One must first learn how to analyze art before they can properly respond to it. Here, young analysts examine six abstract pieces in a systematic and formal way. They then respond to one of the pieces in either a poem or an essay. An...

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...

Learners discuss the subject and meaning of examples of visual art. They analyze various paintings found on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website, answer discussion questions, complete online interactive activities, and write an essay.

Young explorers investigate Australian Aboriginal culture by listening to traditional Dreamtime stories and examining dot paintings created by Aboriginal artists. In addition, they locate the country on maps, discuss the geography of...

Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...

Kids listen to the story, How I Became a Pirate and analyze the painting, Our Lady of the Victory of Malaga. So, what do these to things have in common? The art depicts the time period and style. And, the story sets their...

You and your high school class can examine the idea of artistic movements with this lesson. Explore various websites, compare/contrast paintings, after which the assignments are to complete a chart, and write an essay.

Have your class create their own art exhibit. Learners study the exchange of artwork between the Louvre in Paris and two American art museums, and create an introductory exhibit featuring European and American art from the Renaissance...

Kids become mini-experts on the Mannerist movement and the art of El Greco. They identify common elements of El Greco paintings and compare them to a work by Thomas Hart Benton. They use  four ways to examine art taken from the...

Upper graders view a series of films that depict rituals or celebrations as they occur in different cultural settings. They conduct a cultural investigation about one culture, brainstorm and research objects that have cultural or...

Use art museum paintings as inspiration for your class's creative writing works. Observing the paintings closely, middle and high schoolers list details and write descriptions. Their completed stories are displayed on bulletin boards...

Research the use of sand paintings in the Navajo tribe. Your students work together to design their own sand painting. They share their creation with the class describing what the symbols mean.

Research, art history, and web page creation! Sounds too good to be true. With tons of links and resources, the lesson provides you with everything needed to engage the class in an amazing art and research activity. They create...

Consider how you can use a visual source, such as a painting, to learn about a historical time or event. Young learners discuss primary sources and how they differ from secondary sources, then analyze the painting Mother and Child by...

Learners consider the nature of objectivity and subjectivity in photography as an art form by taking a class poll, discussing the results and writing a one-page paper.

Examine three Cubism art pieces by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque with your learners. They will research how Cubism was advanced due to Picasso and Braque. and then compare and contrast Cubist works through image based discussion. Your...

Young scholars examine several Medieval and Renaissance works of art, including painting and sculpture, at the Art Institute of Chicago. They use worksheets and discussion questions to enhance their interpretation of the pieces.

Students analyze Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. They view and discuss artworks by Warhol, Lichenstein, Pollack, and Kandinsky, research a specific artist, and create an art piece in the style of their chosen artist.

Explore the life and painting style of African-American artist Horace Pippin by looking carefully at its parts, then create a "secret number" painting for a classroom counting book.

Students compare and contrast various forms of artistic expression associated with specific groups of people, geographic regions, or time periods, specifically art of Andean cultures, and create art works using procedures borrowed from...

Students explore line in painting and drawing and examine how it is defined in the visual arts. Recognizing line in the composition of a number of art works and how it affects these works of art is the focus of this lesson.

Discover Impressionist painting as students investigate the 19th century combinations of colors characteristically used. Students experiment with their own paintings, utilizing primary and secondary colors.

Students examine how allegory is defined and used in the visual arts. They create a list of the arts, and list the objects, symbols, and figures that suggest each art category, analyze various paintings, and identify the allegorical...

Students explore one of the techniques artists often use to highlight important elements within a painting's composition and to move a viewer's eye around the canvass from highpoint to highpoint.