Visual and Performing Arts Teacher Resources
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Visual and Performing Arts resources foster different forms of creative expression, whether through drama, music, film, dance, or visual art, and teach students to value aesthetics. In addition, they provide learners with the historical and cultural contexts for events.
Hands-on activities can be used to introduce young learners to the concept of symmetry while an activity for middle schoolers connects art, advertising, and nutrition. Other lessons, activities, and videos permit students to discover the themes, values, and traditions of world cultures.
The arts have long been used to draw attention to and encourage response to important social issues, environmental concerns, and even the horrors of war. Here’s an article packed with suggestions for how to integrate the arts into science classes and this lesson connects science, math, and art.
No matter your subject area, Lesson Planet has teacher-curated resources designed to spark the interest of your students in the visual and performing arts.
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EngageNY
Presenting a Research-Based Claim: Visual Aid and Peer Critique
Back to the drawing board. Scholars work on the visual to complement their claim presentations using the Criteria for the Cascading Consequences Chart Visual as a guide. They then practice their presentations with partners.
Curated OER
Visual Literacy: Using Images to Increase Comprehension
A colorful PowerPoint is a great way to introduce the topic of visual literacy. The eye-catching presentation begins with an overview of visual literacy and then provides some specific strategies to help enhance reading comprehension. As...
Curated OER
Souper Art
Turn your young artists into great marketing specialists with this fun lesson plan! They will turn ordinary soup cans into exciting choices for dinner by recreating the can label. This is a fantastic project to connect art, advertising,...
TED-Ed
A Cinematic Journey Through Visual Effects
George Méliès realized in the early days of cinema that, "Films have the ability to capture dreams." From classic movies like A Trip to the Moon, The Lost World, and Metropolis, to more modern marvels...
Google
Art: Greeting Card
Greetings from your computer science class! The culminating activity in the eight-part Google CS Art unit has scholars create digital cards. The purpose of the cards is to show their families what they now know about programming.
Curated OER
Principle of Art Balance
Reinforce a strong art vocabulary which can also apply to aspects of math and science. Kids read about various types of balance or symmetry found in art. They analyze three paintings based on vocabulary and read a how-to for creating...
Curated OER
Op Art Shapes
Op art is fun to look at, and it's fun to make. Kids learn about the origins of op art and the op art master, M.C. Escher. They view simple to complex examples of op art to see how it works and then create an optical piece of their own....
Curated OER
Mind Your Mannerists-Understanding the Art of El Greco
Kids become mini-experts on the Mannerist movement and the art of El Greco. They identify common elements of El Greco paintings and compare them to a work by Thomas Hart Benton. They use four ways to examine art taken from the...
Curated OER
Questions in Art History
This activity provides a wonderful scaffold for those learning how to analyze art in a critical and thoughtful way. It describes what art historians do, then requires learners to view and analyze one of the listed works. Twelve questions...
Curated OER
Whose Afraid of Contemporary Art?
Have your class create original modern art sculptures. Learners analyze and discuss "The Profile," a sculpture by Martin Puryear. They work in teams to develop a proposal for a large outdoor sculpture in the community. Presentations...
Curated OER
Elements of Art: Student Assessment
What a neat test! The class is asked to draw and color to create examples of eight elements of art. They focus on each element (line, value, shape, form, space, texture, primary and secondary color) by creating an original piece in each...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Art Press Tools
Kids cast their own plaster tools to stamp image impressions and textures for tiles, pictures frames, and other works of art. Young artists can even create their own watermark to label their stuff.
The School of Life
Art/Architecture - Andy Warhol
Images of soup cans and of Marilyn Monroe connect to represent commerce and celebrity: the pillars of pop art and the source of inspiration for Andy Warhol. A brief video explores the four big ideas behind Warhol's work.
The School of Life
Art/Architecture - Cy Twombly
"What does this work feel like?" Ah, that according to the narrator of The School of Life episode is the question viewers should ask themselves when observing Twombly's paintings and other works of abstract art.
Wordpress
Social Issues and Art Inquiry Project
Connect art to social issues with a extended inquiry project. Individuals or small groups select a social issue and a type of art to explore. They complete a KWL chart for both the social issue and the art strand and take time to create...
TED-Ed
How Ancient Art Influenced Modern Art
What do Picasso, Matisse, and Gauguin have in common? They are all considered modern artists, a movement that began over 150 years ago. And despite the label, their work was influenced by artists much, much, older. Check out this video...
Curated OER
Night and Day: A Digital Art Lesson based on Monet's Rouen Cathedral Series
Think about your favorite place ... now, think about what it looks like at different times during the day. How does the change in lighting affect the colors you see? Young artists explore the tools available in digital art software to...
The School of Life
Art/Architecture - Johannes Vermeer
Bombarded by the loud, the flashy, the larger-than-life glamorous, class members are asked to consider the beauty and value in everyday events through a video about Johannes Vermeer. Part of the "Art/Architecture" playlist, the episode...
The School of Life
Art/Architecture - Andrea Palladio
The design principles of 16th Century Italian architect Andrea Palladio are the focus of an episode in the "Art/Architecture" School of Life playlist. The narrator points out how Palladio's belief that the purpose of architecture...
The School of Life
Art/Architecture - Caspar David Friedrich
The episode from the "Art/Architecture" playlist examines the paintings of the famous Nineteenth Century German romantic landscape artist. The narrator focuses on Friedrich's belief that art can teach us about the importance of...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Painted Story Quilt
Creating story quilts is a great way to combine art, social studies and literature. Kids select a story, a published one or one of their own, to illustrate, paint on a canvas square, embellish, and mount on a felt backing.
Smithsonian Institution
The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana
Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic instructional activity introduces...
Curated OER
Water, Art, and The Canadian Identity
Have your class explore the representation of water in Canadian art. This instructional activity has learners investigate the representation of water in a variety of art forms. They focus on their personal feelings about art and the...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Stitch It Up!
Ever think about combining the art forms of painting and embroidery? Then this art lesson is right up your alley! Given a piece of white cloth, young artists first create a grayscale painting and then highlight certain...
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