Curated OER
When Art's a Craft
What would it be like to restore modern works of art? By acting as modern art conservators, learners assess the first-hand difficulties faced in restoration efforts. In addition, they create modern art pieces from random materials. Then,...
Museum of Modern Art
Modern Art and Ideas
The Museum of Modern Art provides this educators' guide to Dada and Surrealism. Featuring the works of such artists as Jean Arp, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, and Meret Oppenheim among others, the guide is ideal for art history and...
Curated OER
Humourous Head Planter Spike: Ceramics Lesson
What a great activity. Kids create humorous ceramic character (heads) spikes to enliven a planter. Modern art is full of expressive and exaggerated forms and your class gets to create them out of clay. This would be a lovely activity to...
Curated OER
Landscape Confection: Pre-visit Activity
Upper graders explore the concepts of landscape art, man, nature and their inter-relationship. This is a critical thinking and analysis activity intended to prepare the class for an up coming trip to a local art museum. They analyze,...
TED-Ed
A Brief History of Religion in Art
Did you know that some languages have no word for art? The English language does and the narrator of this short video discusses the aesthetic dimension of religious art as it "visually communicates meaning beyond language."
Curated OER
Pinwheel Modern Art Styles
Students explore artistic design by creating pin wheel models in class. In this modern art lesson, students examine historic art work of Van Gogh, O'Keeffe and Mondrian before emulating their work on construction paper. Students utilize...
Curated OER
Modern Art Lesson Plans
Learners explore the history and examples of Modern Art. In this Modern Art lesson, students read background information about Modern Art and a biography of Andy Warhol. Learners complete a criticism and aesthetics, art creation...
Curated OER
African Masks And Their Impact On Western Art
Explore the influence of African-style masks on Western art. Learners create individual masks using construction paper. They discuss and explore the techniques used to create these types of masks. The resource includes links to...
Curated OER
Lesson: Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
A great idea for a fun homework assignment! The class fully and critically analyzes Daniel Sprick's painting, Your Plans. They then generate questions to ask the artist as they attend a mock press conference. They pretend to ask the...
Thirteen Ed Online
What is Conceptual Art?
Research, art history, and web page creation! Sounds too good to be true. With tons of links and resources, the instructional activity provides you with everything needed to engage the class in an amazing art and research activity. They...
KERA
Matisse and Picasso
Discover Modernism through the eyes of artists. Over the course of six well-thought-out lessons, learners examine works by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse while completing a range of collaborative and hands-on activities. A great resource!
Curated OER
Play a Painting
Students examine music and art together and see the distinctive elements of each form. It can also demonstrate how their characteristics are interrelated. They create musical interpretations of two works of art.
Curated OER
Huichol Yarn Painting
Young artists of many ages apply yarn painting techniques in combining their ideas and their art. After viewing actual examples of yarn paintings created by the Huichol people, learners choose an important scene from their own lives...
Curated OER
Painting Modern Life
Examine three Cubism art pieces by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque with your students. They will research how Cubism was advanced due to Picasso and Braque. and then compare and contrast Cubist works through image based discussion. Your...
Curated OER
Modernism in Poetry, Painting, and Music
Are you teaching Modernism to your class? Connect different areas of artistic expression in the Modernist Era. Learners read T.S. Eliot, view art by Pablo Picasso, and listen to a Modernist musical composition. This final assignment is...
Curated OER
Counting on Art
Explore the life and painting style of African-American artist Horace Pippin by looking carefully at its parts, then create a "secret number" painting for a classroom counting book.
Art Institute of Chicago
Lesson Plan: A Writer’s Odyssey
Looking for a fresh approach to an end-of-unit project for The Odyssey? Check out a resource that has class members write their own hero's journey short story and then craft an illustration that depicts their tale. Apollonio di...
Curated OER
Lesson: Mary Heilmann: To Be Someone
Kids consider the pure abstraction and minimalism found in Mary Heilmann's work. They analyze several of her pieces through critical discussion and then think about her use of a song title as the title of her exhibit. Learners then use a...
Curated OER
Joaquin Torres Garcia Art
Students analyze the art of Joaquin Torres Garcia in 'Composition.' In this art analysis lesson, students read about the artist's work and the artist. Students answer discussion and follow-up questions.
Curated OER
Finding Polygons in Cubist Art
Fourth graders explore geometric properties and relationships in a two-dimensional work of art. They first search for and identify polygons in a Cubist painting and then use polygons to create their own Cubist portrait of a classmate.
Art Institute of Chicago
Color Combinations
Explore color through an examination of pointillism and light. Class members view Georges Seraut's famous painting on a computer, zooming in and out to see the details and effects of the technique. They then cover how light and color are...
Curated OER
Revolutions in Painting
Students analyze Abstract Expressionist artists and their art. In this art analysis lesson, students view the works by Jackson Pollock and Helen Frankenthaler and analyze the pieces. Students complete image based discussion and four...
Curated OER
Movement And Rhythm In Modern Art
Students gather around the three selected paintings. The teacher guide students in looking at different elements of the paintings and help students make the connections between the visual art and movement skills.
Curated OER
Balance in Visual Art
Students examine works of art to develop an understanding of the importance of visual balance in works of art and nature. Students research artists and their artwork for examples of visual balance. Students create works of art showing...