Students study Chinese jade carvings and then carve an animal from soap in a similar fashion.

Learners look carefully at and analyze a Dorothea Lange photograph and compare it with the migrant experience described in John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath.

Students examine the composition of landscape paintings with an emphasis on foreground, middle ground, and background. They view and analyze a painting by Poussin, and create an original imagined landscape.

Young scholars explore the use of personification as a way of expressing ideals. They transfer this understanding to the present by creating an allegorical depiction of a contemporary ideal or value inspired by precedents in the...

Learners explore stock characters and pantomime. In this comic theater lesson, students examine an ancient Greek statuette depicting a comic actor and an ancient Roman lamp decorated with a comic mask. Learners pantomime short scenes and...

Students examine the tapestry "Chariot of Triumph." In this symbolism lesson, students analyze the symbols in the tapestry and what they represent. Students create their own design for a tapestry by using various symbols that represent...

Students look carefully at two photographs by Dorothea Lange that relate to the universal theme of a journey. They identify parallels between Lange's photographs and two poems. They write about the theme of journey as it relates to their...

Students examine Charles-Antoine Coypel’s Self-Portrait and discover what he shows in that piece of artwork. In this self portrait lesson plan, students will study a self portrait and discuss what they notice about it and what they...

Young scholars examine ceramic vessels from different time periods. In this ceramic vessel instructional activity, students work in small groups to look at images of ceramic vessels from a number of time periods. They identify the...

Students examine porcelain objects and see how their original use has been changed to create a new decorative object or an object with a new function. In this porcelain objects lesson plan, students observe the objects and then they will...

Students investigate illuminated manuscript pages from the Medieval period. In this illuminated manuscript lesson, students examine 13th century pages and compare them to modern printed works. They describe the details of an illuminated...

Students examine theme in the photography of Dorothea Lange. In this photography activity, students analyze photography taken by Dorothea Lange and identify themes that run through each. They design an exhibition that shows how the theme...

Students explore how migration to Harlem created a new life for African Americans. In this cross curricular lesson plan, students illustrate maps showing the migration, paint murals representing African American life in the South...

Students explore sculpture. In this lesson about sculpting, students create a portrait bust. Students choose a classmate to make a bust of and apply all of the necessary elements to their bust. Students will have a better understanding...

Learners examine the roles of mothers and grandmothers by looking at black-and-white photographs of one American family and comparing that family's multi-generational story with their own. In this mothers and grandmothers lesson plan,...

Learners read and write an artist's statement. In this artist's statement lesson, students read Dorothea Lange's artist statement before writing one of their own about their photography. They examine their own photography and use...

Students compose a creative writing piece based on a painting of a mythological scene. In this creative writing lesson,  students write about the scene in the painting and tie in  their original stories into tales from the life...

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.

Young scholars read and compare excerpts from The Odyssey and The Adventures of Telemachus. They create an original story based on a secondary character from The Odyssey as well as a sketch of one of the pivotal scenes from the story.

Middle schoolers examine the evolution of landscape painting in France from the 17th to the 19th century. They study and compare three landscape paintings, emphasizing space, depth, and the concepts of foreground, middle ground, and...

Students draw their own drawings after learning about composition of drawings and lines. For this drawing lesson plan, students learn about different lines they can use while drawing. Then they go outside and draw their own.

Students create a class alphabet book. In this letter recognition lesson, students use line and color to draw an object whose name begins with a specific letter. Students use adjectives to create a sentence describing the object or...

Students analyze photographic images and use cameras to document their own life.  For this analyzing photography lesson, students apply formal analysis techniques to images, then create a documentary of photographic images with...

Learners discover facts about the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead. In this compare and contrast lesson, students explore Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Learners create an alter to memorialize a family member or friend that has...