Curated OER
Image as Metaphor
A Dorothea Lange photograph launches this study of metaphors. Using the questions provided, the class examines the image and the title to consider how Lange uses her photo as a metaphor. Class members then select an object they can use...
National Arts Centre
Visual Metaphors in Scenic Design: Activity
As part of a study of how visual metaphors are used in set design, class members examine an image of designer Josef Svoboda's 3-D scale model for the opera Idomeneo, re` di Creta. They then find another example that employs a visual...
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange Image as Metaphor
Students define metaphor in both art and writing. In this metaphor activity, students examine a photograph by Dorothea Lange and discuss the metaphor that is displayed in the picture. They write about an object that symbolizes a personal...
Curated OER
Image as a Metaphor
Young scholars define "metaphor" and discuss examples of it in writing. They look carefully at a photograph by Dorothea Lange and discuss its relationship to the concept of metaphor. They write effectively about their own experience,...
Curated OER
Animal Self-portrait Mosaics: A Visual Arts Elective
Out-lined here is a two-week procedure that has the class creating ceramic animal tiles that are metaphorical representations of their own personalities. They discuss animal images found throughout history, what they mean, metaphor, and...
Curated OER
Political Cartoons: Literacy
Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...
Curated OER
Hot, Hot, Hot, Cold
Learners dance the image of falling snow. They move, swing, fall, and rise to music working to depict snow falling, the sun, and high/low movements. This is a well-thought out lesson that aids them in seeing movement as a form of...
Curated OER
A Lucky Break
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...
Curated OER
"How to Eat a Poem"
Eighth graders write a poem showing what they know about metaphors, and non-literal language to express ideas, convey meaning, and create images after they read Eve Merriam's "How to Eat a Poem".
Curated OER
Environmental Art
Students create their own environmental art after the teacher shows them a variety of example and has a discussion about it. They then write an initial personal definition of environmental art.
Curated OER
Variations of Pain
Learners listen to the song :King of Pain" by the Police. They identify different instrumentation and different rhythmic accompaniments to the opening vocal phrase and explore the text in-depth, discussing the various poetic images of...
Curated OER
Utilizing Songs from Broadway Musicals from Renee Fleming & Bryn Terfel: Music Under the Stars
Students view a video and summarize the information. They research a person or musical associated with the video and present their findings to the class. They write a story using metaphors and personification.
Curated OER
God's Weaving in Taylor's "Huswifery"
Eleventh graders trace Taylor's use of conceit or extended metaphor in his poem "Huswifery" where he compares the process of cloth making to God's salvation of man, and write a poem in which they compare a personal transformation with an...
Curated OER
Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey
Twelfth graders read lyrics for "My Hometown" and complete a worksheet to identify setting and tone in the song. In this Romanticism lesson, 12th graders read Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth and discuss...
Curated OER
Essential to Autumn: Line, Shape, Color, Texture, Pattern, Rhythm, Emphasis, Movement, Balance, and Unity
Young scholars explore the environment by learning about nature. In this art lesson, students go on a walk and find objects to help in creating a picture, or collage representing whatever season is being discussed. Young scholars...
Curated OER
We Are Unique - Yet Also Alike
Sixth graders compare their lives to trees and make connections between the two, consider how trees are metaphors for people, and draw and label trees to represent themselves. Students then read brief stories, fables or nursery rhymes,...
Curated OER
Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Henry David Thoreau and Linda Ronstadt? Ann Tyler and Pete Townshend? Joyce Carol Oates and Pearl Jam? This richly detailed plan pairs classic literature with contemporary music and asks learners to analyze how the theme of conformity is...
Curated OER
Selfless Service and The Giving Tree - Building Ethical Conscience
Upper elementary schoolers investigate philanthropy and selflessness by reading a children's book. In this ethics activity, they read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, and research Mahatma Gandhi's troublesome, yet inspiring, life....
Curated OER
Sondheim: Voice of Cultural Change
Learners explore Stephen Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic cultural shift that occurred in American life in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Curated OER
Scene Writing: Literacy and Playwriting
Drama is ever-present in our daily lives and eloquently depicted on stage. Middle schoolers practice writing scenes based on different prompts and frameworks, and then perform those creative scenes for their classmates. The...
Curated OER
Simile Stories
Fourth graders view song lyrics and identify similes in the song text. In this similes lesson, 4th graders define and identify similes on a worksheet. Students write their own similes using various adjectives.
Curated OER
Identity Boxes
Students create a "portrait" box that contains symbolic representations of their own identity. In this Lucas Samaras and Joseph Cornell art lesson, students discover ways that these two artists used symbols and objects to represent...
Curated OER
What is Poetry?
Tenth graders are introduced to the poetic process. They onnect poetry to life in a meaningful way become more careful readers of poetry. They listen to a variety of poems, then write responses at the end of each adventure.
Curated OER
Portrait of the Artist - Georgia O'Keeffe
Students study the work of Georgia O'Keefe. They use a digital camera or scanned images from a regular camera and the PhotoShop application to create a landscape of their own which reflects the important shapes or objects in their...