Visual and Performing Arts Teacher Resources

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.

Showing 10,876 resources
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Lesson Plan
Google

Art: Paint with Tera

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Here's a creative resource that definitely isn't paint by numbers. As the fourth in and eight-part Art series, learners create a paint program using the Scratch block code. By completing the activity, class members come to understand the...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Presenting a Research-Based Claim: Visual Aid and Peer Critique

For Teachers 6th Standards
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. 
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Professional Doc
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Curated OER

Visual Literacy: Using Images to Increase Comprehension

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Souper Art

For Teachers K - 6th
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,...
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Instructional Video6:55
TED-Ed

A Cinematic Journey Through Visual Effects

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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 like Blade Runner, Jurassic Park,...
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Lesson Plan
Google

Art: Greeting Card

For Teachers 5th - 9th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Sargent Art

Pop Art Sculpture: Food

For Teachers 9th
Pop art food sculptures may look good enough to eat, but don't bite into them! Paying close attention to detail, ninth-graders use modeling clay to sculpt then paint a realistic item of food, reflecting the American popular culture of...
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Lesson Plan
Sargent Art

Glass Jar Sand Art: Inspired by Navajo Sand Painting

For Teachers 2nd
Sand has been used as an artistic medium for centuries and can be found in cultures across the globe. The class examines sand art created by the Navajo people. They mix tempera paint and sand to create their colors, and then fill jars,...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Principle of Art Balance

For Students 9th - 12th
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...
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PPT
Curated OER

Op Art Shapes

For Teachers 4th - 7th
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....
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Questions in Art History

For Students 9th - 12th
This worksheet 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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mind Your Mannerists-Understanding the Art of El Greco

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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 book,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whose Afraid of Contemporary Art?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Elements of Art: Student Assessment

For Students 6th - 9th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Dick Blick Art Materials

Art Press Tools

For Teachers K - 12th
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.
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Instructional Video5:16
The School of Life

Art/Architecture - Cy Twombly

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
"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.
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Instructional Video6:20
The School of Life

Art/Architecture - Andy Warhol

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
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.
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Activity
Wordpress

Social Issues and Art Inquiry Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Instructional Video4:50
TED-Ed

How Ancient Art Influenced Modern Art

For Students 7th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Night and Day: A Digital Art Lesson based on Monet's Rouen Cathedral Series

For Teachers 5th - 8th
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...
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Instructional Video6:20
The School of Life

Art/Architecture - Johannes Vermeer

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
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...
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Instructional Video6:03
The School of Life

Art/Architecture - Caspar David Friedrich

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
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 suffering...
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Instructional Video5:25
The School of Life

Art/Architecture - Andrea Palladio

For Students 9th - Higher Ed Standards
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 was to...
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Lesson Plan
Dick Blick Art Materials

Painted Story Quilt

For Teachers K - 12th
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.