Students make connections between their personal experiences and portraits. define a portrait and identify different kinds of portraits in artworks and their own lives. They look closely at a portrait using visual analysis to describe...

Students think about a dramatic moment in their lives and imagine how to translate it into a work of art. They write their own personal experience as a story. They describe a visual image of their personal experience and/or story.

Students read a visual image very much like they would read words in a story. They write about portraits using new portrait vocabulary. They, in groups, use their written analysis to hypothesize about the story of the sitters in the...

Students examine the connection between a person's home and his or her personality. They practice new vocabulary.

Eighth graders compare two visual works of art about John Brown. They read a text or listen to an interview, and identify information about him. They debate their opinions using evidence in written and visual texts. They research other...

Students write a formal letter to an artist using art vocabulary they have reviewed in class. They commission a portrait from the artist. They share their letters with the class.

After being read a story, the students attempt to identify one individual difference, and one thing about themselves that is similar to other students in the class and one thing that makes them special. For the art instructional...

Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. In this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...

Students explore the idea of 'monsters' in society. In this character lesson, students define what a monster is, what purpose they serve and why they are necessary. They will go on the read Beowulf and Grendel and design their own...

Students explore and discuss the objects commonly found in still-life paintings. They identify the objects pictured in still lifes indicating which objects are natural and which are man-made.

Students analyze the difference between artistic and documentary photography. They discuss why photographers made certain photographers.

Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...

Students examine American humor and character through analysis of works by Mark Twain. In this cross curricular lesson, students develop a definition of American humor and determine how and why some consider Twain the 'first truly...

Students are introduced to the topic of idioms in figurative speech. Using the definition of idioms, they use literature to view examples. They identify idioms in different forms of writing and practice using them in speech. ESL...

Students view landscape paintings. They recall a landscape that has meaning to them and describe it to the class. They complete a worksheet.

Students identify and discuss the basic shapes used in artistic still-life compositions.

Students explore and discuss the process of taking a photograph.

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...

Students use vocabulary to describe the quilt making process. For this quilting lesson, students collect needed materials, sequence the steps for quilting and create an original peace quilt. Students write about their quilts.

Third graders listen to a story that introduce them to reptiles. They participate in a discussion concerning these desert animals and write from the rattlesnake's point of view.

Students examine two Buddhist images. Using Venn Diagrams, students compare and contrast the images in an effort to decode their meanings. Students are then introduced to Buddhism through a story of Buddha.

Students explore the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. They read to explain a new topic and write to inform readers of the historic events they explored.

Students analyze scientific vocabulary words. In this life science vocabulary lesson, students complete a worksheet using VisualThesaurus as they evaluate words related to plants and animals and how the words are used.

Fourth graders conduct cultural research, collect oral histories using tape recorders and cameras, and share their ancestral heritage with classmates through family heirlooms and ethnic foods.