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Green Stuff: Designing an Earth-Friendly Room
In this activity learners explore earth-friendly materials that can be used in home environments. They learn about the relationship between the environment and design, and use a variety of problem-solving strategies. They work in...
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Housing Project
Find everything you need for a two-week home construction simulation project for your high school economics class. They come up with the plans for a custom home including the cost per square foot, interest rate, mortgage term, down...
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Furniture Styles
Students are shown a PowerPoint presentation on the various types of furniture styles. In groups, they guess when they believe the type of furniture orginated and why it is important to know this type of information. To end the lesson,...
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The History of Furniture
Young scholars investigate historic furniture. In this art history lesson, students compare and contrast two chairs from different periods. Young scholars create a collage from images of the past.
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Door Panels and Details: Renaissance Revival/Aesthetic Cabinet
Students investigate the history of cabinetry and furniture, specifically the Renaissance period. In this art history instructional activity, students investigate photographs of the Renaissance Revival/Aesthetic Cabinet, and...
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Exploring the Design Process: The Work of Charles and Ray Eames
Explore the work of Charles and Ray Eames and design philosophy for three Eames' objects. Students complete image based discussion, create sketches of forms that interest them, and create their own images for a house of cards game....
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Painted Chairs
Middle schoolers evaluate visual arts by creating furniture designs. In this three dimensional art activity, students utilize the web to examine different artist renderings of furniture, sculpture and architecture. Middle schoolers...
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Keeping Us in Stitches Activity: Whole Cloth Quilt Design
Young scholars examine how decorative motifs are adapted to other types of objects by craftsmen and artists. They examine photos on the Illinois State Museum website, discuss design elements, adapt a motif to a line drawing, and transfer...
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Cross-Cultural Connections
Students investigate many of the relationships that contribute to the look and design of decorative arts objects.
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Visual Arts Lesson -Wardrobe
Young scholars define the term neoclassism and locate examples of it in furniture design. They research and explain the role of the wardrobe in viceregal Mexico. Pupils compare and contrast the use of wardrobes as storage in the earlier...
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Flower Symbolism
Fourth graders identify flowers as symbols in art forms. They focus on the Victorian era and create their own flower design for use in visual art or literary forms.
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Art Museum Visit
Students engage in a lesson designed to be used before visiting The Orange County Museum of Art in California. They are exposed to works of art from a featured artist and recreate some of his work in the classroom. Students also conduct...
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American Federal
Students review and apply architectural history and identify selected architectural features and styles of the Americal Federal time period. They write down the information on their outline from a PPT presentation included with lesson. ...
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Looking at French Decorative Arts
Students compare the role of a marchand-mercier to that of a modern-day business counterpart and write a persuasive letter. In this French art lesson, students discuss the role of the marchand-mercier in French design and role-play his...
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Ideal Living
Learners examine two artists Vasily Kandinsky and Marcel Breuer. In this artist analysis instructional activity, students explore the principles of Bauhaus and consider the elements of chair design. Learners identify the technique of...
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Looking At French Decorative Arts: Makers of Nothing, Sellers of Everything
Students compare/contrast the role of merchant to that of his modern-day business counterpart. They role-play that they are 18th-century merchants, and write persuasive letters to sell French beds for clients.
National First Ladies' Library
'Tis a Gift to Be Simple: The Shaker People
Learners identify the difficulties and benefits of a utopian community. They examine their own ideas of utopia and research an example of one such community that has had an impact on our own culture.
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Cardboard Radial Weaving
Students explore cultural history by participating in an arts and crafts activity. In this weaving lesson, students identify the many cultures that used weaving methods and local plant life to create baskets and other useful tools....
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The Internet
Third graders study the White House and the First Family by doing Internet research.
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Looking at French Decorative Arts: Makers of Nothing, Sellers of Everything
Learners imagine they are a 'marchand-mercier' (or salesman) and write a persuasive letter to sell French items. In this art analysis lesson, students identify the role of a 'marchand-mercier' and write a three-paragraph letter to sell...
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The House on a Waterfall
Students analyze Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house. in this architecture analysis lesson, students analyze the pictures of the home and discuss Wright's style. Students research the similarities and differences in Wright's work and...
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Guardian Figure Sculpture and its Significance in Japanese Culture
Young scholars utilize research skills in learning about Japanese culture and write a journal entry about their impressions of Japanese culture.
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Japanese Manners and Life Style
Students continue their examination of modern Japan and its culture. Using a map, they locate various cities and landforms in the country and watch a video on related topics in which the make a timeline of key events. In groups, they...