Think about a moment, frozen in time. Now take a critical look at the painting, Better, Homes, Better Gardens. This painting works to provide learners the opportunity to analyze art, critique artist's choices, and write a story inspired...

Bring writing to life with this lesson in which elementary and middle schoolers create a display of the imagery they identify in a series of Gary Paulsen books. They read the suggested materials, identify imagery and descriptive...

Students experience musical imagery. They link this musical concept to literary imagery to gain an understanding of the use of imagery in both genres. After listening to a varriety of sounds, students will compose and perform a melody.

“Be glad that all things sort so well.” To make text-to-self connections to Shakespeare’s play, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise prior to reading Act IV, scene i of Much Ado About Nothing (the wedding of Claudio and...

Peace, love, tolerance, faith. Marc Chagall's Peace Window in the United Nations World Headquarters serves as a model for young artists as they create their own peace-themed transparent paintings. A great activity for both SPED and...

Learners analyze photographs and poetry as forms of each other. In this poetry and photography analysis lesson, students use the photographs of Alfred Stieglitz and poetry from William Carlos William to explore how poetry and painting...

Why be limited by stereotypes? Young scholars examine a series of works of art, list the different ways boys and girls are represented, and then discuss the common stereotypes found in the works. They then search for art that does not...

Learners, through observation and discussion about the Coffin of Djed Mut, make connections between hieroglyphs and the English writing system. They create their own visual story using symbols that represent words.

Students develop imagery in literary and art works. They discuss Jacob Lawrence's painting, the "Tombstones, 1942", which conveyed overcrowded tenements and families living in Harlem (New York, New York). They design picture stories...

Introduce your class to ekphrastic poetry with an exercise that asks them to examine Edward Hooper's painting House by the Railroad and Edward Hirsch's poem "Edward Hopper and the House By the Railroad." After a close reading...

High schoolers create a logo design to express their own identity. In this logo design lesson, students list ten words to describe who they are and choose two of them to use in a logo. High schoolers draw images and choose various forms...

Fourth graders identify literary techniques by participating in a class discussion. In this organization instructional activity, 4th graders practice public speaking while presenting ideas for a story to their classmates as well as...

Students analyze a monologue by Coriolanus in Shakespeare's play of the same name. In this literature lesson plan, students discuss and define betrayal and the events surrounding Coriolanus' banishment from Rome. 

First graders study Japanese art and apply the technique of Tansai Sumi (lightly colored) to create individual works of art. Painting, design, lines, and drawing techniques are covered in this 1st grade lesson plan.

Young scholars explore ways in which music can relay messages of peace and how popular songs can be interpreted as commentary on current issues and themes.

Learners brainstorm all the possible scenarios that would help them tell a story in detail with the whole class and with partners. They create web outlines to create a name story and then illustrate it with creative grammar usage and...

Students research the surrealism movement and its primary artists. Language is also analyzed, and students will create their own original poem utilizing surrealistic techniques.

Students create an artistic response to the book, The Polar Express. For this creative writing lesson, students read the book and visualize an imaginary journey they would like to go on. Students create a train car from construction...

Learners examine the works of Holocaust artist Samuel Bak. In this Holocaust lesson, students analyze and interpret the works of Bak that feature his first-hand childhood experience of the Holocaust.

Students perform a scene with their small group. They identify an animal, act out what the animal does, where the animal would be found, and what the animal eats. They locate the animal habitats on a map.

Learners experiment with illuminating important text.  In this fictional literature lesson, students research Shakespearean sonnets.  Learners identify key elements of the sonnets, and examine the relationship between...

Students write about their interpretations of "Glow of the City," discuss "Glow of the City" in terms of imagery, symbolism, use of shadows and light, and ways that it reflects life in the late 1920s in New York.

Students explore how to use field guides to identify wildlife.  In this nature lesson students construct their own plant field guide. 

Students analyze the elements of poetry and jazz. In this critical thinking skills activity, students take a closer look at the rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, form, free verse, lyricism, and imagery that exist is jazz as well as poetry.