Relate the structure of the essay to the structure of a building. The class compares an essay to a building, with the writer being the architect, the introduction being the foundation, and so on. They use the visual representation of a...

How much does the environment affect how and what man creates? Children explore the effect of the environment on primitive man as they research raw materials from a specific location. They use their findings to write a short essay about...

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...

As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...

Students familiarize themselves with photo editing and montage techniques. They create a montage that tells the viewer about themselves.

Young scholars review previously written essays, draw pictures of shapes, and write descriptive essays.

Learn about the ancient Near East through a close examination of ancient artifacts. Lead your class into analysis by first observing an artifact as a class. Pupils can then work in pairs to analyze the other artifacts and compile a list...

Students look into a mirror and draw their own self-portraits. Then they write a descriptive essay, describing the portrait and the features of their face.

Sixth graders create a descriptive essay and map describing their island paradise. They try to evoke the reader's senses: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. They revise their paragraphs using their partner's feedback.

Learners formulate a definition of art in the introductory lesson for a unit on various art forms. The learning emphasis is placed on Oregonian artist Duff Severe and reflective writing. Pupils compose an essay describing various art...

How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...

Pupils walk around the neighborhood and identify various polygons and lines in buildings, nature and other objects. They design a building using various geometric patterns, shapes and lines. Students complete a descriptive writing of...

Pupils explore color terms and related meanings and metaphors in cultural and literary contexts. They use the main colors to explore synonymous color terms and related metaphorical meanings of color words. Students recognize the extent...

Students improve their' writing by incorporating photography into descriptive and narrative writing exercises. They write descriptions of various professional photographic collections. Later they use their own and other classmates'.

Students research the structure and function of the eye. In this anatomy lesson, students write a report about the eye and draw an illustration. They research a particular animal's eye then present their findings to the class without...

Young scholars explore the elements of a narrative for its purpose, type of audience, mood, main character, minor characters, setting, and conflicts in the story. A story outline is developed and a five paragraph essay composed in this...

Students study the appropriate formats for giving examples in American discourse style. A ladder approach is used to demonstrate the concept. They write paragraphs about abstract concepts, such as beauty, wealth, and love, using methods...

Students examine the history of mandalas from Tibet. After reviewing the Designing a Mandala handout, they use geometric symmetrical shapes to create their own examples. Next, they write poems or essays and explain the meaning of the...

Dive into animation creation using Dreamworks® animated films. Compare and contrast characters, wonder and ponder why the plot is so important, and think of background and themes as your creativity unrolls onto paper.

Students use description language to clarify ideas and create vivid images in an essay focusing of strong verbs. They discuss weak verbs and explore that the better image the words create, the better the reader understands the text.

Learners examine pieces of art and write a short essay on what emotions they feel by viewing it. They view a video clip and complete chart as they watch. They discuss how the writers of the program showed emotions in the clips.

It's wonderful to see a lesson that incorporates art, movement, and writing. These three forms of creative expression are explored as learners dance to music from the Gullah people of West Africa. They analyze several paintings, listen...

Pupils research the life and music of Hank Williams. They take a quiz on country music, watch a video about Hank Williams, research Williams' song lyrics, create a poster and write a bio poem about his life and work.