Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to hone their close reading and literary analysis skills. After annotating their copy of the story, writer's craft an essay in which they analyze...

In this third unit of a course on Art Appreciation, students learn how to describe the technical aspects of an artist's work by discussing elements of art and principles of design. They also look at the stylistic qualities of an artist's...

Interactive activity explaining the principle of rhythm as it applies to visual art.

An informative site that explains Value as an element of art using examples of Rembrandt's work. This is a good juxtaposition between the works "Night Watch," and "The Anatomy Lesson," by Rembrandt.

Definition of shape as it applies to the visual arts with examples by Duchamp and McKnight. Links to definitions of other elements of art.

Lesson plan for students to learn about the principles and elements of design and use them to critique art. (Note: Link to Sanford & A Lifetime of Color: Study Art does not work.)

This tutorial will lead you through the steps on how to view and understand art. Great for all ages.

A site dedicated to providing vocabulary for the elements of visual design. Includes a visual notation system for describing both the elements and attributes of art.

ArtLex provides a complete description of the term, "balance," with various links to show how balance relates to art. A work by Vermeer is provided as an example.

This site from Artlex provides a thorough definition of the Principle of Design known as Rhythm. There are links to other sources and terms as well as visuals from artists such as Klee, Matisse and Mondrian that show further examples.

In this seventh and final unit of a course on Art Appreciation, students learn about photography and significant photographers. This is followed by a discussion of television and film. Students will learn terminology used, technical...

Basic color theory is discussed in relaton to computer art applications. Illustrated.

The Smithsonian profiles the work of master furniture craftsman, Sam Maloof. While not technically sculpture, Maloof's work approaches fine art in its beauty yet has a strong element of function. Videos require QuickTime plug-in.

This resource provides information and sources that discuss the elements of dance.

Learn about the aesthetic elements of architecture and how architects manipulate a building's sensory, formal, technical, and expressive elements to achieve "good design."

This 38-page resource will assist middle school English Language Arts teachers as they plan for an informational text unit.

This lesson plan offers an alternative to generic torn/cut paper mosaics by using beans and seeds. Introduce Mexican culture and have your students practice the elements of line, shape, and color.

The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...

This language arts instructional activity grabs students' attention by incorporating a popular musician. The lyrics to "Over You" include vivid language that makes identifying figures of speech intriguing. The students will identify...