Curated OER
LOVE Poster
Young scholars research pop or contemporary artists like Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein and examine their simple style of drawing and painting. They create a contemporary art poster using shading gradient techniques and...
Curated OER
Photojournalism
Students choose a historical or present-day event to portray through photographs. They narrate this event with photographs and text to communicate its significance in history or our current daily lives.
Curated OER
Pen and Ink Drawing
Learners hone their drawing techniques to create a nature-inspired piece of art. They practice hatching, cross hatching, stippling, and shading. They discuss how each method is better suited for creating specific elements in nature such...
Curated OER
Creating Scrolls Based on the Illustrated Tale of Genji
Now these are learning activities full of fun, art, and cultural exploration. Kids consider the art of storytelling through comic book images. They then look at the Tale of Genji as it was written in the 11th century. They discuss...
Curated OER
Haring Inspired CD Covers
Students create CD covers from their music-inspired drawing sessions. They compare what they drew while listening to classical, punk and rap music. They scan their drawings into Adobe Photoshop and design their cover.
Curated OER
Historical Witness - social Messaging
Students examine and develop artwork that shows women's roles during different eras. For this women's role lesson, students look at artwork that shows women at work during the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century. They design a...
Curated OER
Technology as a Design Tool for Abstract Artwork
Students manipulate pictures using Adobe Photoshop and digital cameras to produce unique abstract works. This lesson can be modified to include a painting/mixed media element. State standards are addressed in this lesson.
Curated OER
A Bug's Journey
Students examine the artwork of John Baldessari that was inspired by a 16th century drawing of a beetle. They analyze a drawing of a beetle, discuss the insect's characteristics, and write a story from the perspective of a bug. Also,...
Endangered Species Coalition
Endangered Species Day Art
Albrecht Durer created a highly textured stamp or print of a rhinoceros. To better understand which animals are near extinction, upper graders create similar prints of endangered animals they've researched. The six-day lesson includes...
Curated OER
Symmetrical Mummy Drawings/Mixed Media
Second graders explore Egyptian culture, including mummification, and hieroglyphic writings. They create their own mummy case using paper and a variety of materials. Students use symmetry to create their mummy.
Curated OER
Character Nichos
This art lesson also incorporates a study Mexican and South American cultures and art. Students then create Nichos, which are small, decorated boxes commonly found in homes and public places, or displayed on walls or pedestals.
Sargent Art
Improvisation: Dada and Surrealism
Images of works by Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel, and Man Ray launch a study of Dada and Surrealism. After critiquing works by these and other artists, class members gather their own images and arrange them into a cohesive composition.
Curated OER
Pinwheel Modern Art Styles
Students explore artistic design by creating pin wheel models in class. In this modern art lesson plan, students examine historic art work of Van Gogh, O'Keeffe and Mondrian before emulating their work on construction paper. Students...
Curated OER
Easy and Artistic Printmaking Using Mixed Media Materials
Young scholars explore printmaking which began with the ancient Chinese who carved seals from stone, inked them and used the seals as identification symbols. They produce a print in this lesson.
Curated OER
Mixed Media Weaving
Students will demonstrate the ability to create the illusion of space by overlapping shapes.They will recognize the differences between art materials, techniques, and processes. Students will demonstrate the influence of personal...
Curated OER
Soft Sculpture Birds
Art can mimic life, and animals are always interesting subjects. Learners create large soft sculptures (stuffed) birds using paper, paint, and other basic collage materials. They view images of birds, and discuss bird traits and shapes....
Curated OER
Roberto Clemente
Have your class explore the life of Roberto Clemente using this lesson. After reading the story Roberto Clemente by Jonah Winter, learners answer cause and effect questions, classify ideas, make comparisons, and write a news article.
Curated OER
Texture: Wild Things
Students experiment with different kinds of marking techniques. They read "Where the Wild Things Are" and observe animals for pattern and line. They compare illustrations with Haring's images. They create a symbolic drawing of animal.
Curated OER
Hats Off to Color
Students investigate primary and secondary colors. In this art lesson, students mix primary paint colors to develop secondary colors. Students identify each color they created.
Sargent Art
Rainforest Mural
Whether you are an art teacher or a teacher looking for a great project to finish off a unit on the rainforest, this instructional activity is for you. Here are some great teaching tips and instructional practices that can help you and...
Curated OER
Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun"
Students translate the print based content of the play by utilizing mixed media skills to communicate an argument. In this play translation lesson, students analyze and translate the play A Raisin in the Sun and explore themes from the...
Curated OER
Self-Promotion
Students create "assemblage boxes" displaying representations of themselves and the importance they see in their own lives. This middle school level lesson emphasizes the art of American artist Sarah Goodridge who has success in the...
Curated OER
Cubism a Fractured Reality - Still Life With Collage Elements
Young scholars gain an understanding and awareness for the cubist style of artists. They create a multi-media composition showing multiple views of various objects and a variety of textures.