painting as it relates to a person's passion. They create a reflective visual or written piece that describes their...

Young authors examine a clay figure in order to learn about the 6+1 Trait writing process. They consider how the art was made or buit up step-by-step, they then write about a process in their own lives that occurs in a similar way. 

More space, in this case, means more status. Kids consider the status assigned to Tlingits via house partition. They discuss a carved piece that shows household space partitioned by status. They then write their own clan stories and draw...

The eyes have it in a project that combines art with creative writing. Class members list three adjectives or characteristics of a person they admire. Then draw a picture of a pair of eyes that they feel reflects these characteristics....

Wrap up a documentary creation project with the final lesson in this series. Class members reflect on their learning and compose responses to four questions relating to what they learned, whey they would do differently, and how the group...

Bring art and society together with this highly creative and interesting lesson. Learners research various uses of masks in ceremonies. They then create a ceremony of their own and a mask to go along with it. They film themselves...

Who wouldn't love to get a letter from a blue bird? Elementary art enthusiasts analyze the social and historical context of Ason Yellowhair's Navajo piece, Bird and Cornstalk Rug. They examine the construction and images on the rug...

Think about a moment, frozen in time. Now take a critical look at the painting, Better, Homes, Better Gardens. This painting works to provide learners the opportunity to analyze art, critique artist's choices, and write a story inspired...

Combining art, music, dance, and reading comprehension, this lesson is geared to reach all ability levels. After reading a variety of fables and discussing story elements and character traits, class members select a moral to use as the...

What makes a good leader? Use the curriculum guide for William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to help scholars answer that question. Pupils research the play's historical context and other background information before engaging in...

Students create poems and sound compositions using instruments, sounds, and pictograph notation. After listening Debussy's Children's corner suite, they brainstorm a list of snow vocabulary words. Students write poems and in groups...

After your art class has completed a clay project, they can fill out this self-assessment to build their art-analysis and self-reflective skills. There are eight questions on two pages to help you grade your learners.

A carefully crafted three-day lesson plan integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson plan...

Exploring the baroque era can be exciting and fun when it's done thorugh the arts. Middle schoolers examine the music and art history of the baroque era through research. They use their findings and class notes to create an expository...

Can you imagine what it's like to be able to carve an animal out of stone? Kids do, as they analyze the techniques used to create the South Indian sculpture, Sacred Bull of Shiva. After a critical look at the piece, they write a...

Begin this activity by asking third graders to bring from home pieces of cloth that represent something important to them. (Have extras for students who need them.) They reflect on important events in their lives, compose narrative...

Students write a letter as a culminating activity to a service project. In this reflection project, students draw something that occurred during the project and attach words to their drawings. Students pair share to edit their work.

Students discover scrimshaw art. In this art lesson, students discover the history of scrimshaw and create their own scrimshaw art. Students write a poem, a short story, or a description about the image they chose to make.

Are you teaching Modernism to your class? Connect different areas of artistic expression in the Modernist Era. Learners read T.S. Eliot, view art by Pablo Picasso, and listen to a Modernist musical composition. This final assignment is...

Examine how art and music can be powerful tools for conveying a political or social message. After considering the issues surrounding rapper Paris, students design their own album covers that reflect their political and/or social...

Upper graders explore the concepts of landscape art, man, nature and their inter-relationship. This is a critical thinking and analysis activity intended to prepare the class for an up coming trip to a local art museum. They analyze,...

Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...