Curated OER
The Voice of the Individual
Students examine the role of the individual in society as a whole. Individually, they design and create their own calling card as used in the past. They put together an art kit in which they are able to use outdoors. To end the...
Curated OER
KinderArt Drawing for Kids
Pupils illustrate a creative adventure idea. In this arts and crafts lesson, students design drawings based on where they would like to go for an adventure. Before creating their illustrations, pupils brainstorm the method of...
Curated OER
Getting to Know You
Students complete an getting to know each other activity. In this personal names lesson, students play a name game, read a book about names, and then discuss why names are important. Students design a name card on oak tag rectangles and...
Curated OER
The Play's The Thing - Putting Together Classroom Plays
Classroom plays can be a highlight of the year for both students and teachers.
Curated OER
Bog Child
You are destined for an engaged and happy class as they read Siobhan Dowd’s Bog Child because there is nothing missing from this study guide, seriously. This might be the easiest novel to teach because you don’t have to do a thing in...
Curated OER
Theater: Create a Script
Figurative language is the focus in the book Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. After reading Peggy Parish's book, class members dramatize idioms from the text, using dramatic strategies such as characterization, exaggeration, and improvisation....
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AZTEC TILES
Pupils observe the shapes and lines that make up Aztec sculpture, study Pre-Columbian art as they discover the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. They create a small-scale Aztec tile using pasta. Creative, clever and engaging.
Curated OER
Clowning Around: Drawing
Kids create a clown out of shapes. They work to show emotions while practicing their drawing skills. Pupils use circles, triangles, squares, oil pastels, and their imagination to draw, color, and decorate a sad or happy clown. Tip: Have...
Curated OER
What's Outside the Window
What do your students see when they look outside the window? This project lets their imagination go wild, and lets you see what kind of daydreaming they do best. They each draw, paint, and color an image of what they imagine as they are...
Curated OER
Keeping students engaged after standardized testing
Instructional strategies and lesson ideas to keep students excited about learning, while reviewing and preparing for the next grade level.
New York City Department of Education
Myself and Others
Self reflection is an important skill to reinforce in our children, and it's especially helpful to help them realize who they are in the context of their environment. A collection of lessons about self image and community encourage...
Curated OER
The Portrayal of the Witches
Eleventh graders discover the importance of the fortune teller in Shakespeare's Macbeth. After watching two interpretations of the play, they examine and compare the portrayal of the character. They create their own modern adaptation of...
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Art Tape Amusement Parks
In need of a quick way to get rid of extra art tape? This simple idea describes how learners can use it to create mini amusement parks. They'll form the tape into roller coasters, cars, and people with a little imagination and creative...
Curated OER
Clay Gargoyles and Grotesques
Grotesques or gargoyles are wonderful subjects for stories or art projects. Here is a simple "how to" for creating a activity about sculpting clay gargoyles. Tip: Have learners research gargoyles throughout history.
Curated OER
Paper Ring Art
A few bits of paper can really go a long way when it comes to art. Learners build motor skills and a creative voice as they shape and glue thin strips of paper, creating an original scene.
Curated OER
Paper Flowers
Here is a great art project to use at the onset of spring. Little ones use paper towels, tempera paint, and glue to create free-form flowers. Tip: Use this idea to make the front of a Mother's Day card.
Curated OER
Face Study: Draw the Other Half
Build fine motor, spatial, and drawing skills by having the class complete the other half of a portrait. They choose an image of a face from a magazine, then attempt to draw the other half of the face as accurately as they can. Two book...
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Glue Fish
Get out the glue and those oil pastels its time for an art project. The class explores shape, art, and color as they draw fish with glue, let them dry, and then color them as they wish. This project would be wonderful after discussing...
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Shoe Fish
Fishy, fishy, fishy, fish! Kids take off their shoes and trace them to create fish for a large aquarium art project. Each traced shoe shape is decorated with gills, fins, scales, and eyes, then hug on an aquarium background. Three book...
Curated OER
Puzzle Trees
Elementary artists use a collage and multi-media technique to create textured trees. They study the fall trees, discussing texture and what bare trees look like. They then use a variety of materials to create a textural piece.
Curated OER
Leaf People
Kids create leaf people out of sticks, glue, and leaves. They use their imagination to construct leaf people and then glue them onto construction paper. Tip: Extend this craft by incorporating writing. Have learners write a short story...
Curated OER
Cosmic Mobiles: Recycled Art
If you have a little left over tinsel and aluminum foil, your class can create these fun moon and star mobiles. Poster board or recycled cardboard become your moon and stars; the tinsel gives them sparkle. This would be a great activity...
Curated OER
Stamp Boxes or Jars: Recycled Art
With some canceled stamps, an old box, and some glue, learners create art from scraps. You save up or gather used postage stamps, the kids glue them onto a box or an old clean jar. All the steps needed to complete this project plus two...
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Dragonfly Sculptures
Art projects are great when they apply to other subjects. First study insects, their parts, and their habitats. Then have little ones create a dragonfly. They use clothes pins, raffia, pipe-cleaners, and paint to construct their...