Federal Reserve Bank
Messy Bessey's Holidays
Teach your class some fairly complex terms—factors of production, human resources, capital resources, natural resources, and intermediate goods—with a storybook (Messy Bessey's Holidays), plenty of visuals and handouts, and related...
Federal Reserve Bank
Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building
How tall is the Empire State Building? Lead your class through a collaborative estimation activity to determine the number of quarters it would take to reach the top and teach the following concepts: human capital, human resources,...
Curated OER
Telling Stories in Art: Witness to a Brawl
Middle schoolers examine how a piece of art tells a story. In this visual art instructional activity, students interpret a piece of art work by writing a newspaper article that tells the story of the moment in time that is depicted in a...
Curated OER
I spy (Camouflaged Animals in Art!)
Students create a picture of a camouflaged animal in its habitat. In this visual arts instructional activity, students look at Hans Hoffmann's painting A Hare in the Forest and discuss the animal's camouflage. They research their own...
Curated OER
The Evolution of the Book: Introducing Students to Visual Analysis
Young scholars demonstrate visual literacy skills by analyzing the images from the mural in the Library of Congress. In this visual art analysis lesson, students examine the mural and further their knowledge by using tools of art and...
Curated OER
Basic Visual Language Ii: How To Analyze a Visual Text
Students identify techniques used to communicate visually. They compare and contrast different visual techniques found in mass media. They apply their understanding by creating photographs that use a variety of visual literacy techniques.
National Gallery of Canada
Lumps, Bumps, Gritty, and Soft!
Texture can really add to a work of art. Explore texture through observation and practice. Learners view and discuss works of art by M.C. Escher. They then create their own texture samplers with six different materials.
Curated OER
Should Art Be for Art's Sake?
Students examine how European-America aestheticians (philosophers of art) do not all agree about the value and definition of art. students examine how some cultures do not have a distinct word or definition for art.
Curated OER
Visual Aural Impressions
Students view a piece of impressionist art, listen to a piece of jazz music and then write a piece about the picture in the style of beat poets. They compare their writing and look for differences in their perceptions.
Curated OER
Step into the Painting: Social Studies, Literature, and Art
Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...
National Gallery of Canada
My World
Art can tell viewers about an artist's personality and background. Have your learners look at Inuit art and consider subject matter and how it relates to the artist and his or her world. The related art project requires pupils to create...
National Gallery of Canada
Mastering One-Point Perspective
Cover one-point perspective through observation and practice. Class members examine several works of art that use one-point perspective, look at magazine images to find the vanishing points and horizon lines, and draw their own city...
National Gallery of Canada
Build Me a Legend
Legends are full of imagery and action. Transfer a scene from a legend to a three-dimensional art piece. Class members first view Inuit art and discuss legends. They then build scenes that include action, setting, and characters.
National Gallery of Canada
My Own Tree
Nature contains both symmetry and asymmetry. Have your young artists examine symmetry and asymmetry in their own surroundings. After viewing works of art, pupils find trees in their neighborhoods and determine if they are symmetrical or...
National Gallery of Canada
The Tools of Perspective
Make a study of perspective in the real world. Learners examine and discuss works of art that show examples of perspective before trying their own hands at it. Using a grid drawn on transparent paper, class members transfer a view from a...
National Gallery of Canada
Build a Neighbourhood
What's special about your neighborhood? Build one with your class to find out. Individuals create their dream homes that, when completed, will be placed together around a green space in order to create a neighborhood. Learners also...
National Gallery of Canada
Emphasizing Prints
Focus on how an artist creates emphasis on certain areas of a work with an examination of several works of art and a printmaking project. Follow the discussion suggestions and step-by-step printmaking instructions to successfully...
Curated OER
Descriptive Writing: Using Art to Inspire description
Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...
National Gallery of Canada
The Camera Obscura
You can create a camera with even the most unassuming materials. Learners view photographs and talk about the art. Some background information is included about the camera obscura for you to present before individuals make their own...
Arts Ed Washington
Art Lessons in the Classroom: Our Family
Blend art and family into one lesson plan with an activity involving oil pastels and watercolors. After viewing a few famous portraits of families, learners create masterpieces that represent their own families.
J. Paul Getty Trust
Portraits That Capture Character
One of the great things about technology is that it lets youngsters visit museums that may be many miles away. With this resource, middle and high schoolers can visit the portrait galleries at J. Paul Getty Museum, located in Los...
Curated OER
Shoes and the Backyard Landscape
Your shoes get a lot of mileage in familiar places. Represent the places you have traveled the most with an art project based on a print of Indian People Wear Shoes and Socks by Juane Quick-to-See Smith. Kids trace their shoes and draw...
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 works...
Sargent Art
Protect Our Marine Life
Encourage water conservation and boost art skills with a hands-on activity that challenges young painters to create a scene highlighting marine life. Using oil pastels, scholars draw an underwater scene and write a tip for viewers to...