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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

My Own Tree

For Teachers K - 3rd
Nature contains both symmetry and asymmetry. Have your young artists examine symmetry and asymmetry in their own surroundings. After viewing works of art, pupils find trees in their neighborhoods and determine if they are symmetrical or...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Contemporary Reflections

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Combine art and writing in a lesson about legends. After viewing Inuit art, class members examine their own cultural surroundings in order to write and visually represent a legend. Individuals are invited to take the creative reins when...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Build Me a Legend

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Legends are full of imagery and action. Transfer a scene from a legend to a three-dimensional art piece. Class members first view Inuit art and discuss  legends. They then build scenes that include action, setting, and characters.
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Transformation

For Teachers K - 3rd
Create colorful cool or warm butterflies with simple materials. Class members draw their designs, spray the marker to diffuse the colors, and attach pipe cleaners to form the shape of a butterfly with antennae. Individuals must be able...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Urban Scenes

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Select a theme together to guide and inspire works of art. Class members view images of art and discuss the images of cities. After choosing a theme, individuals create posters that reflect and contribute to the theme. They can use paint...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Me or You in the 30's?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Take on portrait painting and tertiary colors with a plan focused on recreating a photograph. After viewing several pieces of artwork, class members follow the instructions included here to create portraits or self-portraits in a...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Social Realism

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Examine social strife in art. Class members first observe some pieces, and then find an image to inspire their own art. They outline the picture, analyze the composition, make alterations, and color their work.
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Home Sweet Home

For Teachers 4th - 6th
What are your pupils' homes like? Incorporate their homes into a drawing lesson. Using an enlarged photograph, class members draw a grid so they can easily split their drawing in half. The final product should demonstrate cool colors,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning from the past: Ancient Mosaics

For Teachers 10th
Budding artists study the history and significance behind ancient mosaics and mosaic murals. They study multiple examples of ancient mosaics, sketch a design, and use clay tiles to create thoughtful mosaics of their own. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Under the Sea

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Tropical fish are a great subject for any art project, they are colorful, interesting, and can go along with under water themed stories read in class, learner written narratives, or Marine Biology units. This set of instructions will...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How to Draw Caricatures

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Caricature drawing is fun, and can help learners explore the principle of design and content specific vocabulary. They view a video and books that use character drawings, discuss vocabulary such as exaggeration, proportion, and symmetry,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pastel Drawing like Vincent Van Gogh

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners discuss the elements of art and design found in a series of flower paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. They explore art, shading, and color as they create mirrored representations of the master's art, using oil pastel. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coil Pots

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Children learn by doing. Here, they discuss cultural uses of containers, coil and slab techniques, functional aesthetics, and the principles of art and design. The entire process for making a coil pot is fully described here to make the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mexican Metal Tooling

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Metal work can be a wonderful way to expose learners to Mexican folk art. This resource provides all the necessary steps for creating Mexican metal tooling with your art class. Images, web links, recommended books and products make...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CREATIVE PRINCIPLES

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Jr. high learners review the basic principles of design (balance, unity, movement, rhythm, pattern, contrast and emphasis) by watching a video by Gerald Brommer. Then they provide "aerobic exercise" for the right side of their brains by...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Studio Art Lessons Based on Latin American Arts

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Study three of the basic principles of design: l) designs should create a rhythmic pattern made up of related shapes, 2) colors should be repeated so as to not force the eye to remain with a single part of the composition, and 3) a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Minimal Animals

For Teachers K - 8th
Have fun creating imaginary creatures with this symmetry lesson plan! Your class will paint one half of their imaginary creature, fold their paper in half, which will result in a symmetrical figure. What a great art project to combine...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Who Am I?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Connect design elements and principles to identity a culture with a discussion and related art activity. After analyzing artwork in relation to design, class members talk about personal and cultural identity. Using items that represent...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Reinventing the World

For Teachers 9th - 12th
After examining and discussing Guy Ben-Ner's Treehouse Kit, a contemporary art installation with a sculptural and video element, small groups work together to create short silent films. The films should be built around a particular topic...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles of Design

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students study the principles of design by viewing a PowerPoint presentation and then find examples of those principles in magazines. They look through magazines or sketch clothing that exhibit the principles of design and show their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles of Design - Picture Assignment

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students identify, explain and use the basic principles of design. They find a large, clear picture depicting each of the different principles of design and write a complete sentence describing where they see each of the principles of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elements and Principles Using a Movie

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify the elements and principles that appear in an illustration of a room and explain each concept in writing. They watch this movie identifying each of the elements and principles of design portrayed in the interiors of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beginning Weaving on a Cardboard Loom

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students create examples of weaving techniques. They create a sampler that demonstrates tive different techniques. Students use colors, textures, and motifs with personal or cultural significance using a variety of materials.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wading through the Web

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students evaluate Web design. For this journalism lesson, students examine the attributes of selected Web sites and then design their own online newspaper by using the principles of design they discuss in this lesson.