They say art often imitates life. Learners research and write an expository paper on modern dance choreographer, Alvin Ailey. They focus on describing how his life and background has influenced his dance creations. This is a great...

Students examine the role of men in the American Ballet Theatre. In this ballet lesson, students watch segments of the Great Performances video "Dance in America: Born to be Wild: The Leading Men of the American Ballet Theatre." Students...

Students discover and appreciate the history, characteristics, and significance of a specific dance style. They to pick a dance style that they are interested in and would like to research.

Tenth graders participate in a lesson guided by an essential question: in what ways does choreographer, Mark Morris' work, "The Office," reflect Eastern-European traditional folk dance? During the lesson's first sessions, students...

High schoolers consider the development of dance across cultures. In this dance genre lesson, students study the history of Russia and the Mongol Tatars. High schoolers research how classical ballet made its way to Russia and create...

Students examine the life and contributions of choreographer and director Bob Fosse. They analyze reviews, write a review after watching one of Bob Fosse's films, and view and compare Fosse dances to current music videos.

After reading Acts III and IV of Othello, give your class a fun, interactive, music-related activity. Begin by asking students about songs they have heard in movies or plays. Let them look up the lyrics online and ruminate about the...

Students examine dance and choreography in Russian history. In this Russian history lesson, students discover details about Russian ballet and the work of Marius Petipa as they conduct independent research and present their findings to...

Fifth graders study nuclear destruction using visual literacy. In this nuclear destruction lesson, 5th graders work in groups to examine a group of pictures that show the destruction of a home by a nuclear blast. They discuss the type of...

Fourth graders complete a three-week unit about Laura Ingalls Wilder and pioneer life. They research the topography of Michigan in the 1870's, conduct Internet research, write journal entries, participate in polka and waltz dancing, and...

Students brainstorm what they know about the performing arts and research an artist or song and its related genre. Students work in groups to create an online banner to attract peers to their performing arts genre.

Pupils create paper masks linking the function and purpose of masks in the past, with modern life.

Students study the importance of the Storyteller in ancient times as well as in modern times. They realize that this is an art essential to the development and evolution of the mind and that today more than ever we need to rely on...

High schoolers compare Noh drama to western drama and trace the influence of Japanese theater on modern western drama.  In this Noh drama lesson, students read the play Black Tomb (Kurozuko) defining the elements and conventions of...

Students compare two paintings, depicting urban life in America in the 1940's, answering a series of questions, then create a short story about the paintings' characters. They compare 'Nighthawks' and 'Nightlife.'

Students examine the facts and myths that surround the "First Thanksgiving" (the harvest celebration of 1621) at Plimoth Colony. They study the role that historians play in the collection and dissemination of history and use their...

Students identify characters and events from the Ramayana. They discuss ways in whcih the images convey non-verbal information and messages. They discuss similarities and differences in the visual and verbal tellings of the Ramayana.

Students take a closer look at Japanese drama. In this Japanese culture lesson, students study the attributes of Noh theater and compare it western theater. Students conduct independent research on the art form prior to acting out a Noh...

Middle schoolers explore flamenco music through research into the lives and movements of the Gypsies of Andalusia. They adopted th music of Spain and added their own strong rhythmic sense and drama.

Eighth graders, after assuming identities of prominent figures from the 1920's and looking at slides and data from the era, relate, in diary form, the cultural, economic and political changes that happened in America between 1920 and 1939.

Students read and analyze a play that examines a cultural defense case. They analyze case studies, formulate an argument, write about the Japanese Festival of the Dead, and answer discussion questions about the play.

Learners discover the American Medal of Freedom, also known as the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Using the internet, groups of students research the history of the award, its recipients, and its origin. Each group prepares a PowerPoint...

Students explore an amazing technological advancement in ancient China, zhong bells, as an example of the use of natural resources and human ingenuity to meet a need and to add value to the quality of life in an ancient time.

Students focus on the study of The Bartered Bride by integrating the theme of the circus begin the lesson with a "KWL" strategy map on the Circus. Students are asked: What do you know about the circus?