Curated OER
Ani-mania
Young learners view images by the artist Robert Harris which are all paintings of animals. They engage in a variety of artistic activities which involve fantasty, and create their very own "fantasy animals." When all of the animals are...
Curated OER
Toco Toucan - Oil Pastels
Learners create a picture of a toucan from the continent of South America using a pencil, marker, and oil pastels. Students identify the continent of South America and discuss the Toco Toucan. They follow teacher directions to create...
PBS
Art21: Kiki Smith
Kiki is the daughter of American sculptor Tony Smith and began her interest in art at a young age. Her work is primarily figurative. The recurrent subject matter in Smith's work has been the body as a receptacle for knowledge, belief,...
PBS
Art21: William Wegman
Features a biography of the artist and links to art work, video clips and interviews. On this page there are also links to lesson plans and other artist pages.
Other
Carving at Skidegate
A site describing the process artists use to carve and raise a totem pole at Skidegate. Great photos and descriptions of the tools, preparations, and the animals carved into this fabulous piece of artwork.
Other
Medieval Bestiary: Animals in the Middle Ages
Bestiaries, illustrated volumes of animals and birds, were an expression of the intersection of the natural and religious worlds in medieval art and science. At this large database on the subject, you can learn about the symbolic content...
Other
Pacific Asia Museum: Animals in Japanese Art
A rich-media site that explores animals, both real and imaginary, as a central theme in Japanese paintings and prints. Learn about the traditions and techniques of Japanese painting and prints and see examples of work created by Japanese...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of African Art: Artful Animals
African artists commonly base their work on animals observed in their natural habitats. Artful Animals lets you view African art that takes animals as its subject and inspiration. Learn about animals as symbols in African art, the beauty...
Other
University of Aberdeen: Aberdeen Bestiary
Digitized version of the Aberdeen Bestiary, written and illuminated in England around 1200. Access full-page displays and detailed views of illustrations, along with transcriptions of the text in English and the original Latin. Also...
National Gallery of Canada
Cybermuse: Prints and Drawings in Inuit Art
Ten Inuit artists and their work are surveyed. There are lesson plans that study animism, drawing and stenciling, and printmaking. You can use the timeline to see the chronological history of this period and also juxtapose images with...
The National Gallery (UK)
National Gallery, London: Ite: Learning Ideas and Outcomes: Subject Focus
This extensive lesson plan uses the painting 'A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning' as a starting point to learning in science. Students will use the work by Reubens to learn about a variety of animals and their habitats.
ArtsNow
Arts Now Learning: Magic Rocks [Pdf]
In this lesson, students work in groups with each acting as a predator, prey, or family member in a particular habitat. They present their habitat performance to the class and students identify the habitat and animal relationships. Then,...
National Library of France
National Library of France: Beastiary in Medieval Illumination
A beautiful introduction to the types of exotic animals found in the illuminated manuscripts of medieval Europe. Learn about the symbolic significance of the lion, the ox, the bear, and the dove and view numerous examples of these and...
Other
How to Draw and Paint: How to Draw Animals
By using simple shapes you can learn to draw any animal. This tutorial explains this process and gives you step-by-step directions on drawing many different animals including kangaroos and flamingos!
J. Paul Getty Trust
J. Paul Getty Museum: Oudry's Painted Menagerie
Beautiful images of exotic animals painted by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. See and listen to details about the 18th century paintings.
Other
National Museum of Wildlife Art: Artist Biography: Ernest Thompson Seton
Detailed biography of naturalist, artist, and writer Ernest Thompson Seton. Includes two examples of his drawn animal studies.
Goshen College
Surreal Animals
A round-robin clay lesson where each student passes their animal to a neighbor and he/she adds to what is there. This is a great way to teach collaboration or teamwork as well as getting your students to loosen up.
University of Oxford (UK)
Beazley Archive: Griffin (Mythological Greek Beast)
Illustrated dictionary definition over Greek monster Griffin. Provides detailed description of Griffin and the different artistic representations. Describes the significance of the animal to the Greeks.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Arts and Humanities: Art of Asia
A landing page for a course on the art history of Asia.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Arts and Humanities: Art of Africa
A landing page for a course on African art found in regions and in individual countries.
California State University
Cardboard Tree and Endangered Animals Lesson
Two short art lessons in one that introduce young learners to the idea of extinct animals and habitats. Each student will be creating and painting a habitat and assembling an owl. This could be adaptable to use the extinct animal of your...
Other
Dayton Art Institute an African Slit Gong
Art and music are very much related. In fact, the African culture often times designed fun looking instruments like the gong on this website. Includes directions on how to make your own gong.
University of Oxford (UK)
Pitt Rivers Museum: Animals and Belief: Ancient Egypt
Better understand the uses and meanings of animals in art within the Egyptian culture. Emphasis is made on cats.
The National Gallery (UK)
National Gallery, London: Ite About 'The Hunt in the Forest'
There is so much going on in this painting by Uccello. These notes about the painting will help you to better understand it and get to know more about the artist.