Curated OER
Five Parts That Contribute to the Whole
Students listen to and read an online story. Then they use a graphic organizer to learn the basic story elements. They select another online story and create a graphic organizer for its story elements.
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Story Creation Magic: Character, Setting, Plot
Students review the terms plot, setting, and characters and examine how all of these elements are needed to make a story. They are given parts of stories and they try to identify all of those parts of the story.
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Character Cluster
Third graders practice identifying characters and story elements by creating a character cluster in class. In this story analysis instructional activity, 3rd graders discuss the story Snow White and identify the characteristics of the...
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Flat Shapes in Three Dimensions
Students examine the 20th-century sculpture "Gandydancer's Dream" by Mark di Suvero. In this visual arts lesson, students examine the sculpture and then use flat shapes and wire to create their own sculpture. The students are encouraged...
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Exploring Bloom's Taxonomy Through Eric Carle Collage Technique
Students participate in shared readings of Eric Carle's books and investigate the art and story elements. They create a collage and answer questions.
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Look Before You Think: How To Appreciate a Painting
Learners 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...
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Putting a Spin on Current Events
Students examine the symbolism on a 17th-century cabinet. In this symbolism instructional activity, students view samples of a 17th century cabinet and identify it's symbols. Students create their own cabinet by using various art...
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Do We Control Nature, or Does Nature Control Us?
Student examine the theme of man versus nature in art. For this man versus nature lesson, students examine various pieces of art and discuss the theme as it is depicted. They discuss whether the themes shown in the artwork are relevant...
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"Swamp Monsters" by Mary Blount Christian
Using the book Swamp Monsters by Mary Blount Christian, young readers discuss key vocabulary terms and make predictions about swamp monsters. They complete a Cloze activity, explore past-tense verbs, and categorize vocabulary words.
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Looking at Owls in Literature, Art, and Science
Fifth graders investigate the characteristics of owls through various science and art activities. They analyze drawings by J.J. Audubon and complete a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences of different kinds of owls,...
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Looking and Learning in the Art Museum
Students take a trip to the local art museum. They discuss an artist's use of the elements of art in a work of art. Students are explained the difference between looking at a reproduction of work of art and looking at the original. ...
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Insight Arts
Students view a mural and identify, describe, and discuss what they see. They are introduced to and demonstrate the functions of key structural elements of poetry by writing a poem about themselves that highlights their interests and...
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"Old 300"
Fourth graders combine art and history to assess the importance of the "Old 300." They explore a group of colonists that Stephen F. Austin brought to Texas as the first settlers and then create a time line of major events leading to the...
National First Ladies' Library
We're off to see the Wizard!
Students explore the process of play and movie making from books. They study the basic elements of drama and write and produce a play based on a chosen theme. Students explain the basic elements of a play by looking at "The Wonderful...
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Children's Book Creations
Students create a children's book version of the Japanese folk story "Momotaro Boy of the Peach" and present the story to elementary students. In this children's book lesson, students design their book to explain Japanese culture to...
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Images of Children in Dorthea Lange's Photographs
Students research the photographs of Dorthea Lange. For this visual art lesson, students look at photographs of children taken by Lange and answer several questions. They write or tell stories to explain what they think is occurring in...
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Combating Corrosion
Students perform an experiment to show the chemical reactions that occur when metal corrodes. They apply the results of the experiment to the conservation efforts of art curators trying to restore an ancient Greek bronze. This lesson...
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Portrait of Nadine Dumas
Students explore a portrait and then create their own portrait as a gift. In this bust art lesson, students use model techniques to create a three dimensional bust portrait. Students analyze the elements of the design and write about...
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Friendship Portraits
Students explore sculpture. In this instructional activity about sculpting, students create a portrait bust. Students choose a classmate to make a bust of and apply all of the necessary elements to their bust. Students will have a better...
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Teaching Selected Poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems
Students explore the basic elements of poetry through Appalachian life poetry. In this poetry instructional activity, students read seven poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems and complete poetry analysis activities for each poem.
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Self-Portrait Unit - Lesson #1
Fourth graders create self-portraits using artistic elements found in Hispanic culture and, specifically, the art of Frida Kahlo. The lesson can be adapted for any culture/country and requires an outside person with cultural knowledge.
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Music Around the World: United Nations Week
Students discover the United Nations through the use of musical examples and performance. This two day lesson requires two forty-five minute sections and delivers information about different cultures around the world. Emphasis is on...
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Creating Characters
Learners identify simple pictographs and ideographs from Chinese writing. They create their own images, and combine characters to communicate ideas to one another, introducing basic foundations of how elements of the Chinese writing...
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Take a Breath, Steal Some Time
Students explore the art of haiku's by listening to, modeling and creating them. In this haiku poetry lesson, students choose an object to focus their haiku on. After hearing a brief history of the haiku; students make a list of what...