William Shakespeare could outwit even the best of today's comedians with his sarcasm, satire, and insults. The Comedy of Errors is no exception. Using a helpful study guide, scholars identify and analyze imagery, draw a picture or write...

Art analysis might help uncover some of life's most puzzling questions, such as the mystery behind Mona Lisa's smile. The handout, from the Writing for Specific Fields series, is particularly useful for those interested in pursuing art...

Discover stories about women's history in beautiful stained glass windows. The second in a three-part series teaches scholars about a famous artistic style of stained glass windows and the influential women that used art to impact...

As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The activity includes a...

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.

What is going on here? The works of artist Edward Hopper invite viewers to image the story captured in his paintings. Introduce Hopper with an episode from the The School of Life playlist that focuses on the American realist.

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...

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 final session in a sequential, three-lesson plan sculpture study designed by the education staff of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has class members using the criterial they developed to critique each others' symbolic...

Young artists create a series of sketches of ideas for a sculpture, and using the criteria develop in the previous class, critique their sketches. They then choose one of their ideas and create their work of art.

Class members are presented with the image of a painting and asked to record their first impressions and analysis. They then research the time period in which it was painted and discuss how their research impacted their first impression...

Is there a difference between examining an original work of art and viewing a reproduction? Class members are asked to reflect on this question after researching a piece, study a reproduction of it, and the examining the original in an...

To prepare for a field trip to a local art museum, art class members journal their initial reactions to a reproduction of the work they will focus on during their visit. The whole class then considers the artistic elements in the piece...

Have you ever noticed that babies in paintings from the Middle Ages look a little...strange? Find out why with an informative and amusing video about the moment artists decided to make babies look cute again.

The arts often reflect the social struggles and concerns in society. The third instructional activity of four links the arts to activism and environmental concerns. Scholars learn about the role of art and artists statements. and...

A picture can convey emotions and messages that would take many paragraphs for a talented author to describe. High schoolers view Winslow Homer's 1891 work A Huntsman and Dogs and determine its mood, main idea, and symbolism with a...

Provided by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, this resource for teachers examines Islamic art, including calligraphy, arabesques, and geometric designs.  A recounting of the spread of the faith and the tumultuous political...

Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...

How can something be true even if it didn't happen? Invite your classes to investigate the truths found in the world of magical realism as they analyze short stories, poems, informational texts, video, and art from this genre.

Uncover the answer to a specific clue in a portrait of George Washington with a spyglass in an Internet-based interactive. Learners read a clue to an item hidden in a portrait of the First President of the United States in the last years...

Celebrate Black History Month with the help of 10 ideas that delve deep into the history, major events, contributions, famous African Americans, and sheds light on how scholars today can take a proactive stance on current civil rights...

Johannes Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring is the subject of a short video that asks viewers to consider why the enigmatic painting has captured the attention of so many. Using other Vermeer works to provide a contrast, the narrator...

What do The Factory and Marilyn Monroe have to do with Campbell's soup cans? Nothing and everything. Welcome to the world of Andy Warhol and explore his legacy in this short video.

What does "The Sword of Damocles" have to do with the formation of American democracy and the US Constitution? Class members begin their study of changes in a democratic society by considering the allusions in English painter Richard...