Curated OER
Art Imitates Life
Elementary and middle schoolers examine postcards depicting World War I events. Eventually, they create prints that reflect their own lives. In an interesting blend of history and current events, this lesson should engage your kids in...
Curated OER
Fats Waller, Handful of Keys
Playing piano is great fun and playing jazz is even better. Kids watch a video of Fats Waller playing the song, "Handful of Keys," they then use either a piano key print out or Orff instruments to practice his signature stride piano...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Revelations
They say art often imitates life. Learners research and write an expository paper on modern dance choreographer, Alvin Ailey. They focus on describing how his life and background has influenced his dance creations. This is a great...
Curated OER
"Mambo" from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein
Students encounter and study "Mambo" from "West Side Story," by Leonard Bernstein. They practice utilizing musical elements (instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics) to create a certain mood for a scene with music. Each student interprets...
Curated OER
Rockin' Chair, Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden
Students examine the life and music of Louis Armstrong, the first great jazz musician. The musical techniques of call and response is listened to and then copied in musical conversations in this lesson.
Curated OER
Drawing Fish
Students practice creating art by imitating the camouflage of fish. For this animal characteristic lesson, students identify certain fish and their ability to change colors in order to survive in the wild. Students utilize coloring...
Curated OER
What is Art?
Students become familiar with the art and architecture and history of the Chicago World's Fair. In this public arts project activity, students compare and contrast fine art and public art through a study of the exhibits at the...
Curated OER
200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
Upper graders explore pop culture and pop music as a forum for female role models. They explore women who have currently contributed to our pop world and why they could be considered role models. They each interview a woman in their...
Curated OER
Still Life
Students compose a three-dimensional still life composition in a shoe box, sketch portions of their work and then design a painting based on the finished box. They complete and critique their paintings.
Curated OER
Concerto for Recorder, Oboe and Bassoon by Antonio Vivaldi
Young scholars study the life and music of Antonio Vivaldi. They analyze and practice playing the various parts of Concerto a la Vivaldi on recorders. They record themselves and compare their performance to that of the same composition...
Curated OER
Joseph Stella Art: Line Designs
Students discover the focal point in pictures and create their own images using lines and space. In this art analysis instructional activity, students create a black dot on a white paper which becomes a focal point for the lines...
Curated OER
Egyptian Scarab Lesson Plan
Students explore scarabs of ancient Egypt. In this visual arts lesson, students discover the design and functionality of Egyptian scarab amulets. Students make their scarabs out clay that are etched with personal meanings.
Curated OER
VH1 Road to Fame: Harry Connick Jr. - Lesson 3
Students sing a vocal improvisation on a 12-bar blues progression. After watching a video on Harry Connick Jr., students try their own scat singing on the two-measure break.
Curated OER
Time in Jazz
Students examine time and meter in the jazz idiom. They analyze Take the A Train and Take Five. They research websites featuring Ella Fitzgerald and her music.
Curated OER
Orfeo: Sinfonie e Ritornelli
Students identify the dramatic expression made by performance and how it relates to the content of the story L'Orfeo. They determine the form of orchestra and each instrumental group within the orchestra for this piece.
Curated OER
Egyptian Scarab Lesson Plan
Young scholars investigate and create an Egyptian scarab. In this Egyptian art instructional activity, students analyze and discuss the Egyptian scarab. Young scholars use Sculpey clay to create their own scarabs.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Imitations
Impressions were a common form of entertainment and a great source of comic material for many comedians. Explore this short site and see if you can identify the sounds.