Getting to Know
Shape and Form in Art
Introduce youngsters to the important role shape and form play in art with this extensive collection of activities and projects. From teaching first graders how to create mandalas to engaging third and fourth graders in the design of...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Picture the Word
This is an excellent way to make onset and rime visual for beginning readers. They examine CVC-word picture cards that are all missing the first letter. Using plastic letters (or whatever you have), they complete each word and record it...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Fluency: Connected Text, Recorded Reading
Scholars listens to a story on headphones while he reads along with a visual text using intonation, correct pacing, and fluency.
Curated OER
Pastel Landscape
A horizon line is one that helps artists establish space and dimension in their pictures. Young artists use pastels (chalks) to draw landscapes that use a horizon line. They draw the image with black chalk fist, color it in, and finally...
Curated OER
Texture Pumpkins
I love art and so do children of all ages. Your very youngest learners explore texture as they examine texture on their person, in their classroom, and then apply it to neat clay pumpkins. They roll clay into balls, flatten them out, and...
PBS
The Little Red Hen: A Tale of Cooperation
Ensure that your kids don't even consider saying "Not me!" when it comes time to read by engaging them in this set of lesson plans based around "The Little Red Hen." The class reads the story together before starting in on additional...
Curated OER
Flower Bouquets
Picasso's Posies is the inspiration for a lovely watercolor painting activity. The class explores the use of line, shape, and space in art as they create an image using the traced outline of their hands holding three to five flowers....
Curated OER
Fall Perspective Landscape
Fall can be a beautiful time of year with leaves and bright colors everywhere! Little ones can explore the wonders of fall as they create perspective landscapes showing a fall scene. They work on creating a foreground, background and...
Curated OER
Symmetry Butterflies
There is one creature that comes to mind every time I hear the words shape and symmetry, the butterfly. Young artists can explore these concepts as they create butterfly designs that use repeated shape patterns and bi-lateral symmetry....
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Rhyme, Rhyme Closed Sort
A rhyming activity challenges scholars to sort picture cards according to their rhyme. Four picture cards line up across the top of a pocket chart. Learners take turns choosing from a face-down stack of picture cards and sort them...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Onset and Rime, Rime House
Are you covering onset and rime with budding readers? Here, learners examine six "rime house" work boards, each with an image at the top. Working with a partner, they segment each top image's onset and rime. Then, they pick cards and...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonics: Varient Correspondances, Silent "e" Changes
Engage early readers in a silent e activity to help them understand the changes the letter can make to a simple word. With the provided cards, learners read and write each word as it appears without the silent e. Then they read and write...
Curated OER
Blue-Prints
Blueprints are used to help architects plan out their drawings in an accurate and measurable way. Little ones create a grid with white crayon, dip the paper in blue paint, and then draw a series of buildings. However, it may be better to...
Curated OER
Van Gogh Sunflowers
Add a little texture to your next art project with an activity inspired by Van Gogh's Sunflowers. The art project is collage-based and uses ripped paper and glue to create highly textural versions of Van Gogh's famous painting. A...
Curated OER
Kandinsky Cut Circles
Kandinsky definitely knows how to use the concept of shape in art. Kids get motivated to create artworks inspired by the amazing circle. They cut out several circles and glue them in concentric patterns on their paper. Tip: The book The...
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
The Nutcracker Teacher Resource Guide
Clara becomes Marie, The Mouse King becomes a rat, and the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh becomes the setting for a modern interpretation of Tchaikovsky's famous ballet. Intended as a resource guide for a 2012 performance, the...
Curated OER
Cut Paper Circus
Learning to cut with scissors is a key skill for youngsters to master. They hone their fine motor skills as they cut a variety of shapes to create a paper circus composition. They'll cut and arrange their shapes to create a circus...
Curated OER
Robe Design
You can learn a lot from a robe, especially if that robe is from the Qing Dynasty. Examine the beauty and symbolism that covers a functional and piece of clothing entitled Winter Dragon Robe. The class will consider and analyze all of...
Curated OER
Choreography Project
Students produce a short choreography composition. Specific guidelines and choice of music are provided. The grade/evaluation takes place in the form of video documentation and a teacher-created rubric.
Curated OER
Symbols and Trading Cards
A silk rank badge was a symbolic emblem worn by high officials during the Qing Dynasty. Your class will get a chance to examine the details, symbolism, color, and design of such a badge as they make their own symbolic trading cards....