Introduce your class to ekphrastic poetry with an exercise that asks them to examine Edward Hooper's painting House by the Railroad and Edward Hirsch's poem "Edward Hopper and the House By the Railroad." After a close reading...

“Be glad that all things sort so well.” To make text-to-self connections to Shakespeare’s play, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise prior to reading Act IV, scene i of Much Ado About Nothing (the wedding of Claudio and...

Whether you choose to include Twelfth Night in your course or whether Shakespeare's comedy has been thrust upon you, be not afraid to incorporate an interactive resource into your study of Shakespeare's tale of loss, love, and identity....

Discuss tone and imagery with Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." In an attempt to get his fair lady to consummate their relationship, he write a poem urging her to seize the day! Introduce the author to your high school class,...

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.

Youngsters pretend they are rocks sitting on a hill. They listen to the provided guided imagery script to conceptualize the process of how rocks change over time. They draw a diagram of what happened to them as rocks during the story. An...

Why do characters do what they do? Scholars use the resource to explore character motivation in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. Additionally, they discover pictures, interviews, and videos from the Deutsche Bank production of the play. 

The Eleven-Headed Bodhisattva is a piece that represents characteristics, meanings, and ideals common to those who practice Buddhism in Japan. Learners fully analyze this piece, then take a virtual trip to examine the Buddhist...

Young adults convey a message about a chosen health issue through research and poster production. This creative assignment could be an inspirational close to a health unit. 

Is it a calendar? A religious symbol? A political statement? One thing for certain is that Aztec sun stone designs remain an important symbol in Mexican cultural art. Young artists craft their own Aztec Sun design incorporating ideas...

High schoolers explore the basis of Iago's persuasive power by analyzing his astonishing command of rhetoric and figurative language. The diverse set of activities below include short group performances, writing exercises and the guided...

Kids will observe, write, and create as a way to better understand the work of artist Fred Tomaselli. Guided by great critical thinking questions, learners will first analyze the piece Field Guides. Then, they will write a creative...

Students explore Shakespeare's use of poetic conventions, examine the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet and gain experience in close readng and the interpretation of verse structure and imagery.

Seventh graders create an alternative self-portrait. In this art lesson students study the artwork of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Students use her work as inspiration for a self-portrait in a jar form.

Describe, analyze, compare and contrast poets from the Harlem Renaissance. Critical thinkers analyze the imagery, characterization, tone, symbolism, and historical context of Jacob Lawrence, Helene Johnson, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. A...

What role did women play in pop art during the 1950s and 1960s? The class researches the role of women in mid-century America and how those roles were portrayed through the pop art of the time. They use an excellent set of...

When Europeans first came back with tales of China, they provided vivid written accounts and minimal visual imput. This resulted in art rendered mostly from descriptive language. Learners explore this phenomena by listening to...

Students integrate techniques in printmaking with readings in poetry and literature. They read various pieces of student literature and poetry, and create prints using various printmaking techniques.

Middle schoolers complete poetry analysis activities. In this poetry analysis instructional activity, students consider the use of imagery and sound devices in poetry. Middle schoolers translate poetry into another art, read a diverse...

Students use description language to clarify ideas and create vivid images in an essay focusing of strong verbs. They discuss weak verbs and explore that the better image the words create, the better the reader understands the text.

Students explore how to use field guides to identify wildlife.  In this nature activity students construct their own plant field guide. 

Learners analyze photographs and poetry as forms of each other. For this poetry and photography analysis lesson, students use the photographs of Alfred Stieglitz and poetry from William Carlos William to explore how poetry and painting...