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...

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 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.

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.

NewsFeed Defenders is a challenging game designed to sharpen students' news literacy skills. Students will join a fictional social media site focused on news and information. They will learn elements of high-quality journalism to be able...

Explore the fields of engineering and automobile design. Construct from a variety of materials a model of a vehicle that travels the greatest distance on balloon power.

This is the eleventh article in a series that is designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on how to eliminate needless information in your novel. The key is to not explain too much about the action.

A definition of composition with other terms and how they relate to composition. This site shows an example and also explains the terms provided.

Designed to help students practice the elements of sentence design, these games provide different levels of difficulty for users of all ages. The sentence variety games include: Is This a Compound Sentence, Logging Sentences, Make a...

We design and create objects to make our lives easier and more comfortable. The houses in which we live are an excellent example of this. Depending on your local climate, the features of your house will be different to satisfy your...

This is the tenth in a series of articles designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on how to develop characters through their actions instead of simply relying on dialogue and description of thoughts. W.11-12.3d...

This is the fifteenth article in a series designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on the genre of historical fiction and the role of the author. Is the author a researcher or a story-teller?

Enter a robot design competition. Assemble a motor-powered vehicle that can climb up the steepest ramp angle, using a specified selection of parts, and make improvements in the design as needed.

Investigate innovative machine designs of the Renaissance, then build a hang glider by following a set of instructions. Modify the design to create a model that can fly longer distances.

Useful tool for investigating Federal style architectural elements. The interactive image of the Coleman House isolates architectural design elements. Don't miss the resources at the "in the classroom" link.

Useful tool for investigating an early type of American colonial architecture based on English post-medieval style. Roll over the photograph of the oldest wing of the Wells-Thorn House to isolate architectural design elements and learn...

Two lesson plans about the nature of hate crimes can be found at this P.O.V. site. Students identify elements that make up a hate crime and try to determine what motivates those who commit them. They also analyze how hate crimes are...