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Social Issues and Art Inquiry Project
Connect art to social issues with a extended inquiry project. Individuals or small groups select a social issue and a type of art to explore. They complete a KWL chart for both the social issue and the art strand and take time to create...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Arts Showcase
An art showcase encourages class members to explore the themes of social justice and tolerance. They create an original artwork, engage in group discussions, and journal writing. The art gallery also provides a chance for families and...
Curated OER
When Art Conveys Political and Social Conflict
Twelfth graders consider art as a medium to convey information and opinions on social conflict and issues. They analyze images from the Crocker Art Museum, discuss their effectiveness in raising awareness of an issue, and create a...
Dream of a Nation
Creating Awareness through Action Oriented Writing and Research
Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth graders...
New Class Museum
Lesson: French Revolution and Visual Language of Power
Take a look at the French Revolution and neo-classic art, then compare it to current social issues and contemporary art. Kids analyze several pieces painted by Jacques-Louis David in regard to style and subject then compare them to...
Curated OER
Lesson: Michael Patterson-Carver: Politics and Art
Michael Paterson-Carver creates art that expresses political concepts, allegory, and activism. Learners will examine several of his pieces and his perspective. Then they create an original piece that conveys a message.
Curated OER
Artists Teach Us to See the World through Visual Symbols
Tenth graders analyze a biographical piece of art by Raymond Saunders. They identify shapes, symbols, and lines that are used, and how the piece relates to the artist's life and modern society. They design and create an original piece of...
Curated OER
Lesson: Unmonumental: War, Politics, and Protest
Get those upper graders thinking about the world, social conflict, and art as a catalyst for change. They'll uncover the meanings behind four abstract works, intended to spread awareness of the need for social change. Kids are then asked...
Curated OER
Covering the Issue
Examine how art and music can be powerful tools for conveying a political or social message. After considering the issues surrounding rapper Paris, students design their own album covers that reflect their political and/or social...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Picturing a Story: Photo Essay about a Community, Event or Issue
Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.
Museum of Modern Art
Modern Art and Ideas
The Museum of Modern Art provides this educators' guide to Dada and Surrealism. Featuring the works of such artists as Jean Arp, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, and Meret Oppenheim among others, the guide is ideal for art history and...
Teaching Tolerance
Collage of Concerns
A picture can speak louder than words. An interesting lesson introduces the themes of social justice and diversity to young learners by having them create artwork. Scholars create collages from a variety of sources to showcase what...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Bulletin Board
A project-based lesson has pupils create a bulletin board to share artwork, nonfiction articles, and messages based on social justice themes. The finished board is displayed in the community to create a place for discussion.
PBS
Women's History: Glass Windows; Glass Ceilings
Discover stories about women's history in beautiful stained glass windows. The second in a three-part series teaches scholars about a famous artistic style of stained glass windows and the influential women that used art to impact...
Curated OER
Art: Faith Ringgold Story Quilts
Twelfth graders examine the impact of African American culture on the United States by inspecting Faith Ringgold's story quilts. Working in groups, they create a collective story quilt about current cultural issues. They research their...
Public Media for Northern California
An Educator’s Guide to Teaching Gun Control Issues | The Lowdown
The topic of gun control is vast, controversial, and difficult to introduce to learners. This gem of a resource covers both sides of the issue and provides topic background, various multimedia and print resources, analysis questions, and...
Curated OER
Design for Social Justice
Students create a solution to a social justice problem within their community. In this urban planning lesson, students read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. Students then complete a research...
Curated OER
Social and Cultural Issues in the Civil Rights Movement
Students watch videos, listen to speeches and analyze the information that is presented about the civil rights movement. They examine visual art of the period.
Curated OER
When Art Conveys a Political Message
Twelfth graders learn art is an effective way to convey a political message. They learn how political messages are created to convey a message. They analyze a piece of artwork and then write a short paragraph from the point of view of...
Curated OER
African Artist El Anatsui as a Reflection of African Culture: Human Rights Issues and Activism Through Art
Students explore global issues through visual art analysis. In this African art lesson, students examine works by El Anatsui and discussing their human rights themes. Students then design lesson plans based on their findings.
Creative Visions Foundation
Creating Your Own Original Interpretation of the UDHR
How can visual aids enhance understanding of a complex topic? With the third of four lessons from the Introduction to the Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) set, scholars view illustrations online from the book We Are All Born Free and...
Curated OER
Statement of Principles
Students create their own work of art that serves as a social commentary. In this art statement lesson, students research how art conveyed moral and ethical ideals during the Neoclassical period and create a drawing that addresses a...
Curated OER
The Affect of Music on Visual Images
Eighth graders consider cross-curricular connections between social studies, singing, and current events. They listen to the song, "I Can't Cry Hard Enough." view scenes from September 11, then create presentations using images, a...
Curated OER
Lesson: Jeremy Deller: Conversing about Conflict
Bridge cultural awareness, community, government, and art with an introspective and thought-provoking lesson. Upper graders become globally and socially aware as they analyze and explore the art of Jeremy Deller. They consider his images...