National Gallery of Canada
My Treehouse
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...
Curated OER
Circle Art
Pupils investigate two and three dimensional shapes. In this geometry lesson, students write equations of circles and graph them correctly. They create pictures using circles.
Curated OER
Line and Shading = Shape and Form
Young scholars collect natural objects and draw these objects with and without shading.
Curated OER
Sports Lesson Plan
Have your class participate in a variety of sports and craft activities using this resource. With sports as the theme, learners work on art projects. Students create soccer ball prints, a three dimensional football, and a sports collage.
Curated OER
Shape Hunt
Young scholars explore two-dimensional and solid shapes. For this shapes and patterns geometry lesson, students work with a partner to create identifiable objects using tangrams. Young scholars describe the attributes of their shape and...
Curated OER
Flexible "Glass" Sculpture
Older artists create 2-dimensional surfaces with paint, then use these paintings as the components of a 3-dimensional sculpture. They assemble a free-standing sculpture that may be viewed from any angle by using wire to create the shape....
J. Paul Getty Trust
O Greek Shape! O Fair Pose!
Everything old is new again. The Los Angeles J. Paul Getty Museum presents a activity on how Greek black-figure painting influenced eighteenth century Neoclassical artists. After looking at a series of examples, class members create...
Curated OER
Expressing Emotions Through Art Lesson 4: Everybody Celebrates
Students examine how feelings of caring and working together can be expressed in works of art, and define the terms two-dimensional and three-dimensional. They design and create celebratory hats using three-dimensional paper techniques.
Curated OER
Expressing Emotions Through Art Lesson 3: Everybody Works Together
Students examine works of art that convey the idea of working together and analyze how artists use foreground, middle ground, and background. They use two-and three-dimensional materials to create a work of art.
Curated OER
Shape Up
Learners explore differents types of triangles and quadriaterals. In this polygon lesson, students model identify and compare two and three dimensional geometric figures. Learners create tangrams and discover the difference between...
Curated OER
Finding Polygons in Cubist Art
Fourth graders explore geometric properties and relationships in a two-dimensional work of art. They first search for and identify polygons in a Cubist painting and then use polygons to create their own Cubist portrait of a classmate.
Curated OER
Learn the Shapes
Learners examine and identify the similarities and differences of two-dimensional shapes. They play an I-Spy shape game, participate in a classroom Shape Search, and create illustrations of shapes for a shape collage.
Curated OER
Shape & Form
Young scholars analyze the difference between shape and form. They identify, explain and use the basic elements of design and determine that forms are three-dimensional and shapes are two-dimensional. They sketch it on their paper and...
Curated OER
I Can Build It.....Yes I Can!
Kindergartners listen to a story read by their teacher, then use magnetic shape pieces to construct simple designes. They "build" their own house using pre-cut paper shapes. This age-appropriate lesson would be an excellent choice for...
Curated OER
Architectural Letters
Have your class construct their own architectural letter. This art project focuses on architecture, or the art of building. You can connect this activity to a biography activity. Your class can decorate their initial to reflect their...
Curated OER
Embracing Embossing
Learners explore the technique of embossing through the use of aluminium foil and a three dimensional collage. In this embossing lesson, students create a sentence with the letters of the word stamp. Learners discuss a plaque and make...
Curated OER
Artistic Angles
Fifth graders explore angles by using protractors. They recognize, describe and determine the surface area and volume of three-dimensional shapes. Students recognize the right angle, acute angle, obtuse angle and vertex. They identify...
Incredible Art Department
Notan Collages - "Expanding the Square"
Notan is a Japanese word that expresses the interaction between light and dark. Learners explore Notan while creating dimensional art pieces that examine positive and negative spaces. They'll discuss the art of Notan, create their...
Curated OER
Shapes to Forms
Here is a math lesson plan that is really a visual arts lesson plan in disguise! In it, pupils utilize their knowledge of geometric shapes and forms to create a detailed version of a cylinder. The instructions on how to go about the task...
Curated OER
Zany Wire Sculpture
Young artists create a freestanding 3-dimensional sculpture using wire and modeled "clay" pieces. This immensely creative and engaging lesson should get your kids excited, because the medium is unusual to work with. Everything you need...
Curated OER
"Slab Box"
Clay is a fun material children of any age can enjoy using. Using rolled slabs of clay, young artists create a slab box. First they design their box, then they roll slabs, score, slip, and construct a box that matches their design plan....
Curated OER
What do two-dimensional tessellations look like? Where in art can they be found?
Students explore the world of art and culture, including the works of M.C. Escher. They identify and create original tessellations. Students use a wealth of interactive multimedia applications. They explore the artistic representations...
Curated OER
Shape Hunt
Learners photograph shapes around their school and create a shape movie. In this shape hunting activity, students recognize shapes in a shape hunt. Learners can identify the shapes recorded by others in the class.
Curated OER
Color in 3-D: A Nature Design Project
Students view a film about Hans Hofman and consider his use of color and layering. They experiment with the concept of 'push and pull' by using warm and cool color schemes in a tracing of leaves and shapes. Students view their work using...