Launch a discussion of the creative process with a short video that features the daily ritual of Slobodan Dan Paich, a San Francisco artist. Slobodan models his approach to tea painting and shares his reflections on the...

Who wouldn't love to get a letter from a blue bird? Elementary art enthusiasts analyze the social and historical context of Ason Yellowhair's Navajo piece, Bird and Cornstalk Rug. They examine the construction and images on the rug...

Middle schoolers explore and experience jazz through collage. They listen to improvisational jazz, discuss the origins of jazz, then design and create a collage that shows jazz being played. This project will result in amazing works of...

Our art often reflects who we are as individuals and as part of a larger community. The painting Hopi Eagle Dancer reflects the history and culture of the artists who created it. Critical thinkers analyze the piece and then compose...

A series of six lessons that focus on the importance of journaling and sketching awaits your ninth graders. The lessons get into the intricacies of responding to life experiences and events, the creative process, and an exploration of...

His ears, head, and designs are all an exaggerated form of art. Learners examine a South American sculpture in terms of how exaggeration was used to convey meaning. They then work through the design process as they create similarly...

Archaeologists, historians, and scientists all work together to create a timeline of our past. Engages learners in a series of activities that all filter through the NOVA video, "Mysteries of the First Americans." Each activity is...

Here's a project that gives academics the chance to share their opinions on social justice with storytelling, creative writing, or art. Scholars choose what they want to create and are assigned buddies to support their efforts. To...

Read about, and then make culturally inspired masks. Learners watch the video, "Masks and Face Coverings," then design and make a mask with cultural significance out of papier mache. Tip: Have small groups research, write about, and make...

It's a play, it's a story, it's a puppet show! A lively resource provides academics with a creative outlet to express their views on diversity and social justice. Scholars are responsible for writing, creating, and performing a puppet...

Although the game cards are not posted at this time, you could easily create some to put this plan into action. Simply write a few starting lines from different speeches on each index card, and have learners guess if the speaker's intent...

  Wake up, sleepy head! High schoolers craft a creative presentation that represents how they feel when they wake up on a school morning. After the presentations, a reading of Academic Sleep Times and Academic Performance launches a...

What a great lesson plan, upper graders are sure to love. They explore costume design and the relationships between theatre, culture, and history. They research three time periods, write a response about two of them, then create a...

Middle schoolers study facial expressions and create a face jug. In this facial study lesson, students look at images of face jugs through history before drawing thumbnails of facial images. They use the coil method to make a jug, and...

No one is too young to create a masterpiece. Elementary artists delve into the topic of social justice with original artwork. Scholars keep journals to reflect on their experiences before putting paintbrush to paper. Final artwork is...

The four-faced Hamat'sa mask is the inspiration for a instructional activity on ceremonial art and the process of initiation. The class examines images of the piece, then discusses how the mask represents ceremonial initiation. They...

This is a strange question; but what kind of vessel would you be and why? After examining images of a large Inca jug, the class sets to writing a creative narrative that answers that very interesting question. They start by researching...

Kwanzaa is the focus of a three-part lesson that celebrates the history and traditions of the holiday. Before lighting the Kinara, scholars listen to a read-aloud of Seven Candles of Kwanzaa by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Learners express...

Young historians investigate how voting patterns have changed by comparing the outcome of the 1960 election to the outcome of the recent election. A creative final assessment has participants making a news show wherein they provide...

Think outside the box - and think about education beyond the classroom walls - with a resource that has your critical thinkers watching a video about a nursery in Scotland that lets youngsters roam wild in a forest....

To celebrate diversity and the purpose of Harmony Day, the class examines culturally diverse music and expression through line drawing. They discuss that all cultures produce music and that music can convey mood just like art can. As the...

Giving gifts has been a part of the human experience since modern man walked the earth. Upper graders explore the culture of gift giving in Mayan times through an artistic analysis. They analyze gift giving and palace life as seen on an...

Here you will find three simple and engaging American Revolution projects that will allow your learners to not only express their comprehension of major events and key terms during the war, but also offer the opportunity for great...

Every piece matters. A creative lesson provides an opportunity for scholars to create murals or posters that represent their views on social justice. Academics work on smaller posters or pieces of a mural that will ultimately be...