National Museum of the American Indian
Fritz Scholder: A Study Guide
In this engaging activity involving close analysis of abstract expressionist art, your class members will not only discover more about artist Friz Scholder's Native American art, but they will also have the opportunity to consider...
Curated OER
Buffalo Hide Paintings
To the Native American people living on the plains, the buffalo represented culture, art, sustenance, and survival. Explore the history of the buffalo with a social studies activity, in which learners create a buffalo hide painting in...
Smithsonian Institution
A Life in Beads: The Stories a Plains Dress Can Tell
Young learners discover how the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes preserved native culture through the making of traditional dresses, identifying the resources used to make the dresses and discussing behind the meaning behind some...
Curated OER
Totem Poles
Students create outdoor totem poles by creating masks and designing an outdoor painting in the woods. In this totem poles lesson plan, students study Native American culture.
Curated OER
Symbols of Power in Native American Clothing
Learners create power shirts that were highly important in the culture of many Native Americans.
Curated OER
The American Wilderness? How 19th Century American Artists Viewed the Separation of Civilization and Nature
The attitudes of European settlers toward the American wilderness, as reflected in art and literature, is the focus of this resource packet designed for teachers. Included in the unit overview you will find lists or paintings and...
Curated OER
Discovering American Identity through Writings and Paintings, 1800-1845
Tenth graders view paintings to determine the identity of the United States in a specific time period. As a class, they listen to their teacher give the title of the painting and they write a prediction about what the painting might be....
Curated OER
The Treaty Trail: U.S. - Clothing That Talks: Meaning and Material Culture
Students investigate the cultures of Native Americans and Euro-Americans through their clothing. In this photograph analysis lesson, students observe historic photographs and analyze the style of clothes people wore and how it...
Curated OER
Talking Rocks
Third graders explain the difference between Petroglyphs and Pictographs from Ancient Native American peoples. They create symbols that are representative of a story about their world.
Curated OER
Canadian Symbols
Students discover the ideals of Canada by analyzing its symbols. In this Canadian culture lesson, students identify the symbols that established the U.S. as its own nation and compare them to important Canadian symbols....
Curated OER
Talking Rocks
Third graders consider the differences between pictographs and petroglyphs. They create symbols from a story about their worlds. They make pottery art.
Curated OER
"Where's Waldo" About Me Drawing - Self "Portrait"
Students identify the cultural clues found within art forms by producing a work of art based on their personal experiences and create a work of art about themself. They recognize how technical elements affect art and how to implement...
Curated OER
To Tell the Truth
Students explore art history. They play a game inspired by the old game show "To Tell The Truth".
Curated OER
To Tell The Truth
Learners play "To Tell The Truth" Art History style in this fun and interactive game for the upper-elementary Art classroom. Included in the instructional activity is a detailed set of rules and suggestions for successful classroom...
Curated OER
The Clothing of the Buddha
Students discuss the idea of cultural diffusion by examining how the sculptural portrayal of the Buddha's clothing evolved in Japanese and Chinese art. This lesson concludes with a group project and presentation.
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Totems to Turquoise: Native American Jewelry
Through this resource, the user can learn about the hand-crafted jewelry of Native North Americans of the Northwest and Southwest and how it embodies both the personal and collective identity of the maker and the wearer.