Curated OER
In Depth with the Full Spectrum
Students explore the basic color wheel and the ways that artists use color to guide the viewer's attention through a painting's composition. A creation of a sense of depth in a two dimensional space and the effect of color on mood and...
National Gallery of Canada
The Changing Composition
Play with dimensions and practice making a two-dimensional scene look three-dimensional. Class members view pieces of art and then make their own scenes by layering different materials and drawing in details. Check out all the tabs for...
Curated OER
Mixed Media Houses
Students select from collage and reference materials related to houses and develop a two dimensional work of art using various imagery and then draw or paint into a composition to achieve a work of art suitable for the gallery or add to...
Curated OER
Still Life Painting: Arranging Nature
Young scholars display the two still-life paintings they created along with their artist’s statement, write a review of a peer’s work, and discuss all of the paintings in a group critique. In this still life art lesson, students view the...
Curated OER
Lesson Two: Creating Great Images (of People) for Video
Students study basic concepts necessary to produce beautiful, professional looking visual compositions (which can then be used in professional television productions).
Curated OER
Horse of a Different Color: An Introduction to Color in the Visual Arts
Students examine how artists use color to create a sense of depth in a two-dimensional space. They view and analyze prints, complete worksheets, and write a paragraph on how color is used to draw the viewer's eye to a central figure.
National Gallery of Canada
My World
Art can tell viewers about an artist's personality and background. Have your learners look at Inuit art and consider subject matter and how it relates to the artist and his or her world. The related art project requires pupils to create...
Curated OER
Still-Life Painting: Arranging Nature—Lesson 2
Learners choose meaningful objects for a still-life arrangement and paint it using watercolors. After reflecting on their choice of objects and composition, students begin to write an artist's statement.
Curated OER
Still Life
Students compose a three-dimensional still life composition in a shoe box, sketch portions of their work and then design a painting based on the finished box. They complete and critique their paintings.
Curated OER
Looking at Still Life Lesson 2: How Artists Assemble Still Lifes
Students identify and discuss the basic shapes used in artistic still-life compositions.
Curated OER
Relief Drawing
High schoolers choose an interesting view for an art relief project. They outline their composition, and shade their relief using charcoal pencil. The results are fabulous! One nice thing about this art project is that the materials...
Curated OER
Horse of a Different Color: An Introduction to Color in the Visual Arts
High schoolers identify ways in which the artist uses color to draw the view's attention to points within the composition and creates a sense of depth. They discuss the effect of color on the tone and mood of an artwork.
Curated OER
Dynamic Collages and Assemblages
Students create a two, three, or four-dimensional collage or assemblage. They use shapes, colors, images, objects, and textures to create their collage.
Curated OER
Ideal Performance
Students analyze the art of theatrical costumes and modern art designs. In this art analysis instructional activity, students compare two different designs for theatrical costumes by artists Oskar Schlemmer and El Lissitzky. Students...
National Gallery of Canada
My Abstraction
What makes a color warm, and what makes a color cool? Explore colors and abstract art through an observation activity and an art assignment. Learners look at images and talk about colors before making their own compositions with...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 1: In Depth with the Full Spectrum
High schoolers study the ways in which an artist can use color. They view various images of artwork and discuss the effect of color on spacial dimensions, focal points, tone, and mood.
Curated OER
Still-Life Painting: Arranging Nature
Students display the two still-life paintings that they created in previous lessons, along with their artist's statements. They write a review of a peer's work and discuss all of the paintings in a group critique.
National Gallery of Canada
Memories of the Past
Explore contemporary American Indian art. After viewing a set of images, class members discuss the design elements of techniques present, as well as how these artists represent history and culture. Learners examine the parfleche and...
Curated OER
Perspective
Students explain what is near and far in respect to the horizon line on a 2-d surface. They blend and use oil pastels correctly and explain the concept of a horizon line.
Curated OER
Apulian Oinochoe
Students analyze Greek vase painting and create their own vase art. In this vase painting lesson, students analyze the design element shape and the relationship between figure and ground. Students design a figure/ground relationship...
Curated OER
Mondrian and Matisse: Combining Styles
Fourth graders create artwork using the pure elements of line, shape, and color as the subject matter. The artwork is then cut or torn into organic shapes which are then glued onto a background paper, leaving areas of paper showing in...
National Gallery of Canada
To Canada with Love
Focus on line and color with a postcard project. Learners view various works of art and discuss line and color before moving on to creating their own work. Using nature as inspiration, pupils decorate postcards and mail them after...
Curated OER
Lesson: Lisa Signal: Altering Perspectives
Kids make big artistic gestures, just like the abstract artist, Lisa Signal. They use her work as inspiration for making simplistic, abstract, statements in an artistic way. They analyze her work, then walk through an unfamiliar...
National Gallery of Canada
Panoramic Landscapes
Combine landscape with collage to create unique art pieces. Class members examine works of art before creating their own pieces with photos of a special place. Learners create a panoramic image and add in figures.