J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 2
Is there a difference between examining an original work of art and viewing a reproduction? Class members are asked to reflect on this question after researching a piece, study a reproduction of it, and the examining the original in an...
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Islamic Art and Geometric Design
After an overview of Islamic traditions and art, young artists create their own geometric shapes and patterns using only a straightedge and a compass.
Curated OER
Art Criticism: Understanding Wayne Thiebaud's Salads, Sandwiches, and Desserts
Analysis consists of an understanding and interpretation of evidence and elements found in any number of expressive mediums. Upper graders critique the work of American Realist Wayne Thiebaud through a series of excellent guided...
Broadway GPS
The Lion King—The Broadway Musical Study Guide
Musicals have been adapted from stage plays, novels, and movies. With The Lion King, Disney transforms its animated film into show-stopping, live-action musical theatre. The guide Disney provides to accompany a study...
Curated OER
20th Century American Art
See the changes, controversy, and innovations that define postwar American art. The onset of the modern art era in American history is well-defined in this slide-show. You'll see how Abstract Expressionism shifted into conceptual, pop,...
Curated OER
Mind Your Mannerists-Understanding the Art of El Greco
Kids become mini-experts on the Mannerist movement and the art of El Greco. They identify common elements of El Greco paintings and compare them to a work by Thomas Hart Benton. They use four ways to examine art taken from the...
Florida Alliance for Arts Education
Theatre Arts
What skills do storytellers employ to bring to life the characters and events in their tales? After listening to a recording of a Haitian folk tale, class members consider how tone of voice, pace, and gestures can be used to enliven a...
Curated OER
Basic Art Analysis Worksheet
This is a terrific art analysis worksheet that has kids thinking critically about art, symbolism, and history. They answer several questions regarding basic art elements and then delve into a thoughtful analysis.
Curated OER
Art and Revolution
Explore art and revolution that dawned in the mid 20th century. Constructivism, Bauhaus, and de stijl are all covered in this visually stimulating presentation.
Curated OER
Dada and Neue Sachlichkeit
After the abstractists and the Cubists of the early 20th century left their mark, the Dada and Neue-Sachlichkeit movements began. Examine the interesting world of these movements and have your class consider their impact on current...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Start with a Circle...
The Golden Ratio. The Divine Proportion. Yup. It's math and art blended into one colorful activity. Young artists combine colored tissue paper circles and parts of circles to create geometric patterns. As a bonus, kids get to figure out...
San Francisco Symphony
Instrument and Visual Appreciation of Art
There are a lot of great ideas to be found here. To better understand the connection between art and history, learners research several music and art pieces, then relate them to major social events. They study the lives and works...
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...
Pearson
Musical Theater Performance
Musical theater is a trifecta, requiring cast members to be actors, singers, and dancers. Help theater arts students develop these skills with a unit designed to prepare them for a staging of a musical.
New York City Department of Education
Theater Units for Lower and Upper Elementary Levels
Introduce middle schoolers to playwriting and the elements of drama with a six-session storytelling unit that encourages kids to expand their acting and writing skills. The 12-page packet includes overviews of the lessons,...
Google
Art: Interactive Art
What would the Mona Lisa say if she could talk? Scholars create a digital story within the Scratch block-based coding program. They make famous paintings talk and move when viewers click on them to complete the third of eight parts in...
Google
Art: Paint with Tera
Here's a creative resource that definitely isn't paint by numbers. As the fourth in and eight-part Art series, learners create a paint program using the Scratch block code. By completing the activity, class members come to understand the...
Curated OER
Responding Syllables: Reading and Music
Shell Silverstein’s “Sick” provides an opportunity for kids to demonstrate their understanding of syllables and phonemes. The class creates a list of descriptive words used in the poem that have more than one syllable, and brainstorm how...
Film Foundation
Film Language and Elements of Style
How do you read a frame? How do you read a shot? Here's a resource that shows viewers how to read films. As part of the study, class members examine the camera angles, lighting, movement, and cinematic point of view in Mr. Smith Goes to...
Curated OER
African Masks And Their Impact On Western Art
Explore the influence of African-style masks on Western art. Learners create individual masks using construction paper. They discuss and explore the techniques used to create these types of masks. The resource includes links to...
Curated OER
Alexander And The Wind-Up Mouse
Use drama techniques to recreate the story, Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni. They engage in problem-solving as they identify the roles they will fufill in their groups for the performance. This is a motivating way to...
Oxford Cambridge
Set and Prop Design
What's the difference between set dressing and a prop? Between a costume accessory and a personal prop? As part of their study of set and prop design, class members engage in a series of activities that prepare them to design a prop for...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Art Press Tools
Kids cast their own plaster tools to stamp image impressions and textures for tiles, pictures frames, and other works of art. Young artists can even create their own watermark to label their stuff.
Memorial Art Gallery
Art Alive! - Towing a Boat, Honfleur
Color, light and shadow, the placement and size of objects. These are some of the tools artists used to tell their stories. Model for learners how to read a painting by closely examining these features. The richly detailed packet...