Art or Artifact?

What can be learned from ancient art and artifacts? In the second of a series of lessons devoted to the history of Afghanistan, class members assume the role of archaeologists and investigate art found along the Silk Road. They observe,...

Learn about the ancient Near East through a close examination of ancient artifacts. Lead your class into analysis by first observing an artifact as a class. Pupils can then work in pairs to analyze the other artifacts and compile a list...

Learners think like historians while discovering new World War I artifacts. Teach them how to gather and analyze evidence with pre-assessment, modeling, cooperative learning, and homework activities.

How do we come to view objects and artifacts as art? What terms and ideas do we associate with craft instead? The distinction between art and craft may be subtle, but has profound roots in art history and the development of western...

A curated exhibit at a museum has a point of view. Artifacts are selected and arranged to cause viewers to contemplate this point of view or theme. An interactive provides class members with an opportunity to create an exhibit, to curate...

Introduce learners to the design elements and artifacts of interior environments in Victorian Canada (or any people and era you care to explore) based on artwork that represents their world. Your secondary social historians view the art...

Discover stories about women's history in beautiful stained glass windows. The second in a three-part series teaches scholars about a famous artistic style of stained glass windows and the influential women that used art to impact...

Students explore cave art. In this Neolithic Age instructional activity, students get into groups and research a given topic. Students create a poster with information and visual aids. Students then look a pictures and watch a DVD about...

Jr high schoolers gather information about artifacts and write formal essays. After completing a unit on the Aztec civilization, learners view three pieces of Aztec art.  As a class, they discuss each piece of art. To demonstrate...

Ninth graders use captions to determine an artifact's function and to list the features of a civilization. They classify artifacts according to the 8 Features of Civilization and for each Feature of Civilization they locate one artifact...