Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "A Place in the Country" by Toi Derricotte
Build young scholars' confidence in analyzing art and poetry with a lesson that first asks pupils to list details they notice in Edouard Vuillard's painting "Garden at Vaucresson" and then to describe how the painting makes them feel....
Curated OER
Siesta Pillow
Students investigate the culture of Mexico through the medium of visual art. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used as inspiration for creating their own pillows with the use of fabric markers.
Smithsonian Institution
Jamaican Song, Dance, and Play: Experiences with Jamaican Musical Traditions
Young musicians experience song, dance, and play of the Jamaican culture. Scholars listen for and recreate beats, they play tunes, make up original dances, and play a game that challenges pupils to pass stones to a specific beat.
Curated OER
Let's Talk About Painting
Discuss art and read Matthew's Dream. In this visual arts lesson, students recognize that there are different styles of art, each with its own techniques. Use simple techniques to understand art and work at stations to...
Curated OER
My Arkansas Family Tree
Here is a two-part lesson that introduces learners to genealogy by having them create family trees, and map the movements of their ancestors. While this resource is designed for kids who live in Arkansas, it certainly can be adapted for...
Curated OER
Food for Spaceflight
When astronauts get hungry in outer space, they can't just call and have a pizza delivered. In order to gain an appreciation for the challenges associated with space travel, young learners are given the task of selecting,...
Curated OER
Miscast and Seldom Seen
Consider how well young scholars' favorite TV shows, movies and video games reflect the diversity of society. The lesson introduces your class to several media literacy concepts, such as how media conveys values and messages, as well as...
Curated OER
Singin' Around the Year
Students explore performing arts by singing with their class. In this music appreciation lesson, students collaborate in groups to read and sing songs based on specific holidays such as the Fourth of July or Christmas. Students define...
Curated OER
Picasso's "The Butterfly"
Pupils draw a butterfly. For this drawing lesson, students explore a drawing upside down. Pupils sketch a butterfly while the image is reversed to tap into their right brain dominance.
Curated OER
Matisse's "La Pompadour"
Students sketch a picture. In this drawing lesson, students sketch Matisse's "La Pompadour". In an attempt to tap into their artistic side, students turn the picture upside down to sketch.
Curated OER
Picasso's "The Dog"
Learners draw a dog. In this drawing lesson, students discover how to tap into their right brain dominance by sketching a picture upside down. Learners draw a picture resembling Picasso's "The Dog".
Curated OER
Oh Picasso!
Pupils identify the painter Picasso as a famous Spanish cultural figure, name at least one of Picasso's painting styles and describe aspects of Picasso's Blue Period. They create their own Blue Period inspired work of art.
Curated OER
Amadeus Quiz
Get out the text-book, and CD player to teach a instructional activity on Mozart. Afterward, you can administer this quiz which requires learners to complete 20 short-answer questions related to Mozart's life, operas, music, and general...
Curated OER
Agriculture Awareness Through Poetry
Whether you are viewing a landscape painting of a farm, examining a still-life portrait of a bowl of fruit, or reading a descriptive poem about cultivating food, you can't deny that agriculture plays a major role in visual and language...
National Park Service
The Poet's Toolbox
If you need a lesson plan for your poetry unit, use two poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ("Rain in Summer" and "The Slave in the Dismal Swamp") and a resource on Elements of Poetry. The lesson plan guides you through...
Critical Thinking Cooperative
Doing Our Share
Whether at home or in the classroom, each member of a community has certain responsibilities they must tend to. With the help of the children's story Piggybook by Anthony Browne, kids learn how to assign jobs in a fair and safe...
Hyperion Publishing
Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution
The language of the Constitution can feel quite ominous to young learners, but there are a variety of strategies you can utilize to help your class grasp the important concepts and ideals in our nation's founding document. This lesson...
Curated OER
Around the Bend
Young scholars examine the art elements of the Inca "Large Jug." In this visual art lesson, students identify the colors, pattern, and shape of the Inca "Large Jug." Young scholars then draw a design on a flat and curved surface and...
Curated OER
Sports Action Figure
Fourth graders identify art elements and design principles in art such as movement, unity, space and color planning.
Curated OER
Look Before You Think: How To Appreciate a Painting
Students develop an elementary understanding of the history of art. They study the basic elements of a painting including perspective, composition, color, light and symbolism. They look at each selected painting and analyze it, moving...
Curated OER
A Musical Textures Activity
Students identify textures in music. In this music appreciation lesson, students listen to a variety of classical music pieces and identify components of musical textures including monophony, homophony, polyphony, and heterophony.
Curated OER
Identifying Musical Instruments
First graders identify different musical instruments. In this music appreciation lesson, 1st graders discover the different groups and sounds of instruments while learning their names as well. Students write about an...
Curated OER
The Story of Art
Students canvass the important elements of art in the seven lessons of this unit. Story structure and in particular, color is perceived as essential to the development of the idea of a picture.
Curated OER
Color
Young scholars color in one of Keith Haring's design 3 different ways to compare how color effects a drawing. For this color lesson plan, students display their paintings and compare them as a class.