Virginia Department of Education
Slippery Slope
Explore slope using geometric patterns. Young mathematicians investigate towers built from cubes to develop a linear pattern. They move the data to a coordinate plane to connect the pattern to slopes.
Curated OER
Musical Art
Students create pieces of Abstract art by listening to various genres of music and reacting to the music with a pencil on a piece of paper and their eyes closed. This activity is intended for a middle-level Art class and can be used as...
Curated OER
Who is Picasso?
Students create art projects both representational and nonrepresentational. They examine a well known piece of art and discuss the feelings that the art evokes.
Curated OER
Heavens to Betsy There Sure are a Lot of Sayings!!
Students explore a variety of sayings and phrases used in the English language in the seventeen lessons of this unit. Through visual, auditory, and kinestic activities, students are immersed in the study of the English language.
Curated OER
Newton's Laws of Motion
Sixth graders explore Newton's laws of motion with their own bodies. For this relative motion lesson students will use a wide range of materials bringing them from the concrete to the abstract on video. Students will draw inferences...
Curated OER
Georgia O¿¿¿Keeffe¿¿¿s floral paintings
Students discuss the differences between realistic and abstract art by focusing on Georgia O'Keeffe's work The lesson can be delivered in either a simplistic or more complex way depending upon the grade level.
Curated OER
Life Sized Self Portrait
Students create a self-portrait that is compiled by using individual student drawings. The drawings emphasize line, shape, color and possibly texture depending upon the student's selection of materials.
Curated OER
Sculpture Shapes
Students reconstruct an ancient Greek sculpture using various geometric forms and explore different geometric forms. They create an abstract human form out of geometric shapes and create other representations out of the same shapes.
Curated OER
Surface Area and Volume of a Cube
Students explore finding the surface area and volume of cubes and cylinders. They construct similar three-dimensional figures from a two-dimensional drawing. Students derive the formula for volume and surface area through examination...
Curated OER
Weather for Health
Ninth graders encounter various types of numerical information (represented in multiple ways), much of which is abstract and difficult to comprehend. In this activity, 9th graders will convert given information into bar graphs. In the...
Curated OER
Technical Paper
Learners identify the components of the technical paper. They identify the format of the technical paper and write the title page, a table of contents, an abstract, Works Cited, Bibliography, and Appendix sections of the technical paper.
Curated OER
Painting Music
Students convey the concept that music expresses different moods. Using paint, students draw various artistic elements that convey the mood of a piece of music they hear in class. They complete an analysis of classical paintings and how...
Curated OER
Design a Pollinator
Students make a scientific drawing of a pollinator with at least five traits that make them well adapted to a given plant(s). They describe in their science notebook the adaptations that make their pollinator well suited to a given plant.
Curated OER
May We Present Planet Earth?
Students draw a map to scale. They illustrate knowledge of how to use DOGS TAILS on a map. Students identify the main parts of a map. They identify and illustrate the major features necessary for sustaining a quality of life for a society.
Curated OER
Science Happens in a Social Context
Students discuss how the same data is viewed differently between historians and scientists. Using the data, they compare and contrast the vocabulary used and the focus of attention. They analyze the conditions that help spread diseases...
Curated OER
Grammar Puzzles
Students explore the parts of a sentence through analysis, design, and drawing in this nine lessons unit on Grammar. The diagramming of sentences comprises the main thrust of this unit through the utilization of higher cognitive skill...
Curated OER
Ancient Mesopotamia
Students locate ancient Mesopotamia on a map. They examine the religion, government and the development of writing. They write and draw pictographs and cuneiform writing. They create a class book based on their investigations.
Curated OER
Civil War Time Line
Students draw a time line on graph paper on a scale of one square to every five years beginning in 1770 and ending at 2000. They place historic events and inventions in their correct time period on the time line, and add their birthday...
Curated OER
Atmospheric Pressure
Ninth graders explore the abstract idea of the atom and explain the differences and similarities between solids, liquids, and gases. They understand the molecular differences between solids, liquids, and gases.
Curated OER
Drifting Continents, Dynamic Results
High schoolers plot earthquake and volcano data using a Compass Rose Plotting. They explain the relationship between plate movement and connection. They draw conclusions that earthquakes and volcanoes occur in predictable locations.
Curated OER
Oolitic Sand: An Introduction
Fourth graders investigate the characteristics of different types of sand. They compare and contrast the types of sand by making observations with a dissecting microscope. Then students draw what is seen and include shape, color, and...
Curated OER
Flatworm Experiment
Sixth graders participate in an experiment in which they view flatworms and hypothesize the effect fertilizer has on flatworms when it is added to their environment. Students work in groups of four or five and view a slide, under a...
Curated OER
Cells=Life!
Ninth graders share what they know about cells. In this biology lesson, 9th graders study different microscopic images of the cell. They draw one and explain to their partner why they chose that image.
Curated OER
Self Portrait Ideas
Learners review multiple ideas for creating a self portrait including abstract versions, PowerPoint presentations, sculptures, ceramic plates, photography and shadow boxes. They create self portraits.