Activity
Exploratorium

A Splash of Color - Is Pure Water Colorless?

For Students 6th - 12th
What makes the ocean blue but a glass of ocean water nearly colorless? Investigators prepare tubes of water to examine the color of water. Scholars discover the relationship between light absorption, color variations, and water depth as...
Lesson Plan
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Overcoming Obstacles

Having a Positive Attitude

For Teachers K - 2nd
Through discussion and reflection, scholars discover what it means to have a positive attitude, that an individual can choose to stay positive, and discuss the benefits of a positive attitude. Learners listen to negative scenarios to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frida and Diego

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students view the PBS video and reflect upon the social implications of a personal relationship upon the influence of artistic expression. The relationship of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera is judged critically to come to conclusions. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Looking at Body Language

For Teachers K - 12th
Students examine Dorothea Lange's photograph of a migrant mother and consider how artists express emotions, ideas, and physical conditions through gesture, pose, clothing, and expression.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clay Whistle/Ocarinas

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders create a clay whistle/ocarina and sculptue in the round using the pinch technique.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Multiplying in Any Order

For Teachers 2nd
In this mathematics worksheet, 2nd graders use counters to show an array. Then they write the multiplication fact for that array. Students also identify if the reverse of a multiplication fact is equal and explain why.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Symbolism in Sculpture

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students use criteria developed in class to evaluate which of their own sketches would make the best symbolic sculpture. In this sculpture symbolism lesson, students work in pairs to create a sculpture and define its symbolic meaning....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Showing Depth

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine and demonstrate how to create a middle ground, background, and foreground on a picture or work of art. They identify middle ground, background, and foreground on Michael Sowa's works of art, then create their own...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Completing Sculptures

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers express aspects of their identity in their artwork, use subject matter or symbols to express meaning, organize mass and space with attention to multiple viewpoints and write titles for their work.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Two-Part Inventions with Notation Software

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students demonstrate the canon form and Bach's Two-Part Inventions by composing an aesthetically pleasing left-hand part after being given only the right hand part to J.S. Bach's Invention No. 8 in F Major. Keyboard lab suggested.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Successful Art Class Critique

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students follow a teacher directed process to complete an Artwork Critique Form. They select another student's work to critique. After jotting their ideas on the worksheet, they consult the teacher. When the teacher has determined there...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Photoshop - Appropriated Portraits

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders hone their computer skills through practice with Adobe Photoshop. They choose a famous portrait painting, working on seamless integration of their own face into the picture. They work on the skills of using filters,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing Mythology

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Pupils look closely at a poster of a Rembrandt painting and/or a transparency of a Greek vase, both of which represent the mythological story of the abduction of Europa. Studnets consider how two artists interpreted the same subject in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Literature: Frederick

For Teachers 1st
First graders read Frederick and illustrate a scene from the story. They connect their own backgrounds and experiences with scenes in the story. They identify the setting and conflict of the story.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beauty of the Harvest

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Young scholars collect information from Beauty of the Harvest and Native American culture to determine what women accomplished in their daily lives. After organizing and thoughtfully considering this information, students create their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Doodle All the Day

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the creative potential in everyday objects. Through doodling, collecting found art, and creating drawings and paintings inspired by the world around them, students research their own creative process.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Spaces and Places

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars identify three-dimensional forms in various buildings and construct three-dimensional paper forms.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Colors of the Rainbow

For Teachers K
Students explore primary and secondary colors through the use of colors represented in the rainbow. They read and discuss the book, 'What a Wonderful World,' mix paint colors and paint rainbows, and create scratchboard paintings.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

String Eggs

For Teachers K - 8th
Students follow instructions to make a string egg and work appropriately and neatly with art materials.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Focus on Batiks

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover the characteristics of batik fabrics. Using the fabric, they create a tulip garden wall hanging. They review warm and cool colors and use various stitching techniques for the stems and leaves. They share their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scratch Some Fireworks

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create sheets of "fireworks" using art paper, crayons, black paint, and wooden skewers in this instructional activity that can be adapted to celebrate any time of the year. The instructional activity also includes a short...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Henri Matisse and Fauvism

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the painting style of Henri Matisse and Fauvism. They view and discuss a PowerPoint presentation on Fauvism and Henri Matisse, conduct Internet research, create a list of characteristics of the Fauvism style, and create...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interior Design Final Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers are introduced to the requirements for their final interior design project. In groups, they compare and contrast the characteristics of floor plans to the needs of families living in the houses. Individually, they design...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Different Perspective

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students participate in a show called "A Different Perspective" that recognizes previously unnoticed talents of wheelchair bound kids. They assess how to attach an Olympus digital camera to their wheelchairs and take pictures from their...