Participating in Visual Arts Teacher Resources

Here is an activity used originally to finish off a unit on country life and nature. It requires learners to have a basic understanding of harvest, rural life, and autumn. They'll use what they know to construct dance movements showing...

Prepare class members for a discussion of Sonia Levitin's dystopian novel The Cure, by leading them on a guided imagery exercise designed to encourage visualization of written descriptions.

Fall is an amazing season and leaves are fantastic subjects for artists to examine. Young artists use leaves to create fall collages using the rubbing technique. 

A still life with tissue paper? Why not! Using Paul Cézanne's art as inspiration, learners create their own still life pictures by gluing various colors of tissue paper onto a paper or pattern.

Bring a lesson about Negro League Baseball to your Black history unit, or any other research unit throughout the year. While the lesson plan itself is simplistic, there are several good ideas that you could use, such as creating trading...

Art classes, like any lab class, require extensive preplanning and set-up time. Use this planning template in the quiet before the storm to identify the equipment and materials that will be needed, the procedures and processes...

Why is Mona Lisa smiling? What is the thinker thinking about? What lurks in the Hall of the Mountain King? Writers imagine the before, during, and after the moment captured in a work of art.

Students investigate different types of Native American Art. They conduct research using a variety of resources. They create art that recreates the pastel parfieche pouch and then explain the meaning as part of a portfolio. The lesson...

Students investigate the use of Milagro charms in different cultures. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students create a shape that is meaningful to them and then copy the charm of magic and explain its significance to...

Students investigate the artwork and life of Paul Cezanne with the help of resources to find information about the Impressionist movement. They sketch a picnic drawing as a copy of Cezanne or use the principles to create an original idea.

After reviewing the life and art of Pablo Picasso, learners set out to create abstract, cubist, relief portraits. They'll draw, color, paint, and cut out portraits just like the ones Picasso created. The lesson is extremely well written...

Middle schoolers explore and experience jazz through collage. They listen to improvisational jazz, discuss the origins of jazz, then design and create a collage that shows jazz being played. This project will result in amazing works of...

This rainstick instructional activity isn't just about making art; it's about understanding Native American symbols and culture. Kids read about the use of rainsticks and why specific symbols were used to decorate them. They then make...

Learners collect memorabilia and create shadow boxes in the style of David Stewart. They also compose a poem and explain their identity in an oral presentation. This is a rare lesson that works quite well for a variety of age levels.

Students discover the color wheel. In this color instructional activity, students find the primary colors, secondary colors, and contrasting colors. They look through the designs of super hero logos and create their own using what they...

I love geometric art because it applies mathematical reasoning to an artistic endeavor. Creative kids use scale values to highlight their complex, repetitive, geometric designs. Symmetry, angles, and congruence are three concepts that...

Turn your high schoolers into casting directors with this lesson, which focuses on turning a class novel into a movie. Choosing the cast for a movie based on a class reading, as well as designing a poster for the movie, helps young...

Consider wax resist drawings as a way to bridge art and science. Learners view, discuss, and practice drawing insects or animals using waxy crayons. They pay attention to the creature's features as they create images with watercolor and...

Students discuss Scholastic Art Magazine issue on 'Artists Today' . They participate in a class discussion & watch a demonstration on the use of 'found objects' and ordinary materials (i.e. paper towels, leaves) to create surface...

Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.

The themes of The Great Gatsby are embodied in the images F. Scott Fitzgerald creates. To encourage reader interaction with the text, individuals create a symbolic representation of themselves, place themselves in the story, and consider...

Create clay whistles with your elementary or middle school learners. The project is outlined in great detail here, complete with step-by-step photographs, finished examples, a materials list, student handouts, and a rubric. Students...

What is the artist's role in the post 9/11 world? How do artists use imagery to convey meaning in their work? After examining the work of Mughal artist Imran Qureshi, class members create their own work that uses combative imagery to...

Discuss the meaning of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech, explore figurative language, and read about Harriet Tubman and her courage. After the discussion, learners analyze painter/author Jacob Lawrence's use of...