Curated OER
Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe: What is Beautiful?
Students consider the notion of beauty and what impact the media and popular culture have on it. In this cross curricular instructional activity, students examine print ads, write down and share their thoughts on them. Then students form...
Curated OER
Media Awareness: Helping a Product Cross the Finish Line
Learners develop critical thinking skills to understand and create advertisements. In this journalism lesson, students analyze the elements necessary for effective advertisements and work in cooperative groups to create and present...
Curated OER
Taking a Closer Look (Critical Viewing)
Students explore persuasive writing in advertisements. For this advertisements lesson, students evaluate tobacco advertisements for persuasion techniques. Students then create a counter advertisement against smoking.
Curated OER
The Visual Grammar of Film
Students analyze film terminology to become analytical views and critically examine media. In this film analysis, students identify film terminology and explain the effects of the director's choices. Students analyze cinematic and...
Curated OER
T-shirts for Change
Can school children change the world? With a social or environmental issue in mind, 5th graders use what they know about advertising media to make t-shirts that have something to say. They research the issue they'd like to focus on,...
Curated OER
Popular Music and Music Videos
This resource is part of a three-activity unit that introduces your class to the concept of popular culture and the role that it plays in their lives. Here, learners examine the importance of the music industry and music videos in pop...
Curated OER
I Dig Your Art, Man (or Woman)
Twelfth graders write a thesis regarding a modern artist of their choice for a 15-20 multi-media presentation. In this lesson students create a Power Point, video, or some other visual representation studying an artist or modern artistic...
Curated OER
Analyzing Messages in Post-September 11th Songs
Students examine persuasive techniques in the media and help them think critically about the messages they receive from stories and songs about themselves, and political issues.
Dick Blick Art Materials
Torn Metal Collage
The work of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt is used to inspire kids to create their own mixed media works. Although designed for the special education classroom, the activity is sure to inspire all kids.
Curated OER
General Lesson Plan for Documentary Lens
Use this general lesson guide to inform your instruction surrounding a documentary. The lesson is made up of five activities. The activities are intentionally general because they are designed to adapted for specific films. While the...
Curated OER
Technology as a Design Tool for self-portraits
Students create self-portraits using the technology of digital cameras mixed with other media. Adobe Photoshop is a requirement for this specific three week project. State standards for the arts are addressed.
Curated OER
Technology as a Design Tool for Abstract Artwork
Young scholars manipulate pictures using Adobe Photoshop and digital cameras to produce unique abstract works. This lesson can be modified to include a painting/mixed media element. State standards are addressed in this lesson.
Curated OER
Exploring American Tall Tales
Pupils explore elements of American folktales and tall tales. In this literature lesson, students read examples of American folktales and tall tales and prepare a monologue or news report to present to the class based on their readings.
Curated OER
CNN Interactive: Reading, Discussing and Writing
Students access the internet for current news articles; increase awareness of issues in world news; to read critically; and to write critical reactions.
Curated OER
A Penny for Your Thoughts, Movies, or Music?
Students investigate copyright violation laws. In this media copyright lesson, students read two articles that discuss copyright laws, then they develop their own perspective on the laws. Students then divide into small groups and...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...
Curated OER
Comedy Across the Curriculum
The New York Times Learning Network provides the resources that permit pupils to examine and then write and perform a fake news broadcast in the vein of “The Daily Show” or “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update. The generated reports...
Curated OER
Creating Scrolls Based on the illustrated TALE OF GENJI
Students identify formal elements that characterize the scroll, work in a variety of media, from traditional to digital, to create their own scrolls, work into digital printout with at least two media, and engage in meaningful critiques...
Teaching Tolerance
Film Festival
Everybody's a critic—even your pupils! Using the included resources as a guide, screen films related to social justice and ask film enthusiasts to critique them. Publish the reviews for your school community or develop a film festival...
Brooklyn Museum
Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958–1968
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 guiding...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Tag: Whose Values
Get young people thinking about their lives and current topics of social justice, advocacy, gender, race, and identity. After examining several works by Barbara Kruger, participants select a tag with one of the questions printed on it,...
Curated OER
Breaking News English: Rappers
For this rappers worksheet, students read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion questions, write, and more...
Curated OER
Issues of Gender
Students develop their own orginal artwork that represents their own ideas about gender. In groups, they discuss and design a tableaux that shows society's view on gender over time. Using any item in popular culture, they discuss what...
Film Space
Whale Rider
Ready for an educational movie day? Use a resource based on the movie Whale Rider to learn more about the Maori culture. Class members answer a variety of questions and listen to music from the soundtrack to further analyze and...