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Celebration and Satire- Beginning Level
Students examine art elements in a late-19th-century self-portrait painting. In this visual arts instructional activity, students analyze the painting "A Centennial of Independence" and identify the color, shape, and symbols in the art...
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Putting a Spin on Current Events
Students examine the symbolism on a 17th-century cabinet. In this symbolism lesson, students view samples of a 17th century cabinet and identify it's symbols. Students create their own cabinet by using various art supplies and paint...
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Putting a Spin on Current Events
Middle schoolers discover propaganda. In this Greek mythology lesson, students discuss meanings of ancient art work with their class. Middle schoolers investigate the dishonesty behind propaganda.
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Contemporizing Myths
Students examine Rembrandt's "Abduction of Europa." In this Greek art lesson, students discuss how the artist has taken an ancient Greek myth and contemporized it. Students read origin myths and choose a scene to illustrate in a...
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A Bug's Journey
Students research the art of John Baldessari. In this art history lesson, students examine Baldessari's drawing of a beetle and discuss the characteristics of these bugs. They write a story from a bug's perspective and create their own...
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Chariot of Triumph
Students examine the tapestry "Chariot of Triumph." In this symbolism lesson, students analyze the symbols in the tapestry and what they represent. Students create their own design for a tapestry by using various symbols that represent...
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Elements of Myth
Students read and act out myths. In this world mythology instructional activity, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they prepare presentations of myths that explain natural...
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A Rose Is a Rose
Flowering learners explore the concept of figurative language as it relates to poems, songs, or creative written expression. In this creative writing instructional activity, they complete several phrases using similes, metaphors, and...
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The Changing Landscape
Students examine the evolution of landscape painting in France from the 17th to the 19th century. They study and compare three landscape paintings, emphasizing space, depth, and the concepts of foreground, middle ground, and background.
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Ceramics: A Vessel Into History
Students examine ceramic vessels from different time periods. In this ceramic vessel instructional activity, students work in small groups to look at images of ceramic vessels from a number of time periods. They identify the...
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Composition and Line
Students examine the use of composition and line as they create original drawings. In this composition and line instructional activity, students recognize the art vocabulary associated with line and composition. Students...
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Portrait of Nadine Dumas
Students explore a portrait and then create their own portrait as a gift. In this bust art instructional activity, students use model techniques to create a three dimensional bust portrait. Students analyze the elements...
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Sacred Places: California Missions from Different Perspectives
Students create a project poster displaying photos, drawings, and journal writings that incorporate the major themes of California's missions, and use perspective and point of view both visually and in writing.
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Life of a Navajo Weaver
Students explore Native American weaving patterns and dance movements. In this Native Americans instructional activity, students view examples of weaving patterns on the Internet and compare the patterns to a Native American dance....
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Create an Illuminated Alphabet Word Book
Students create a class alphabet book. In this letter recognition lesson, students use line and color to draw an object whose name begins with a specific letter. Students use adjectives to create a sentence describing the object or...
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Giants of the Past
Students create a paper sculpture based on ancient Greek statues. In this visual arts lesson, students read the book, The Mysterious Giant of Barletta and use cardstock to create their own statue. Students write a narrative story told...
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Funky Illuminated Fairy Tales
Students create their own fairy tale. In this book making lesson, students write a fairy tale and turn it into a book. They use decorated initials and borders to make it look like an illuminated manuscript.
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Looking At Illuminated Manuscripts: Exploring an Illuminated Manuscript Page
Young scholars investigate illuminated manuscript pages from the Medieval period. In this illuminated manuscript lesson, students examine 13th century pages and compare them to modern printed works. They describe the details of an...
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Masks and Aesop's Fables
Students study and perform Aesop's fables. In this Aesop's fables lesson, students read and/or listen to a number of the famous fables. They make masks based on the characters and perform a fable using the masks. They write about the...
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Molas from South America
Third graders research world geography by creating a class presentation. In this South American instructional activity, 3rd graders read assigned text regarding the customs and traditions of different Indian communities in South America....
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Counting Crows
Students discuss the fable, The Crow and the Pitcher. In this literature instructional activity, students read the fable and create a crow sock puppet. Students use their puppets to dramatize the fable.
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Dali & Desnos
Students explore surreal art and poetry. In this visual arts lesson, students examine works by André Breton, Robert Desnos, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miro. Students then apply the techniques in the works they analyze to their own poetry.
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Giving Voice to History
Young scholars examine the plight of Japanese Americans during World War II. In this World War II lesson, students participate in a mock evocation simulation, research primary and secondary documents about internment camps, and share...
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The Monkey Dance: Exploring Balinese Culture
Students explore Balinese culture. In this Balinese integrated fine arts lesson, students listen to a podcast of "The Monkey Dance," taking notes about important features of the dance. Students participate in a jigsaw cooperative...