What a lovely way to incorporate artwork into your language arts instructional activity. View artwork in illustrated manuscript pages, depicting insects, animals, plants, flowers, and ornate writing in the Getty Museum. Practice using...

To better understand the work of Black Panther logo artist Emory Douglas, learners define literary devices. They define a series of words such as metaphor, simile, and assonance, then place an example of that device found in Emory...

As the instructor reads aloud several quotes from five chapters of the story Matilda, class members mime their interpretation of the scenes. Then, after reading "Miss Honey" and "The Trenchbull" (chapters seven and eight), the...

Using their keen eyes and ears, learners build story observation skills which they will use to create sensory detail in their art. They note all of the things they observed on a walk, categorize them by sense, and then use the same skill...

The Olmec were an ancient people native to Mexico who lived from 1000-500 BC. Young artists examine the Olmec piece Seated Figure to analyze the use of body language to communicate a tone or feeling. They then use clay or play-dough...

Animals oftentimes elicit various characteristics which make them symbolic or representative of human feeling, action, or emotion. The class creates horse characters out of clay to show character action and symbolism. This is a great...

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...

The Eleven-Headed Bodhisattva is a piece that represents characteristics, meanings, and ideals common to those who practice Buddhism in Japan. Learners fully analyze this piece, then take a virtual trip to examine the Buddhist...

The painting Three Young Girls circa 1620, was believed to be painted after the death of the subjects' mother. Art enthusiasts analyze the image details to determine if they come to the same conclusion. They then use the sensory details...

Bring writing to life with this lesson plan in which elementary and middle schoolers create a display of the imagery they identify in a series of Gary Paulsen books. They read the suggested materials, identify imagery and descriptive...

Use this writing and photography lesson plan in your descriptive writing unit. Elementary and middle schoolers write and create a story line incorporating photos from Inspiration or their own personal photos. They experiment with...

Use a Courbet painting of a cave or tunnel opening to reinforce the importance of descriptive writing. Writers of all ages use sensory details to describe what the scene depicts as they pretend to be in the painting. Then they imagine...

Explore idioms with a chicken theme! Consider doing these activities prior to Thanksgiving, as there's a section about wishbones! First your youngsters will match a short list of idioms with their meanings. Then, give each learner the...

Explore concepts of audience, purpose and symbols in this lesson from Media Smarts that asks students to consider all the functions of music. Through a series of discussions and activities, your class will brainstorm possible functions...

To whom it may concern ... Scholars undergo the process of writing a letter to an authority figure. The instructional activity asks writers to compose a formal letter requesting a music therapy space. Pupils learn how to submit a project...

Students take pictures in different settings to demonstrate the importance and influence of body language. In this body language lesson plan, students use a camera and work in groups over a 5 week period.

Expression, current events, and art can go hand-in-hand. After analyzing a multi-media piece entitled, Trade Canoe for Don Quixote, the class explores their own expressive process. They create collages that show a current event or issue...

The wood sculpture Nkisi Nkondi is said to have been used to aid in conflict resolution. Learners pretend they are journalists reporting on a conflict in which the figure was used to resolve an issue. A creative and interesting use of...

Young authors examine a clay figure in order to learn about the 6+1 Trait writing process. They consider how the art was made or buit up step-by-step, they then write about a process in their own lives that occurs in a similar way. 

Students explore the basis of Iago's persuasive power by analyzing his astonishing command of rhetoric and figurative language. The diverse set of activities below include short group performances, writing exercises and the guided use of...

Students investigate the uses of images, shapes and colors in classic art sculptures.  In this art analysis instructional activity, students observe Malagan Figures, a type of sculpture from New Guinea, and describe the different...

Students discover visual arts by creating sculptures in class. In this personal expression lesson, students research the Internet and examine different examples of modern sculptures and 3 dimensional art. Students utilize paper stock,...

Many activities related to the Chrisitan religion are included in this lesson about storytelling; students create their own Bible related art from stickers, stamps, t-shirts and hats. Puppets also help to to retell Bible stories and...

Humor can often be found in everyday life. Young analysts critically examine a sculpture and apply what they discuss to their own life experiences. They perform skits of daily activities, such as brushing their teeth. Next, they make a...