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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

A Cultural Portrait

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Explore heritage and identity through an examination of art and a related project. The featured art, related to the African diaspora, includes several types of art created by different artists. Pupils consider their own backgrounds and...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

September Gale T-Shirts

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Focus on the principles of design with a wearable landscape art project. The plan provides definitions to share and art to examine. After students have a grasp of the principles, they draw a scene to eventually transfer onto a T-shirt....
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Build a City of the Future!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Tap into your pupils' imagination by asking them to design futuristic, ideal cities. They must discuss and take scale and size into account, looking at some model pieces of art for inspiration and analysis. The final product for each...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

The Body Tells Its Story

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Incorporate sculpture into your art curriculum. To start, pupils discuss the artistic process and topics of marginalization. With the discussion in mind, individuals select images to inspire sculptures of people that they will present to...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

To Canada with Love

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Focus on line and color with a postcard project. Learners view various works of art and discuss line and color before moving on to creating their own work. Using nature as inspiration, pupils decorate postcards and mail them after...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

A Unity Wall Drawing

For Teachers K - 3rd
Build class community with an art project. Learners first examine and discuss works of art. They then contribute to a class mural by tracing their hands and decorating them in relation to their own cultures. The final mural incorporates...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

One Look Is Worth A Thousand Words

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Facial expressions can communicate complex emotions. Examine expressions in several hyperrealistic works of art before beginning a project. Learners will create their own clay faces that show an emotion using either photos or their own...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Reading Sculptures

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Consider the elements and principles of design closely while examining works of art. Learners select an image from the provided pieces to write about in relation to the elements and principles of design. They then sketch and sculpt their...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

My Own Blanket

For Teachers K - 3rd
Invite your young artists to design blankets that express their own identities. Learners examine various pieces of art before brainstorming a few things that represent their identities. They use these ideas, in addition to symmetry and...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

My Treehouse

For Teachers K - 3rd
If you could build your own treehouse, what would it look like? Using a piece of contemporary art as inspiration, learners draw their own treehouses and add geometric and organic shapes. The lesson touches on Visual Thinking Strategies...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Picture This!

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Introduce your class to Inuit prints and use these artworks as inspiration for a printmaking activity. Pupils make stories to go along with the images and then come up with their own heroic moments to illustrate. They take moments from...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

My Upside-Down World!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
M.C. Escher is famous for creating optical illusions. Examine this effect in several of his works and discuss the techniques involved. Inspired by the discussion, learners create an imaginary 3-D world inside of a box using various...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

The Ideal Trophy

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Invite your pupils to represent a club, team or other group with a trophy of their own creation. Learners examine the Taylor Cup by Laurent Amiot and then prepare trophy designs. When the sketches are complete, pupils sculpt the final...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Lumps, Bumps, Gritty, and Soft!

For Teachers K - 3rd
Texture can really add to a work of art. Explore texture through observation and practice. Learners view and discuss works of art by M.C. Escher. They then create their own texture samplers with six different materials.
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Lesson Plan
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National Gallery of Canada

My Mask, My Voice

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Recognize Black History Month with an examination of the African diaspora and a hands-on mask-making project. Learners first view and discuss images of artwork before creating their own plaster masks.
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Artful Emotions

For Teachers K - 3rd
Blue is sad, and red is angry, but why is that? Young artists explore the expression of emotions through art by observing and creating artwork. Starting with a questioning session about images of art, this plan moves into a sculpture...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Contemporary Reflections

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Combine art and writing in a lesson about legends. After viewing Inuit art, class members examine their own cultural surroundings in order to write and visually represent a legend. Individuals are invited to take the creative reins when...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Build Me a Legend

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Legends are full of imagery and action. Transfer a scene from a legend to a three-dimensional art piece. Class members first view Inuit art and discuss  legends. They then build scenes that include action, setting, and characters.
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Transformation

For Teachers K - 3rd
Create colorful cool or warm butterflies with simple materials. Class members draw their designs, spray the marker to diffuse the colors, and attach pipe cleaners to form the shape of a butterfly with antennae. Individuals must be able...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Urban Scenes

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Select a theme together to guide and inspire works of art. Class members view images of art and discuss the images of cities. After choosing a theme, individuals create posters that reflect and contribute to the theme. They can use paint...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Me or You in the 30's?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Take on portrait painting and tertiary colors with a plan focused on recreating a photograph. After viewing several pieces of artwork, class members follow the instructions included here to create portraits or self-portraits in a...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Social Realism

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Examine social strife in art. Class members first observe some pieces, and then find an image to inspire their own art. They outline the picture, analyze the composition, make alterations, and color their work.
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

Home Sweet Home

For Teachers 4th - 6th
What are your pupils' homes like? Incorporate their homes into a drawing lesson. Using an enlarged photograph, class members draw a grid so they can easily split their drawing in half. The final product should demonstrate cool colors,...
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Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Canada

The Changing Composition

For Teachers K - 3rd
Play with dimensions and practice making a two-dimensional scene look three-dimensional. Class members view pieces of art and then make their own scenes by layering different materials and drawing in details. Check out all the tabs for...