Curated OER
Picture Books, Retelling, and Writing
Students create stories using only pictures. In this visual storytelling lesson, students read Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie de Paola and analyze the wordless story. Students create new text for the book by writing on...
Curated OER
The Amazing Maud Lewis
Students investigate cultural art from Canada by reading about Maud Lewis. In this Canadian history instructional activity, students identify the work of Lewis by visiting her magazine website. Students identify other heroes...
Curated OER
Revolutions in Painting
Students analyze Abstract Expressionist artists and their art. In this art analysis instructional activity, students view the works by Jackson Pollock and Helen Frankenthaler and analyze the pieces. Students complete image based...
Curated OER
Self Portrait Jars: Labeling Ourselves
Seventh graders create an alternative self-portrait. For this art lesson students study the artwork of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Students use her work as inspiration for a self-portrait in a jar form.
Curated OER
Symmetry and Symbols
Students identify symmetrical and congruent elements in folk art. In this art and geometry lesson, students examine pictures of Masonic Plaque in the Form of a Royal Arch Tracing Board for evidence of congruent and symmetrical elements....
Curated OER
In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall Teacher’s Guide
Young scholars read the book I Am Tall and complete several reading response activities relating to the poems in the book. For this reading response lesson, students focus on the subject of fathers and make speculations about what the...
Curated OER
The Roots of American Culture
Students explore the notion of culture and the influence of Latino culture on the U.S. They work in small groups to identify ways that Latino and non-Latino U.S. cultures have engaged in cultural 'cross-fertilization.'
Curated OER
Antonym Review
Second graders improve their spelling skills by reviewing antonyms for specific words. They work aloud with words and find their antonyms. They complete their own crossword puzzle and an activity crossword puzzle.
Curated OER
Good Words are Better than Bad Strokes
Students research negative campaigns and propaganda and then interpret characters from Julius Caesar in that light. In this negative campaign lesson plan, students take the character and create visual images to depict the characters in a...
Curated OER
Ancient Aztecs
Is it a calendar? A religious symbol? A political statement? One thing for certain is that Aztec sun stone designs remain an important symbol in Mexican cultural art. Young artists craft their own Aztec Sun design incorporating ideas...
EngageNY
Point of View: Comparing Esperanza's and Isabel's Perspectives About Life in the Camp (Chapter 7: "Las Cebollas/Onions")
Explore point of view and more with a Common Core-designed instructional activity. Learners experience different points of view by representing one of two characters from Esperanza Rising during a partner discussion. They must use...
Curated OER
Birthday Baroque
Young scholars draw self-portraits and birthday announcements on classroom windows. They explore the portrait painting styles of famous artists such as El Greco, Rubens, and Rembrandt. They write write in large, backward block lettering...
Curated OER
Box Bouquet
Students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of of annuals and perennials. They compare the structures of plants such as stems, roots, and leaves. They draw a chalk flower pot, cut it out and glue it to a background using Crayola...
Curated OER
Embracing Embossing
Students explore the technique of embossing through the use of aluminium foil and a three dimensional collage. In this embossing instructional activity, students create a sentence with the letters of the word stamp. Students...
Academy of American Poets
Poems about Poetry
Learners of all ages hear the words “Today we’re going to start poetry” and begin their plans to drop out of school. It is not the teacher's fault! Use this resource to help young scholars understand the genre of poetry and why it is...
Smithsonian Institution
Affirmation, Assimilation, and Acculturation: Middle School
Latin American culture is deeply embedded in American culture as a whole. From the Latin rock scene in San Francisco to the hip-hop world of New York, Latin American artists have influenced every genre of modern music. Learn about the...
Curated OER
Word Play
Students examine the history of Chinese American artist Xu Bing. In this multicultural lesson, students collaborate in small groups to identify letters in the artist's work, and brainstorm how they would create their own images from...
Curated OER
Read More Than Words
Students, in groups, visually read photographs from the Farm Security Administration taken during the Great Depression. They analyze the photos and present their observations to the class.
Curated OER
Habitat Art: Florida Panthers
Students discover the lifestyles of a Florida Panther by investigating its habitat. In this wild animal lesson, students utilize the Internet to research the habits of a Panther and what their habitat is. Students create an...
Curated OER
Winter Through the Arts
Students read the book The Snowy Day and discover various winter themes. In this winter lesson, students develop movements to express the feeling of a snowstorm. Students also construct winter-themed art pieces.
Curated OER
Art -- The Secret to Freedom
Fourth graders create a coded message in a quilt. In this art instructional activity students demonstrate the communication used by the Underground Railroad. Students work in a group to make a quilt with a code in it.
Curated OER
Shakespeare Wall
Students create a visual notebook of a Shakespearean play by taking the actual written work, hanging it up on the wall, and highlighting various literary aspects of the play as they unfold.
Curated OER
Spelling Activity: Suffixes
Understanding spelling patterns is a vital tool. Suffixes ful, ness, ment, and ly are examined in this spelling patterns activity. The class determines how to use each suffix to change the meaning of a set of given root words.
Achieve3000
Discriminating Phonemes
Develop the fluency of beginning readers one sound at a time with this phonemic awareness lesson. Through a series of whole-class instruction, independent practice, and collaborative learning activities, children practice...