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Lesson: Allison Smith: What Are You Fighting For?
Trench art is a nontraditional art form created by soldiers in trenches during wartime. Artist Allison Smith connects her art to the American Revolution and the question: "What are you fighting for?" Kids examine her art, how it connects...
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Building A Solar Still
Learners investigate the water cycle by viewing an online video. Â In this drinking water lesson, students create solar stills at their campus in order to purify water that is tainted. Â Learners view a video on their computers about...
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Making Service Count
Young scholars investigate the importance of community service by creating their own project ideas. Â For this volunteering lesson, students research stories of Peace Corps Volunteers and how they were able to have a positive effect in...
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A Guide to Great Home Music Practice
To be the very best musician one needs to be wiling to practice at home. Here is a handy guide to give your young musicians a leading edge on home music practice. It includes a warm up, cool down, suggestions for setting goals and for...
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Missing the Major Scales 2
Any musician can tell you, you have to know your scales, key signatures, and notes when reading sheet music. Kids are quizzed on major scales and the notes found with in each scale. They fill in the missing notes and identify each scale.
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The 2012 Grammy Awards
Kids answer 11 who, what, when, where, and why questions after reading a New York Times article about the Grammy Awards. Boosting reading comprehension by reading about a topical event keeps pupils informed and interested. A related blog...
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Color Scheme Acrylic Painting Self-Assessment
Being a good artist means being able to critique your own work. Here young painters will take a short quiz on color schemes in acrylic painting and then reflect on their use of color in a recently completed piece. A great learning...
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Set a Poem to Music
Fun awaits both you and your class as you embark on a musical activity. After discussing different rhythmic meters they choose a poem to set to music. The poem must rhyme and be set to a melody in the key of C Major. Because the activity...
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Lesson: Elizabeth Peyton: Artist's Community: The Real
What is real or imagined? The lines of beauty reality, and imagination are blurred in Elizabeth Peyton's portraits of her community. Learners analyze her use of artistic technique in conveying real and imagined communities. They then use...
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Storytelling and Culture
Learners examine the cultural tradition of storytelling. For this storytelling lesson, students explore stories from 3 different cultures and evaluate the roles that storytelling plays in each of the cultures to pass on values and beliefs.
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Lesson: Emory Douglas: Art and Activism
Visual literacy can be experienced in many different ways. Learners discuss the times, graphic art, and cultural significance of activism in art as they explore artist and Black Panther, Emory Douglas. This is a discussion-based lesson...
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Lesson: Double Album: Sentence as Thought
The cut-up technique invented by surrealist artist Tristan Tzara is the focus for today. Young artists examine the technique and analyze its use in relation to expressing and viewing the world. They then use a newspaper to create a...
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Lesson: After Nature: Visions and Visionaries
Build visual literacy, discussion, and critical thinking skills with an innovative art instructional activity. Young analysts discuss the use of decalcomania, surrealism, and automatism in various contemporary pieces, discuss constructed...
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Nellie Bly's Newspaper Club: Introducing the Science of Writing
Students evaluate a video about Nellie Bly, a famous reporter from the 19th century. They consider what makes a high-interest news article, write an essay in pairs and present it a literary tea.
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Articulated/Moveable Paper Dolls
Students create articulated/moveable dolls, that fit a specific theme, using various forms of media, including recycled paper, jewelry, foil, and other items. They may choose to display their dolls on a background.
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From Page to Stage
Students, utilizing video clips and Web sites, compare specific passages from original texts to moments in Broadway musicals on which they were based, analyzing similarities and differences between them. They adapt literature into a...
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The Progressive Era
Eighth graders utilize the SOAP method to analyze a work of art and relate it to what they know about the Progressive Era and the reasons why cities changed and the ways in which cities changed during the end of the 19th century. They...
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You Be the Conservator: Looking at Objects Inside and Out
Young scholars examine the Hispanic American tradition of making santos, painted woodcarvings of saints in the Catholic Church. In this lesson, student have the opportunity to create their own santos, make an 'x-ray' and create a story...
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Lesson: All in a Name
Lao Tzu was the fabled author of the Toa te Ching, Lau Tzu is also the name of a large sculptural piece. Kids examine Mark di Suvero's larger-than-life sculptures in relation to the elements of art they've learner about. They examine...
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A Glimmer of Beauty: Lesson Plan
Fully analyze the elements of art and unexpected beauty in the William Merritt Chase's Still Life with a Fish. The class will examine the painting very closely, then use photography to express unexpected beauty in still life. This is a...
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Kotekan: A Cooperative Music Activity
Young musicians explore the rhythms and sounds of Balinese gamelan music, then create their own. They listen to several examples of gamelan music, then use their instruments to mimic the rhythms they hear. After a warm up and practice,...
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Creating an Original Opera
This may be a lot to ask of a high schooler, but then again, who knows? Pupils work in groups to explore, write, and then perform an original opera. They view versions of The Magic Flute and La Traviata, then compose a plot, characters,...
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Lesson: Ayman Ramadan: Koshary min Zamman
Examine the avant-garde movement and artists who explore the ideas of the Situationist. The class view imaged of Ayman Ramadan's installation pieces, learn about modern-day Egypt, and research other artist who use art to express social...
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Lesson: Paul Chan: Tree of Life
Paul Chan's work has been known to show the cycle of change. Learners explore the concept of change by analyzing his work and reading the poem "For Which it Stands." They consider symbolism, communication, art, and society as they use...