Curated OER
Art Smart!
Here is an amazingly thorough, and detailed, lesson plan on elements of art and art appreciation. Designed for third graders, this series of lessons should open up the eyes of your charges to the wonderful world of art that is all around...
National Gallery of Canada
Reinventing the World
After examining and discussing Guy Ben-Ner's Treehouse Kit, a contemporary art installation with a sculptural and video element, small groups work together to create short silent films. The films should be built around a particular topic...
National Gallery of Canada
Memories of the Past
Explore contemporary American Indian art. After viewing a set of images, class members discuss the design elements of techniques present, as well as how these artists represent history and culture. Learners examine the parfleche and...
National Gallery of Canada
Contemporary Reflections
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...
National Gallery of Canada
To Canada with Love
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...
Brigham Young University
The Presentation
As their final act in a 10-lesson theater arts unit, set designers present their models to the class and explain how their choices of line, color, and texture support the theme they wish to convey.
Curated OER
Tour + Workshop = DESIGN: Shape
Ask elementary students to explore shapes in everyday objects. They will discuss the elements of design and describe the shapes they see in visual images. Students will then design and "build" a new 3D shape. Finally they will show and...
Curated OER
High-end/Low-end: Exploring Price and Value in Design
Learners analyze elements of design and compare/contrast elements of price and design. In this design lesson, students consider the differences between high-end and low-end design. After completing an analysis of design in small groups,...
Curated OER
Art Criticism: Understanding Wayne Thiebaud's Salads, Sandwiches, and Desserts
Analysis consists of an understanding and interpretation of evidence and elements found in any number of expressive mediums. Upper graders critique the work of American Realist Wayne Thiebaud through a series of excellent guided...
Curated OER
Magical Musical Tour: Using Music Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements
While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet. Although designed for gifted learners, the...
National Gallery of Canada
My Own Blanket
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...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 1
To prepare for a field trip to a local art museum, art class members journal their initial reactions to a reproduction of the work they will focus on during their visit. The whole class then considers the artistic elements in the piece...
National Gallery of Canada
Designing Balance
Teach your artists how to incorporate balance into their work through discussion and action. After viewing and discussing several works of art, learners design a balanced image for a T-shirt and follow the step-by-step instructions to...
Sargent Art
Symmetry: A Design Problem
As part of a study of design, young artists examine an example of a formal (symmetrical) design and then, following step-by-step directions, create their own.
Curated OER
Our Client Is The Cincinnat Art Museum
Students design various commercial products for the Cincinnati Art Museum using on-line sources, past designs, and creative educational software. This instructional activity has excellent project ideas for various student levels...
Curated OER
Robe Design
You can learn a lot from a robe, especially if that robe is from the Qing Dynasty. Examine the beauty and symbolism that covers a functional and piece of clothing entitled Winter Dragon Robe. The class will consider and analyze all of...
National Gallery of Canada
Transformation
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...
National Gallery of Canada
A Unity Wall Drawing
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...
National Gallery of Canada
Social Realism
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.
Brigham Young University
Putting Ideas Together
As part of their study of set design, theater arts students put together what they have learned so far and create a thumbnail sketch of a set that they feel captures the style and mood they want to project.
Curated OER
Lesson 3 - Lighting Design
The final lesson in a series on theatre design spotlights how lighting is incorporated into a production. After watching videos that focus on lighting fixtures and their positioning, individuals create a basic design plan for a scene,...
National Gallery of Canada
The Body Tells Its Story
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...
National Gallery of Canada
One Look Is Worth A Thousand Words
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...
National Gallery of Canada
Build a City of the Future!
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...