Curated OER
Shaping Ideas: Symbolism in Sculpture
Learners critique the symbolic structures created by other students. In this visual arts lesson, learners display completed sculptures and drawings. Students analyze the symbolic elements in each others work, relate their art to Getty's...
Curated OER
Art: Mural Project
Learners create murals. In this visual arts lesson, students study the process of creating murals and then design civil rights murals or their own.
Curated OER
Signs and Symbols
Sixth graders carefully analyze a triptych of the nativity, paying close attention to the lines, shapes and symbols included in the artwork. They explore the role of the Catholic church in society at the time the piece was created and...
Curated OER
A Fair Trade
Students examine a piece of art to find objects and symbols used by the artist. In this visual art lesson plan, students look at Jaun Quick-to-See Smith's, "Trade Canoe for Don Quixote." They look for symbols and items that show the...
Endangered Species Coalition
Endangered Species Day Art
Albrecht Durer created a highly textured stamp or print of a rhinoceros. To better understand which animals are near extinction, upper graders create similar prints of endangered animals they've researched. The six-day lesson includes...
Curated OER
Talking Rocks
Artists imitate the symbols used by tribes of the Southwest or use their own word pictures that communicate something about themselves. This lesson is a perfect blend of visual art and social studies. Students create a beautiful piece of...
Curated OER
Silent Symbols Speak Loudly: Icons, Brands & You
Students view and discuss visual symbols around them every day, analyze symbols on United States one dollar bill, explore variety of meanings of same symbols depending on context and culture, and create their own money with symbols that...
Curated OER
Symmetry and Symbols
Students identify symmetrical and congruent elements in folk art. In this art and geometry lesson, students examine pictures of Masonic Plaque in the Form of a Royal Arch Tracing Board for evidence of congruent and symmetrical elements....
Curated OER
Symbolism Bookmarks
Students create a bookmark about symbolism. In this literature-based lesson plan, students study the meaning of the word symbolism. Students read and analyze the symbolism found in "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe. Then they choose a...
Curated OER
Pop-Up Pop Art, Tunnel book
Students study iconic symbols Keith Haring would make in his artwork. They invent a background for the images, and draw the characters. Students create a Tunnel Book and a Pop-Up Book based on their drawings.
Curated OER
Folk Art: Bird of Paradise Quilt Top
Students examine a "Bird of Paradise Quilt Top" to discover what the themes and patterns tell about mid-nineteenth-century America. In this American Folk Art lesson plan, students discuss the possible creator of the quilt and the...
Learning 4 Kids
A Christmas Activities eBook
Get in the Christmas spirit with an ebook detailing 18 holiday inspired arts and crafts, including pompom trees, placemats, paper chains, and more!
Curated OER
Symbolism in Sculpture
Students use criteria developed in class to evaluate which of their own sketches would make the best symbolic sculpture. In this sculpture symbolism lesson, students work in pairs to create a sculpture and define its symbolic meaning....
Curated OER
Artistic Symbols
Middle schoolers compare and contrast symbols used in African and Plains Indian art. In this visual arts lesson, students compare symbols of 2 cultural groups found in their art. Middle schoolers write a description of what items might...
Curated OER
Collage and Photomontage
Tenth graders discuss collage and photomontage techniques and artists, and how the art form can convey cultural or current issues. They research a collage artist, then design a topical or personally symbolic collage. Present their...
Curated OER
Free Form Sculpture
Tenth graders explore abstract and non-representational art forms through research and artistic expression. They research a free form artist, their work, and abstract sculpture. They then work with pantyhose, chicken wire, plaster, and...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 12
Class members compare the final 30 minutes of Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope with Act V of Doescher's play, William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope and consider how the choice of media influences viewers' impression...
Curated OER
Looking at French Decorative Arts: Symbols in Marquetry
High schoolers study a French cabinet, then research and discuss its symbols. They create their own marquetry design based on an animal symbol from another country.
Curated OER
The Heart Symbol
Students investigate the symbol of the heart and how it is used to represent the relationship of friendship. They look at samples of the heart set in different contexts in order to compare and contrast them. Students answer some key...
Curated OER
Visual Arts Lesson: Virgin of Guadalupe
Sixth graders paint symbols of their culture after examining painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Curated OER
Gateway to the Arts
Students redesign a dead space in the school to create an interesting and stimulating visual environment. In this art design instructional activity, students look at how to redesign architectural space and research ways to enhance a...
Curated OER
Create a Flock of Birds One Pinch at a Time
Students create Mexican Pottery Clay project. In this natural history/art activity students construct their own clay bird. Students make connections between visual arts and reading to follow directions. Students also...
Curated OER
Homer's Civil War Veteran: Battlefield to Wheat Field
Students examine Civil War-themed artwork. In this visual arts lesson, students compare and contrast paintings by Winslow Homer and Timothy O'Sullivan. Students analyze the symbolism in the artwork representing Civil War...
Curated OER
Ancient Aztecs
Is it a calendar? A religious symbol? A political statement? One thing for certain is that Aztec sun stone designs remain an important symbol in Mexican cultural art. Young artists craft their own Aztec Sun design incorporating ideas...