Participating in Visual Arts Teacher Resources

Students create murals that feature recycled objects. In this West African art lesson, students examine artwork by El Anatsui and his commentary on social issues. Students then create murals in the style of El Anatsui using discarded...

Students inspect visual arts by exploring images on-line. In this art analysis lesson plan, students discuss the history of art and the its ability to communicate with people through images. Students utilize pencils and charcoal to...

Students examine and discuss work of Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely, recognize visual components of Op Art, compare traditional Renaissance perspective with Op Art's illusion of three-dimensional space, and create original painting...

Middle schoolers learn about the artist Canaletto, play a vocabulary game, and create a landscape using collage technique. Background information on the artist is provided along with instructions for the game and vocabulary words to...

Sure, your young artists probably know Van Gogh and Picasso, but are they equally as familiar with Frida Kahlo and Andy Warhol? Small groups examine the work of famous artists. Then, they create their own hero portraits in Cubist style...

Here are some wonderful lessons on art for your second graders. In them, learners focus on elements of abstract art, sculpture, and landscapes, study the works of four major artists, and create art of their own. This incredibly thorough,...

Illuminate your playground with chaulk images. Young aratists use the web to research the work of Keith Haring. Groups then design their own piece of visual art and recreate their images on the school sidewalks of blacktop.

Tenth graders practice their visual literacy skills. In this visual arts instructional activity, 10th graders examine digital images from the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian. Students then analyze the artistic images and discuss...

Students create a picture using shaving cream. In this visual arts lesson, students get a piece of paper and some shaving cream. They fill pipets with paint to add to the shaving cream and use their hands to make the picture.

New ReviewHow can visual aids enhance understanding of a complex topic? With the third of four lessons from the Introduction to the Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) set, scholars view illustrations online from the book We Are All Born Free and...

How do you represent a tragic event? Are stories of tragic events better left untold? After reading chapter two of Maus and studying other representations of the Holocaust (suggestions are included), class members create a representation...

There's much more to a photograph than a click, and much more to a painting than brush strokes. Analyze the details of different types of visual media in print with a short activity. High schoolers study various images, including Vincent...

Twelfth graders consider art as a medium to convey information and opinions on social conflict and issues. They analyze images from the Crocker Art Museum, discuss their effectiveness in raising awareness of an issue, and create a...

Young historians investigate World War I by watching a short video clip of art created by soldiers. As viewers analyze the pieces a clearer picture of the horrors of war comes to light. 

Learners compare the role of a marchand-mercier to that of a modern-day business counterpart and write a persuasive letter. For this French art lesson, students discuss the role of the marchand-mercier in French design and role-play his...

Students create works of art from recyclable materials. In this visual arts activity, students investigate works of art created from recyclable materials. Students choose an emotion to convey and then create an art piece from materials...

Explore rhythm, patterns, color and texture in art and poetry. In this poetry lesson, middle schoolers perform a class symphony and note the elements they experience. Students work in small groups to create a visual art piece that...

Students write critiques of artwork.  In this visual arts lesson, students view pieces of artwork and write a critical response where they answer specific questions about each piece.  Critical response questions are included in this lesson.

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...

The Vocabulary Word template provided with this scripted plan helps readers create a visual representation of the word under study. Using mind mapping, class members explore definitions, synonyms, antonyms, word origin, and sentence...

Dutch painter Albrecht Durer was an interesting fellow. Your class can learn about his life and his art by completing one of two great activities. They either create an informational brochure or a price list of 10-20 of his famous works....

Eighth graders consider cross-curricular connections between social studies, singing, and current events. They listen to the song, "I Can't Cry Hard Enough." view scenes from September 11, then create presentations using images, a...

Violence and human suffering, as represented in art and film, are the focus of an investigation of the power of visual images and the moral implications of such representations. Class members examine “Guernica,” Pablo Picasso’s massive...

Discovering the creative process can be done through critical analysis. Upper graders examine a hand -carved Shinto Deity, discussing purpose, technique, and artistic expression. They then read a poem about the creative process. and...