Macmillan Education
Organising Your Studies
What's the best way to study? Well, it depends. . . Session two of a 23-lesson life skills series focuses on a variety of study skills strategies and suggests when/why to choose one over another.
Curated OER
Lesson: After Nature: Visions and Visionaries
Build visual literacy, discussion, and critical thinking skills with an innovative art lesson. Young analysts discuss the use of decalcomania, surrealism, and automatism in various contemporary pieces, discuss constructed truth, and...
Concordia University Chicago
The Pietá by Michelangelo Buonarroti
Why is arts education so important? It builds critical thinking, analysis and creative problem-solving skills. Learners review the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti, and then analyze his piece, The Pieta. After that, they'll sculpt a human...
Curated OER
Introduce a Weather Unit
Engage your learners by playing Water Music Suite by Handel. Different types of weather sounds play on the recording, and it's an easy lead into talking about the weather! What is weather? What kinds of weather exist? What is it called...
Curated OER
Building Character: Holocaust Survivor Testimonies
Host a fishbowl discussion to help your class recognize and articulate the relationship between words and the character traits they describe. They analyze Holocaust survivor testimonies and apply the character traits they observe. No...
Curated OER
Who Fought for the Confederacy?
Did the Confederate Army really consist of southern volunteers? Using primary sources, historians examine the story behind the "Twenty Negro Law" and realities of conscription during the Civil War. A letter and a lithograph (included as...
Creative Visions Foundation
Visual Interpretations of the CRC
How can people better understand the human rights that are guaranteed to children around the world? Pupils attempt to answer the question with the second of two lessons explaining the Introduction to the Convention on the Rights of the...
Curated OER
Lesson: Urs Fischer: Reviving the Past Art Movements
Seven major abstract art movements are analyzed by learners in groups. Each group analyzes various works by determining which work belongs to which movement. They then read Flatland, engage in an art and literary analysis discussion,...
Curated OER
Fighting Fake News
Fake news. Alternative facts. Internet trolls. In an age of Newspeak, it's increasingly important to equip 21st century learners with the skills needed to determine the legitimacy of claims put forth on social media, in print, and in...
Federal Reserve Bank
Financial Literacy Infographic Scavenger Hunt
A lesson plan in personal finance can be the most valuable part of a high school education. Connect the basics of banking with informational reading skills in a lesson plan that prompts teenagers to answer a series of questions based on...
Perkins School for the Blind
Object Functions
What does that thing do? For learners with low or no vision, understanding an object's function is a necessary skill. Here learners handle a number of objects and are asked to determine which object is for a specific task. They can feel...
Curated OER
Blue Water: Telling a Story or Baffling?
Some art can be difficult to interpret. Critical thinkers analyze the forms, techniques, purpose, and meaning found in the abstract piece, Blue Water. They engage in small group discussions in order to form a hypothesis as to the nature...
Curated OER
Persuasive Practice: A Mt. Rushmore Addition
Budding authors research a US President and persuade the National Park Service to add him to Mt. Rushmore. In addition to the persuasive essay, individuals are required to develop a visual presentation using a web-based software that...
Curated OER
Twig Construction: Recycled Materials
Construction projects of any kind require learners to use spacial reasoning, creative thinking, and critical analysis skills. They design and make a twig/leaf structure out of natural and recycled materials. This project would be great...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: How Coyote Came to Shuffle Off to Buffalo
Creative kids read, discuss, play-act, and sketch to examine the cultural significance of Old Man Coyote. They listen to several stories involving Coyote, analyze the Harry Fonseca painting Shuffle Off to Buffalo, and write Coyote...
Curated OER
My Home of North Dakota
Discuss the people, history and geography of North Dakota using this resource. Learners use a variety of sources to do research on North Dakota and present their findings in a PowerPoint presentation. They answer questions involving...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Relationships…Quality Control
Quality relationships don't just happen. They require nurturing, patience, thoughtful communication, and honesty. Help tweens develop these relationship skills with an activity that asks them to themselves and then outline a...
Curated OER
Media Literacy Discussion Guide
Students examine and analyze visual media and its messages critically. They determine whether specific media messages inform, entertain, or persuade and what factors influence the media. Using primary sources, they participate in peer...
Incredible Art
Historical Narrative Using Silhouettes
Connect art and history with a series of activities inspired by the work of contemporary artist, Kara Walker. After watching an Art 21 video about Walker and examining the images in a PowerPoint presentation, class members use...
Curated OER
Picture This: Visualization
Sixth graders practice visualizing and understanding that visualization is an important comprehension strategy. They share their visualization of the story through original artwork and determine that ideas, and cultural settings can...
Curated OER
Look Before You Think: How To Appreciate a Painting
Students develop an elementary understanding of the history of art. They study the basic elements of a painting including perspective, composition, color, light and symbolism. They look at each selected painting and analyze it, moving...
Curated OER
Julie Chen: Thinking Outside the Book
Students create an original art book after studying nontraditional boomaking. In this visual arts lesson, students watch a video on the work of Julie Chen and discuss the concept of books as three-dimensional art. Then students are asked...
Curated OER
Flexible Thinking- Squiggle Art
Young scholars complete an art creation where they are given a squiggle and have to design a picture around it. In this squiggle art lesson plan, students use flexible thinking, and draw 6 pictures around 6 different squiggles.
Curated OER
Advanced Scribble Pictures
Scribble art allows learners of any age to problem solve in order to express their creative thinking skills. They create a simple scribble, then elaborate on it by adding color and shape. Full instructions and extensions are included.