PBS
Shakespeare & The Renaissance: Activity Ideas
Looking for ways to implement the words and works of William Shakespeare into your curriculum? This list of activity ideas is a great starting point, as it covers a wide range of grade levels and a wealth of online references to explore.
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The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
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Renaissance Man Comparison Poster
Students watch a PBS video entitled Suleiman to help them identify characteristics associated with Renaissance notables. After watching the video, individually or in small groups, the students will research a notable Renaissance figure...
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The Renaissance, Background
Students are introduced to the Renaissance by viewing a PowerPoint presentation. In this Renaissance lesson, students locate the important countries and cities of the Renaissance. Students compare how it was in England from the rest of...
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Leonardo da Vinci: Creative Genius
Students discuss how Leonardo Da Vinci reflected the spirit of the Renaissance. They examine his achivements and explain the significance of his notebooks. They write essays on what constitutes a "rRenaissance man."
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The Sonnet: Renaissance Representative
Learners compose couplets, quatrains, and sonnets after learning about Italian and English sonnets. In this sonnets lesson plan, students read sonnets, analyze them, connect them to the Renaissance and present times, and then write their...
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Leonardo da Vinci: Creative Genius
Students examine how Leonardo da Vinci exemplified the Renaissance period. They explore various websites, conduct Internet research, complete a chart, explore virtual da Vinci notebooks, and write an essay.
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Social Studies: Renaissance
Students explore Renaissance architecture. In this Renaissance instructional activity, students view a slideshow featuring architecture of the era and then discuss the math skills used to the build the structures. Student build their own...
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Paul Robeson: 20th-Century Renaissance Man, Hero In Any Century
Students study the life and times of actor Paul Robeson. In this social activism lesson, students research primary and secondary documents to create multi-media presentations featuring Paul Robeson's life and political activism.
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The Renaissance Person: composing an Extended Definition Essay
Young scholars recognize the characteristics of an extended definition. In this Renaissance person lesson, students read a collection of short stories. Young scholars research the definitions of Renaissance and Renaissance...
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Harlem Renaissance
Students investigate the African American culture in the 1920's and the Harlem Renaissance. They read and analyze poems written by poets of the Harlem Renaissance, listen to jazz music and identify the characteristics of the music, and...
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Italian Renaissance
Fifth graders explore the Italian Rensissance in this six lessons unit. The prominent citizens, the ideas, values, art, philosophy, and literature of the are seen as a rediscovery of Ancient Greek and Roman times.
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Art and Anatomy: The Vitruvian Teen
Twelfth graders create an artistic version of a Vetruvian teen. In this anatomy lesson, 12th graders design an experiment to test the theory of the ideally proportioned man. They present their findings in class.
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The Magnificent Medici
Learners watch a video about the internal power struggles of the Medici family of Renaissance Italy. They compare the Medici family to the Mafia and produce a written response to the film.
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Paul Robeson: 20th-Century Renaissance Man, Hero In Any Century
Young scholars explore several themes relevant to the life of Paul Robeson and the social, artistic, & political realities of the first half of the 20th century, identify and interview heroes in their communities, and publish...
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Paul Robeson: The Renaissance Man
Young scholars research the life of athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist, Paul Robeson. They answer the question, "Which was most important to American culture -Robeson's work as a scholar, a...
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...
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Passages of Man and Word
Third graders explore transportation and written communication prior to the Renaissance.
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Leonardo Da Vinci A Team Doncumentation Activity
Students examine the life and works of Leonardo and produce a portfolio of information which may include written reports, art works, and invention models.
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What Caused the Great Depression?
Analyze the many causes of major political, economic, and social developments during the 1920s and 1930s, with emphasis on the Great Depression. Read photographs from the 1920's and the 1930's, then write a brief explanation of what you...
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Jefferson vs. Franklin: Renaissance Men
Young scholars investigate the achievements of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. They conduct Internet research, identify their achievements, and participate in a 'competition' that compares/contrasts the two men.
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Michelangelo: Artist and Man
Students are introduced to Michelangelo in this A&E influenced lesson.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Physics at the Art Museum: Kinetic Energy, Potential Energy, and Work
Connect science, math, and art for a true interdisciplinary lesson plan! Learners explore simple machines in art. Through analysis with a physics app, they identify positions of kinetic and potential energy and make conclusions about work.
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Parachutes
Students examine how parachutes work, and research and discuss the first man to envision and sketch the first parachute. They analyze air resistance, drag force, drop time, and terminal velocity.