National Gallery of Canada
The Roots of My Family
Represent family history visually by requiring your young artists to create family trees that express balance and symmetry. Pupils examine works of art, research their family histories, and put together large family tree posters.
National Gallery of Canada
Who Am I?
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...
Curated OER
Quilting Our Diverse Classroom
Students explore diversity and race by creating art. In this ethnic background lesson, students discuss their family history, where their relatives lived and how it affects their life today. Students create pieces of a quilt representing...
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Designing Families
Students design a tee shirt that depicts some aspect of their family history.
Curated OER
Tapestry in the Middle Ages
Young scholars study the use of tapestry in the daily lives of those living during the Middle Ages. They design and create a weaving of their own detailing artists' use of visual language and symbols throughout history. They write a...
Curated OER
Victorian Homes Lesson
Students investigate British Society in the 19th century by examining Victorian style homes. In this world history lesson plan, students observe photographs of both rich and poor Victorian homes and discuss the main differences between...
Curated OER
Piece by Piece
Students study quilts. For this history/geometry quilt lesson, students discover the history behind quilt making and get a chance to make quilt blocks of their own. They work independently to make a quilt block out of construction paper...
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Naming Traditions
Students get to know each other better and research their family and community history. After students research their own and their parents' names, they notice names in literature, history, and other studies and know more about these names.
Curated OER
Family Tree
A unique twist on a family tree project is a fun alternative to the traditional family tree drawing. This 3D family tree would make a great display for back to school night or open house. Presenting all the important people in their...
Curated OER
Jewish Heroes Congress
Students explore Jewish heroes throughout history. In this character development and history lesson, students work in groups to research a Jewish hero. A life-size model of the hero is constructed. Students participate in a Jewish Heroes...
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Carnival Celebrations: Masks and Vejigantes
Students explore Carnival. In this Puerto Rico Carnival lesson plan, students discover the history of the cultural celebration as well as the significance of the elaborate masks worn for the festivities. Students create their own...
Curated OER
Mr. Lincoln's Hat
Bring out the inner artist with this Abraham Lincoln lesson. Elementary students work on a home project creating a hat similar to Abraham Lincoln's hat. They will use geometry and measurement to create the scale of the hat, then...
Curated OER
Bowl of Love Lesson 6
Students study the concept of having a fundraiser to benefit a local soup kitchen. In this fundraising service project lesson, students participate in different activities that explain the history and making of clay pottery, service...
Curated OER
Building Bridges for Young Learners--Culture
Students explore the concept of "culture." In this cross curriculum literacy and world history lesson, students listen to a letter written by a child from Namibia, then compare and contrast life in Africa with their own life. Students...
Curated OER
Autobiography and Interviews
Students prepare for a visit to a retirement home using a personal time-line. In this personal time-line lesson plan, students ask their family members for help in making the time-line. They write an autobiography that will be used in a...
Curated OER
Beijing: An Important City in China
Students investigate Beijing by reading an essay. In this Chinese Geography lesson, students read an essay written about Beijing and answer questions on a comprehension worksheet. Students may research Beijing further by utilizing web...
Curated OER
Mother's Day Lesson Plans
Mother's Day lessons provide students a way to learn about art, music, and history.
Curated OER
Quilting the Past and Present
Students construct a quilt using symbols of the past and present. In this communities lesson, students interview an older adult and discuss the history of their community. Students create a quilt.
Curated OER
Purposeful Act of Kindness
Students define a community need and explain a purposeful act of kindness. In this community kindness lesson, students identify a community need before making a quilt that depicts acts of kindness that can be extended to remedy that need.
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Keeping the Pioneers Warm
Fourth graders are introduced to some of the history and background of the art of quilt making by 19th century pioneer women. They use tagboard shapes to design, construct and display quilt squares.
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Family Portraits
Students discuss, analyze, and interpret "Portrait of a Dutch Family" by Fans Hals and then create subject specific projects for assessment. This cross-curricular lesson is well-suited for Language Arts or Visual Arts classrooms and...
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Sew, You Want To Quilt?
Students become familiar with the achievements of the artist Faith Ringgold. They take notice of the patterns in their environment. They connect the mathematical concept of patterns to create a class quilt.
Curated OER
Nineteenth Century Family Portraits
Students compare two nineteenth century family portraits using historical data, statistics, and historical context. Students analyze their own family pictures adjusting the criteria to the current decade. Lastly students study the...