Lessons & Activities
Arts-centered, standards-aligned resources for the classroom
Featured Lesson
The Poetics of Hip Hop
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze the rhythm, form, diction, and sound of hip hop and Shakespearean sonnets and ultimately create an original poem or lyrics of their own.
Browse the Collection
Learn more about incorporating our lessons into your teaching by reading our articles Instructional Benefits to Integrating Google Docs and Google Slides and Sharing Google Docs and Slides with Students.
Directory Listing
-
Lesson ¡Baila! Latin Dance in the Spanish Classroom
In this 9-12 lesson, students will learn about traditional Latin dance styles such as salsa, mambo, merengue, rumba, cha cha, bachata, and samba.
-
Lesson A Butterfly’s Life Cycle Dance
In this K-2 lesson, students will choreograph an original dance that communicates the life cycle stages of the monarch butterfly. They will read Eric Carle’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and explore the monarch butterfly migration process.
-
Lesson A Character Life Box
In this 6-8 lesson, students will analyze the unique characteristics, props, or features of characters from The Shakespeare Stealer. Students will collect props to create a “life box” as clues for interpreting the character’s identity.
-
Lesson A Lens Into the Past
In this 3-5 lesson, students will analyze 20th-century photographs of immigrants to the United States. They will examine how photography can recount history to gain perspective. Students will create a class time capsule with objects and photos that represent modern times.
-
Lesson A Listening Doll
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore the clay sculpture tradition of the Pueblo People of New Mexico. Students will discuss the history and distinctive features of storyteller dolls then create original listening dolls to accompany a story they will share.
-
Lesson A Way With Words
In this 6-8 lesson, students will collaborate in teams to draw and pantomime the meaning of Shakespeare's words and phrases. Students will be introduced to etymology, the study of words, and write a story using “The Bard’s” words, lines, and phrases.
-
Lesson A World of Myths
In this 6-8 lesson, students will explore how myths help to explain nature and science. Students will read, discuss, and draw comparisons between creation myths and explanatory myths. They will then create a drawing or illustration to represent one of those myths.
-
Lesson Action! Performing a Melodrama
In this 9-12 lesson, students will explore Louisa May Alcott’s novel, Little Women. Students will practice melodramatic movement by rewriting and performing Jo’s five-act melodrama, “Operatic Tragedy.”
-
Lesson Adapting a Musical
In this 9-12 lesson, students will develop a musical from a book, play, or short story. Students will bring the story to the stage through movements and song by analyzing elements of a story and adopting creative team roles.
-
Lesson Adjective Monster
In this K-2 lesson, students will create their own adjective monsters using paper sculpture techniques. They will explore the connections between visual art and language arts, and how both are used to creatively tell stories and express emotions.
-
Lesson Aesop’s Fables: Comedy & Tragedy Masks
In this K-2 lesson, students will listen to and/or read Aesop’s time-honored tales to create Greek-inspired theater masks and perform fables. Students will develop insights into human nature and make a connection between ancient Greek culture and their own contemporary culture.
-
Lesson America, A Home for Every Culture
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore how various cultures have contributed to making the United States the unique and diverse country that it is today. Students will create a class recipe book demonstrating the diverse flavors of their cultures.
-
Lesson Ancient Greek Influence
In this 9-12 lesson, students will examine areas of ancient Greek influence on Western thought and culture. Students will create a musical composition, travel episode, monologue, or podcast based on research gathered from an Ancient Greek figure, value, or event in history. This is the second lesson designed to accompany the Deep Roots of Ancient Greece lesson.
-
Lesson Animal Habitats
In this K-2 lesson, students will create a story page about animal habitats using a non-traditional book illustration method. They will be introduced to animal habitats through story, song, and dramatic play using children’s picture books.
-
Lesson Art in Advertising
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore elements of advertising design in posters, billboards, and media ads. Students will determine the “call to action” in ads and discuss the role of art in those messages. They will apply elements and principles of design to create original advertisements for an audience.
-
Lesson Art Show with the Masters
In this 6-8 lesson, students will research information on artists’ lives and works. They will create art based on their understanding of the artist, their time and place in history, and their works. Students will plan and design an art show, pretending to be the artist they researched.
-
Lesson Balancing Mobiles
In this 6-8 lesson, students will apply mathematical, science, and engineering concepts to experiment with balancing levers. They will learn to classify types of levers to design and build a simplified mobile. Students will explore suspended and standing mobiles by sculptor Alexander Calder and engage in class discussions about the effectiveness of his work.
-
Lesson Ballet and Classical Music
In this 3-5 lesson, students will choreograph a sequence of ballet movements to tell a story. Students will explore conceptual and practical elements of classical ballet and learn basic ballet vocabulary through demonstration.
-
Lesson Ballet Positions and Movements
In this 6-8 lesson, students will be introduced to basic ballet terms, positions, and movements. They will discover the history of ballet, the meaning of keywords, and practice French pronunciation. Students will demonstrate basic ballet positions and movements through planned choreography.
-
Lesson Botanical Symbolism
In this 6-8 lesson, students explore how botanical illustrations contribute to the telling of stories in Medieval and Renaissance art. Students will interpret the meaning of flower paintings and create an original watercolor painting of a favorite flower with symbolic meaning.
-
Lesson Brass Instruments and Pitch
In this 3-5 lesson, students will identify brass family instruments and create a trombone. Students will use the scientific process to investigate factors that affect the pitch of brass instruments. They will make predictions and explore how pitch changes based on the length of the air pipe.
-
Lesson Broken Worlds
In this 9-12 lesson, students will conduct a comparative analysis of Eugene O'Neill's Hairy Ape and Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire. Students will debate the themes between scripts and culminate their understanding by integrating visual and aural expressionistic devices into a script.
-
Lesson Canta Corridos: The Mexican Revolution
In this 9-12 lesson, students will write original corridos - a narrative song form from Mexico. Students will analyze corridos from the Mexican Revolution and learn about key revolutionary figures.
-
Lesson Cartooning Political and Social Issues
In this 6-8 lesson, students will examine political cartoons and discuss freedom of speech. They will gather and organize information about a current or past issue that makes a political or social statement and analyze the different sides. Students will plan, design, and illustrate a political cartoon that presents a position on a political or social issue.
-
Lesson Céilís: Exploring Irish Folk Dance
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore the world of Irish culture and folk dance. They will learn about Irish céilís, view the intricate attire worn by Irish dancers, and analyze an Irish poem. Students will work in groups to choreograph a dance to Irish music and perform for an audience.
-
Lesson Cellular Patterns in Nature
In this 6-8 lesson, students examine living cells to create original pattern art. Students will calculate cell divisions and find patterns in graphed results. They will further explore patterns and repetition in nature to generate ideas for their visual art piece.
-
Lesson Character Building
In this 9-12 lesson, students analyze popular book characters and methods of characterization used by writers. Students will apply these methods to create a profile and illustration of an original character. They will write a short script demonstrating two or more characters interacting while mirroring their unique characterizations.
-
Lesson Character Sketches
In this 3-5 lesson, students will analyze how a character's personality traits, actions and motives influence the plot of a story. Students will use their senses to create character sketches, then dramatize the character for an audience.
-
Lesson Chinese Calligraphy & Ink Painting
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore the art and culture of Chinese calligraphy and ink painting. They will learn basic calligraphy strokes and paint traditional landscapes with ink and watercolors.
-
Lesson Chinese Instruments
In this 3-5 lesson, students will research and create Chinese instruments. Students will plan performances with Chinese music to tell a story, as often done in Chinese culture.
-
Lesson Chinese New Year: Lion Dance Puppets
In this K-2 lesson, students will learn the history of the Chinese Lion Dance and create lion head puppets to perform in a parade. Students will learn about the traditional dance, the costumes that are worn, and the music that accompanies the dance performance.
-
Lesson Chivalry and Courtly Love
In this 9-12 lesson, students will explore the Arthurian codes of chivalry and courtly love as portrayed in art, modern films, books, and poetry. Students will write a script, create scenery, and act out a short thematic play demonstrating modern concepts of love, friendship, and honorable behavior.
-
Lesson Cinderella: A Cross-Cultural Fairy Tale
In this 3-5 lesson, students will compare and contrast culturally distinct variations of the fairy tale, Cinderella, from around the world. Students will explore storytelling traditions and make comparisons between cultural versions of Cinderella. Students will also research the cultures represented in the fairy tales and create a visual art piece.
-
Lesson Comparing Cultural Holidays
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore the holiday traditions, music, and art of Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Students will create an altar in memory of a loved one.
-
Lesson Composing and Clapping Rhythms
In this 3-5 lesson, students will clap rhythm sequences and compose an eight-measure composition. Students will explore rhythm concepts, including the names and symbols associated with music notation. They will also compare rhythmic sequences to math concepts.
-
Lesson Constructing Castles
In this 6-8 lesson, explore the history and architecture of castles. They will journey through the castles of Wales, King Arthurs’ castle, and compare different types of castles. Students will plan and sketch a blueprint of a castle, then create a three-dimensional castle using recycled materials and art supplies.
-
Lesson Counting Crows: Puppet Problem Solving
In this 3-5 lesson, students will infer the moral of a story and compare two mediums of Aesop’s fable, “The Crow and the Pitcher.” Each student will design their own puppet to act out the fable using pebbles and water in containers. Students will make predictions about Crow’s strategy then make comparisons with their findings.
-
Lesson Creating AB Patterns
In this K-2 lesson, students will construct patterns using visual arts designs and math manipulatives. They will identify patterns existing in the natural and man-made world, art, math, and science.
-
Lesson Creating Comic Strips
In this 3-5 lesson, students will examine comic strips as a form of fiction and nonfiction communication. Students will create original comic strips to convey mathematical concepts.
-
Lesson Creating Fictional Characters
In this 9-12 lesson, students will examine character as a significant element of fictional stories. They will learn methods of characterization, identify supporting details, and critique these methods in works of fiction. Students will apply methods of characterization with a quick write.
-
Lesson Creation Myth Play Scripts
In this 9-12 lesson, students will explore different cultures’ supernatural explanations for human existence. They will make comparisons between creation myths then write an original creation myth play script to perform for an audience.
-
Lesson Cryptozoology & Tall Tales
In this 3-5 lesson, students will write tall tales about cryptids from folkloric records. Students will explore the structure and history of tall tales. They will become cryptozoologists to research a tall tale about a North American cryptid and perform an interactive story, monologue, or news report.
-
Lesson Dalí & Desnos: Surrealism in Art and Poetry
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze poetic devices in the poems and images of the surrealist movement. They will explore artists of the surrealist movement, including André Breton, Robert Desnos, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró. Students will write original poems using surrealist techniques.
-
Lesson Dancing Mythology
In this 6-8 lesson, students explore the mythological 12-hour journey of the sun god Ra. Students will divide into groups to choreograph a dance representing the different hours of Ra’s journey using locomotor, non-locomotor, and the different qualities of movement. Students will perform their dances in sequence for an audience.
-
Lesson Decades Mural Project
In this 6-8 lesson, students will learn how to use primary sources, and work in groups to create murals about the events and trends of a decade of the twentieth century. Students will focus their research on a specific category relating to the culture of that decade, and then depict their findings through a mural.
-
Lesson Deep Roots of Ancient Greece
In this 9-12 lesson, students will examine Ancient Greek influence on Western thought and culture. They will research the relationship between Ancient Greek and Western ethos, art, culture, and society. Students will express their findings through an art form of their choice: photography, a monologue, collage art, choreographed dance, graphic design/Illustration, or a voice over presentation.
-
Lesson Discovering National Parks
In this 6-8 lesson, students will create an ad campaign designed to promote America’s national parks. They will learn about the history of America’s national parks and learn about the role that artists played in their creation and maintenance. Students will explore the connection between the arts and environmental/political activism.
-
Lesson Discovering Rhythm, Improv, Jazz, and Poetry
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze the sound, rhythm, and improvisation of jazz music. They will explore the works of Yusef Komunyakaa, Sonia Sanchez, and Langston Hughes. Students apply musicality and sound elements to original poems.
-
Lesson Discovering Russian Folk Dance
In this 3-5 lesson, students will learn the Russian folk dance Troika. They will research and gather information on Russian culture and history. Students will create their own rendition of a Russian folk dance using the same organizational pattern and music.
-
Lesson Drawing Political Cartoons
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze cartoon drawings to create an original political cartoon based on current events. Students will apply both factual knowledge and interpretive skills to determine the values, conflicts, and important issues reflected in political cartoons.
-
Lesson Drawing With Rhythms
In this lesson 9-12, students will explore connections between music and visual art. They will create a series of drawings influenced by different genres of music. Students will plan and design a “Rhythm and Art” gallery to showcase their work.
-
Lesson Elements of Art With Feeling
In this 9-12 lesson, students will explore elements of art through the works of historical and contemporary artists. They will examine the relationship between elements of art and feelings. Students will choose between creating original art or curating a presentation to express a feeling with lines, shapes, rhythm, colors, and/or patterns.
-
Lesson Elements of Dance
In this 6-8 lesson, students will choreograph simple dances in small groups and perform for the class. Students will learn elements of dance and vocabulary by demonstrating various movements.
-
Lesson Elements of Fables
In this 6-8 lesson, students will improvise scenarios found in fables. They will identify the key elements of a fable and describe the author’s use of personification. Students will also evaluate the text by participating in class discussions and writing exercises.
-
Lesson Elements of Myth
In this 6-8 lesson, students will read myths, discuss the elements of this literary form, and dramatize a myth of their choice. They will write scientific, research-based reports, as well as fantastical stories to explain the natural phenomena of the world.
-
Lesson Exploring A Streetcar Named Desire
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze the setting, plot, and character development of Tennessee Williams’s play, A Streetcar Named Desire. They will discuss Williams’s craft as a playwright and his impact on American theater. Students will participate in a group reading and analysis of the play.
-
Lesson Exploring Weather
In this 3-5 lesson, students will analyze paintings depicting different types of weather to create an original landscape painting of a weather condition. They will analyze how weather influences culture, daily life, and mood. Students will use the elements of art criteria to discuss and critique paintings.
-
Lesson Fireworks and Performance Art
In this 9-12 lesson, students will discuss the work of artist Cai Guo-Qiang. They’ll examine the science, engineering, planning, logistical, and artistic factors when creating fireworks. Students will create original art demonstrating a sequence of fireworks for an event.
-
Lesson Five Artists of the Mexican Revolution
In this 9-12 lesson, students will create original artwork demonstrating the style of an early 20th-century artist of the Mexican Revolution. They will research how art was influenced or created in response to major events, artists, and personalities of the Mexican Revolution.
-
Lesson Fractured Families in American Drama
In this 9-12 lesson, students will examine the complicated dynamics of families inCat on a Hot Tin Roof, by Tennessee Williams, andLong Day’s Journey into Night, by Eugene O’Neill. Students will apply their understanding of thematic relationships to write a one-act play or play script.
-
Lesson Get Dramatic: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
In this 3-5 lesson students will explore the concepts behind the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” slogan. They will examine the process of recycling and perform a commercial with a backdrop made of recycled materials.
-
Lesson Get Inside a Cell!
In this 6-8 lesson, students will create a visual representation of an animal cell. They will research and gather information about animal cell organelles to understand their form and function. Students will prepare a presentation of their art and research to the class.
-
Lesson Gray Whales Newscast
In this 3-5 lesson, students will research and gather information about gray whales. Students will collaborate in groups to write, produce, and perform a newscast about gray whales using the essential qualities of a news anchor.
-
Lesson Greek Revival Architecture
In this 6-8 lesson, students will learn defining elements of classical Greek architecture by comparing the Lincoln Memorial with the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. They will identify buildings in their communities that have elements of Greek Revival architecture, then design a structure of their own. Students will present their architectural renderings by creating a classroom gallery displaying the phases of their work.
-
Lesson Guantanamera: A Poem and a Song
In this 9-12 lesson, students will research and analyze the famous Cuban folk song, “Guantanamera.” The song was made famous by Pete Seeger with lyrics from a poem by José Martí. They will draw comparisons between the artists and discover the revolutionary history shared by the two men.
-
Lesson Gyotaku Fish Printing
In this K-2 lesson, students will explore the historical and cultural qualities of Gyotaku, the traditional Japanese method of printing fish. Students will identify the external parts of fish, then create original Gyotaku prints.
-
Lesson Harriet Tubman: An Informative and Impressionistic Look
In this 3-5 lesson, students will conduct research on Harriet Tubman and explore impressionistic artwork depicting her life. Students will create original impressionistic artwork.
-
Lesson Harriet Tubman: Illustrating History
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore Jacob Lawrence’s artistic collage technique from “The Migration Series.” Students will create original Lawrence-style collage artwork about the “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman.
-
Lesson Harriet Tubman: Retelling History Through Dance & Drama
In this 3-5 lesson, students will observe a dance performance to understand the emotional struggles Tubman faced as she helped enslaved people escape and travel north along the Underground Railroad. Students will create an original dance or drama production to the song, “Harriet Tubman.”
-
Lesson Harriet Tubman: Secret Messages Through Song
In this 3-5 lesson, students are introduced to African American spirituals and their use of a secret language to share information. Students will listen to and analyze spirituals, then write an original spiritual to share a secret message.
-
Lesson Haunting Music
In this 3-5 lesson, students will create a class mural inspired by spooky and superstitious musical compositions. They will learn about orchestra program music by exploring the works of Hector Berlioz’s, Symphonie Fantastique, and Camille Saint-Saëns’, Danse Macabre.
-
Lesson How Do Cells Reproduce?
In this 6-8 lesson, students will create a scientific drawing as a means of communicating ideas and information. Students will investigate the process of mitosis by observing yeast cells. They will compare the growth of yeast cells in warm and cold water, and hypothesize as to which environment would be more conducive to cellular growth.
-
Lesson Hula Dance
In this 3-5 lesson, students will discover how hula dance tells a story through rhythmic patterns and gestures. Students will gather information about the history of hula. They will choreograph and perform a hula dance that tells a story.
-
Lesson Human Body Systems Dance
In this 6-8 lesson, students will choreograph movement patterns to express information about the basic systems, organs, and functions of the human body. They will work collaboratively to research and plan creative movements, then perform for an audience.
-
Lesson Identity Boxes: Symbols of My Identity
In this 6-8 lesson, students will apply the concepts of symbolic representation to create “identity boxes” representative of their internal and external selves. They will research and explore the work of artists Lucas Samaras and Joseph Cornell to gain a deeper understanding of their use of objects and symbols in “portrait” boxes.
-
Lesson Interview With a Freedom Rider
In this 6-8 lesson, students will learn about the song, “We Shall Overcome,” and the role it played as an anthem for the civil rights movement in America. They will research the lives, motivations, and actions of the Freedom Riders. Students will collaborate with a partner to plan and perform a news interview for an audience.
-
Lesson Jazz Music, Dance, and Poetry
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore jazz music and dance, then write a jazz-inspired cinquain poem. They will build their background on the history of jazz and its use of improvisation to demonstrate jazz dance movements.
-
Lesson Joan Miró and Surrealism
In this 9-12 lesson, students will be introduced to the history and concepts of the Surrealist movement to create original artwork. They will research and present findings of Joan Miró’s art and place within the Surrealist movement. Students will apply methods of Surrealism to create an original painting.
-
Lesson King Arthur, Man or Legend?
In this 6-8 lesson, students will learn about the legend of King Arthur as depicted in stories, poems, and artwork. Students will make comparisons between King Arthur’s persona as depicted in legend and in history, and examine the symbolism of the Round Table, the Holy Grail, and Excalibur. They will write a one-act play or monologue, create costumes, then perform for an audience.
-
Lesson Landscape Painting
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze the foreground, middle ground, and background of landscape paintings. They will plan and create an original landscape painting using various techniques to portray illusions of depth and reflection.
-
Lesson Learning From Lyrics
In this 9-12 lesson, students will research the lyrics of contemporary songs to analyze social issues and current events. Students will interpret song lyrics to create original art expressing the theme, issue, point of view, and/or facts from the song.
-
Lesson Lift Every Voice and Sing
In this 3-5 lesson, students will develop a perspective about historical events through art, poetry, and music. Students will analyze Augusta Savage’s sculpture,The Harp, and the poem,Lift Every Voice and Sing, by James Weldon Johnson. Students will apply elements of poetry to create original poems.
-
Lesson Making a Cinderella Madrigal
In this 3-5 lesson, students analyze story elements from the Prologue: Into the Woods. They will read multicultural versions of “Cinderella” and locate the geographic region from which that version came. Students will identify story phrases to create a madrigal about the “Cinderella” tale they read.
-
Lesson Making Fibonacci Sequence Music
In this 9-12 lesson, students will discover the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, the concept of recursion, pattern, Phi, and the Golden Ratio. They will analyze the structure of music and compose an original musical phrase using the Fibonacci sequence. Students will participate in a jam session, adding instruments or lyrics to their performance.
-
Lesson Making Maps
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore cartography and the role of a cartographer. Students will analyze map features and discuss how maps have changed over time. Then they’ll create a papier-mâché map representing a route from one destination to another.
-
Lesson Making Rain
In this K-2 lesson, students learn how some cultures dance, sing, chant, pray to a rain god, or use instruments to encourage the rain to come. They will explore these cultures through literature and song, then create a rainstick musical performance with a poem.
-
Lesson Making the Ordinary Pop
In this 6-8 lesson, students will interpret pop art by Claes Oldenburg, Coosje van Bruggen, and Andy Warhol. They will use everyday objects and familiar icons to create original artwork using paint, crafts, or photo editing software.
-
Lesson Mandalas, Polygons, and Symmetry
In this 6-8 lesson, students will create mandalas using mathematical concepts and skills. They will explore symmetry as well as the natural and man-made shapes found in mandalas. They will design a mandala, then analyze other students’ creative work for style and message.
-
Lesson Media Awareness I: The Basics of Advertising
In this 6-8 lesson, students will examine the influence of advertising from past and present-day products. Students apply design principles to illustrate a product with background and foreground. This is the first lesson designed to accompany the media awareness unit.
-
Lesson Media Awareness II: Key Concepts in Advertising
In this 6-8 lesson, students will continue the exploration of advertising and media awareness. Students will examine the purpose, target audience, and value of advertisements. Students will then create original, hand-drawn advertisements. This is the second lesson designed to accompany the media awareness unit.
-
Lesson Media Awareness III: Crossing the Finish Line
In this 6-8 lesson, students will develop and market a new children’s product. They will apply advertising design strategies to market their product. This is the third lesson designed to accompany the media awareness unit.
-
Lesson Melodies and Math
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore non-traditional music instruments and review basic music theory. Students will learn 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures, then compose original melodies. They will rehearse and perform their compositions on a non-traditional instrument for an audience.
-
Lesson Memory Play in American Drama
In this 9-12 lesson, students will explore structural and technical devices of memory play through Tennessee Williams’s play, The Glass Menagerie. Students will apply the concept of memory play to write and dramatize original scripts.
-
Lesson Mountain Creation
In this 3-5 lesson, students will dramatize the ways a mountain can be formed. Students will analyze poems about mountain creation from the perspective of the Tohono O’odham People. Students will compare the poems to science-based descriptions of mountain formation.
-
Lesson Multimedia Hero Analysis
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze the positive character traits of heroes as depicted in music, art, and literature. They will gain an understanding of how cultures and societies have produced folk, military, religious, political, and artistic heroes. Students will create original multimedia representations of heroes.
-
Lesson Musical Harlem
In this 3-5 lesson, students will learn about the Harlem Renaissance and create original jazz artwork. They will listen to audio samples, analyze elements of jazz, research musicians, and learn how jazz became a unifier between community and culture.
-
Lesson Musical Poetry
In this 6-8 lesson, students will explore “singable” picture books. They will analyze rhyme and musical meter in poetry. Students will write musical note poems to create a singable picture book.
-
Lesson Mythological Characters
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore the connection between Greek mythology and modern culture. They will analyze Greek culture, mythological characters, and apply elements of mythology. Students will design and paint original mythological characters with watercolors.
-
Lesson Navajo Weaving
In this K-2 lesson, students will explore Navajo weavings by Navajo Peoples of North America. Students will choreograph a pattern of movements inspired by the weavings. Students will perform and discuss a pattern of movements for an audience.
-
Lesson Oceans: A Sensory Haiku
In this 3-5 lesson, students will illustrate self-portraits to identify their senses. They will take a virtual field trip to the ocean to explore a sensory experience. Students will write a haiku poem about the ocean, bringing science and creative writing together as one.
-
Lesson Paint and Pantomime the Wind
In this 3-5 lesson, students explore the characteristics of the wind through poetry, paintings, and pantomime. Students will classify and measure the wind by studying the Beaufort Scale and building an anemometer. Then, they’ll reinterpret characteristics of the wind through pantomime or blow painting.
-
Lesson Painting Nature Scenes
In this 3-5 lesson, students use their senses to make observations about nature. Students will capture information and sketches in a personal journal, then use these ideas to create original nature paintings in watercolor.
-
Lesson Painting: The Art of Self Expression
In this K-2 lesson, students will explore elements of art and different artists' techniques to create various styles of paintings. Students will interpret art and describe styles by using key vocabulary terms when discussing paintings.
-
Lesson Pantomiming Tales
In this 3-5 lesson, students will use their bodies to communicate through movement, improvisation, and pantomime. Groups will read a Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale or self-selected text and retell the story through movement.
-
Lesson Patterns Across Cultures
In this 9-12 lesson, students will explore the Fibonacci sequence in nature and art. Students will investigate the golden mean/ratio and golden spiral as an important concept in art history. Students will photograph architecture, art, nature, and personal cultural artifacts that include the Fibonacci sequence.
-
Lesson Percussion Instruments and Pitch
In this 3-5 lesson, students will identify instruments from the percussion family and create a percussion instrument. Students will use the scientific process to make predictions and explore how pitch changes based on the air space in a percussion instrument.
-
Lesson Performing a Haiku
In this 9-12 lesson, students will reflect on small moments of peace or happiness to write an original haiku. Students will demonstrate spoken word to perform a haiku for an audience.
-
Lesson Photography: From Theory to Practice
In this 6-8 lesson, students will examine works of art and learn tools to analyze and discuss photography. Students will apply what they have learned by using cameras to document daily life in their community. They will prepare artist statements and present their work.
-
Lesson Planets in Balance
In this 6-8 lesson, students explore the solar system through experimentation of mobile design in the style of Alexander Calder. Using independent research about the planets, students will work in collaborative groups to create mobiles that compare the size of the Earth to other planets in the solar system.
-
Lesson Plotting a Story
In this 9-12 lesson, students examine a plot’s function within a story. They will identify and apply elements of a plot — conflict, climax, and resolution. Students will collaboratively write original plot summaries, then individually write original stories using the same plot. They will record and share their plot summaries through audio storytelling.
-
Lesson Pottery Techniques
In this 9-12 lesson, students will explore age-old pottery techniques used to construct and decorate burnished coil pots. Students will explore the works of Maria Martinez, Kerry Moosman, and pottery from various cultures and civilizations. Using burnishing techniques, students will create bowls out of clay.
-
Lesson Russian Folktales
In this 6-8 lesson, students will read and compare Russian folktales. Students will be introduced to the elements of a plot, then become playwrights to write a play about a traditional Russian folktale.
-
Lesson Sci-Fi & Fantasy Worldbuilding
In this 6-8 lesson, students will explore the intersection of science fiction and fantasy from the works of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time Trilogy. Students will create an original character, thing, ability, and/or place using worldbuilding elements. Students will choose between dramatizing, making a book trailer, or creating an illustration to introduce their imaginary world.
-
Lesson Setting the Story
In this 9-12 lesson, students will examine setting as a significant element of fiction. They will learn to use the elements mood and spatial order as methods of creating realistic settings. Students will write a short story describing a scene then create sketches interpreting their peers' writing pieces.
-
Lesson Shadow Puppet Plays
In this 6-8 lesson, students will gain an understanding of the dynamics of trade in China along the Silk Road and the role of trade in urbanization throughout the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties. Students will create puppets, write, and produce shadow puppet performances about a historical event in Chinese history along the Silk Road. This is the second lesson designed to accompany The Science of Shadow Puppetry lesson.
-
Lesson Singing “The Star-Spangled Banner”
In this 3-5 lesson, students will learn about the history behind the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” They will analyze song meaning, melody, and the purpose of national anthems. Students will write a blended poem then perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” for an audience.
-
Lesson Southern Puritanism and Tennessee Williams
In this 9-12 lesson, students will examine the works of Tennessee Williams. Students will analyze themes, characterization, and the influence of Puritanism in modern American drama and culture.
-
Lesson Staging Shakespeare
In this 9-12 lesson, students will explore the nature of comedy by informally staging the opening scenes from William Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It. Students will apply a variety of stylistic approaches to stage scenes from the play, then perform for an audience.
-
Lesson Storytelling Through Dance
In this grade 3-5 lesson, students will analyze how ballet dancers in The Nutcracker act out the story/character with movement instead of words. Students will emotionally and physically tell a story through dance and pantomime.
-
Lesson String Instruments and Pitch
In this 3-5 lesson, students will identify instruments from the string family and create a string instrument. Students will use the scientific process to make predictions and explore how pitch changes based on the air space in a string instrument.
-
Lesson Sundiata, Mali’s Lion King
In this 6-8 lesson, students will gather information about the first ruler of Mali, Sundiata Keita, known as the Lion King of Mali. Students will explore the Dama and Sirige masqueraders and the traditions of Malian music, dance, puppetry, and storytelling. Students will learn African drumming and create puppet masquerades.
-
Lesson Sunflower Life Cycles
In this 3-5 lesson, students will examine sunflower paintings by Vincent van Gogh. Students will grow and observe the life cycle of a sunflower to inform their own sunflower artwork creation.
-
Lesson Swing Your Partner: The Basics of Square Dancing
In this 3-5 lesson, students will be introduced to the history of square dancing and create a “Kids’ Guide to Square Dancing” media resource. They will learn some basic steps and formations to perform and teach to other children.
-
Lesson Swoop, Lift & Leap to the Lore
In this 6-8 lesson, students will choreograph movements inspired by poems written by Indigenous and Native Peoples of North America. Students will explore and learn movement from the Native Pride Dancers. They will perform an original dance for an audience based on a poem.
-
Lesson Tall Tales Today
In this 3-5 lesson, students are introduced to the genre of American tall tales. Students will write an original tall tale set in contemporary times with a “larger-than-life” main character. Students then dramatize their tall tales for the class.
-
Lesson The 12-Bar Blues
In this 6-8 lesson, students will explore the history of blues music and important figures of this genre. They will learn key blues vocabulary and compositional techniques, then compose a melody using a 12-bar blues chord progression. Students will rehearse and perform their melodies to an audience.
-
Lesson The Art of Baseball
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore the sport of baseball to design and construct a model baseball field. Students will work collaboratively to examine baseball through art, movement, and sound. They will present their artwork and problem-solving process with the class at the end.
-
Lesson The Making of Monsters
In this 9-12 lesson, students will investigate monsters in film and across cultures. Students will analyze film scores and soundtracks that feature monsters. Students will create original conceptions of a monster to present in a multimedia presentation.
-
Lesson The Poetics of Hip Hop
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze the rhythm, form, diction, and sound of hip hop and Shakespearean sonnets. Students will compare characteristics between Shakespeare’s work and the work of hip hop artists to create an original poem or lyrics.
-
Lesson The Science of Shadow Puppets
In this 6-8 lesson, students will learn how light interacts with matter through the creation of puppets in shadow plays. Students will examine how light travels and how an object's shadow is affected by the intensity and position of the light in relation to both the object and the surface on which a shadow is cast. This is the first lesson designed to accompany the Shadow Puppet Plays lesson.
-
Lesson Traditional Mexican Corridos
In this 9-12 lesson, students will write original corridos based on a traditional form. Students will learn about the traditional Mexican musical form of corridos. They will analyze the themes and literary devices used in “El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez” and “El Moro de Cumpas.”
-
Lesson Trees in Nature and Art
In this 6-8 lesson, students will explore the use of trees in paintings and poetry. They will explore the artwork of Thomas Locker and Vincent van Gogh through a scientific lens. Students will combine their knowledge of science and art to write poems and create leaf art.
-
Lesson Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints
In this 9-12 lesson, students will explore the history and evolution of the Japanese woodblock print. Students will study the ukiyo-e genre from its early beginnings to its height in the late 1800s. Students will also learn about the techniques and development of this process, view prints from the time period, and create original ukiyo-e prints.
-
Lesson Uncivil Civilization in The Hairy Ape
In this 9-12 lesson, students will examine the impact of living in an early 20th century industrialized society through Eugene O’Niell’s play, The Hairy Ape. Students will analyze O’Neill’s portrayal of a world in which spiritual, communal, and behavioral values of the past have been displaced by the lure of technology, materialism, and patterns of cultural barbarism.
-
Lesson Unearthing Ancient Greece
In this 9-12 lesson, students will analyze ancient Greek artifacts recovered from archeological digs. Through research and a virtual Greek island field trip, students will explore how artifacts are excavated and interpreted. Students are given the choice to create a ceramic, sculpture, painted tile, or a custom fashion design inspired by ancient Greece.
-
Lesson Utopian Monologues
In this 9-12 lesson, students are introduced to the idea of a “utopia”—an idealized society. Students will write and perform a monologue expressing an ideal utopia based on one of the nine elements of society mentioned in Sir Thomas More’s book.
-
Lesson Visual Arts Careers
In this 3-5 lesson, students will make a book about careers in visual arts and create original art for each medium.
-
Lesson Visual Storytelling
In this K-2 lesson, students will examine how illustrations contribute to the telling of a story. Through picture books (without words), students will discuss and interpret details about the characters, setting, and plot. Students will create illustrations to accompany a text and then write text to accompany illustrations.
-
Lesson Weather and Wind Dance
In this 3-5 lesson, students will be introduced to the expanding and condensing properties of air masses and the unequal heating of Earth as the force behind the wind. Students plan and choreograph a sequence of movements to demonstrate their understanding wind and weather patterns.
-
Lesson Woodwind Instruments and Pitch
In this 3-5 lesson, students will identify instruments from the woodwind family and create a woodwind instrument. Students will use the scientific process to make predictions and explore how pitch changes based on the length of the air pipe.
-
Lesson Writing Creation Myths
In this 6-8 lesson, students will explore how creation myths provide explanations for nature and science. They engage in an adjectives writing exercise and listen to digital creation myth stories. Students will plan and write original myths, then retell them through a form of media.
-
Lesson Writing Fables
In this 6-8 lesson, students will engage in the writing process to create original fables and perform a skit. They will review the elements of a fable and develop an understanding of how to create a centralized focus in a narrative.
-
Lesson Writing Folktales
In this 6-8 lesson, students will analyze the characteristics of traditional folktales to write an original tale. They will use elements of folktales to develop their story and strengthen work through the writing process.
-
Lesson You Too Can Haiku
In this 3-5 lesson, students will write original haiku’s and paint landscape art. Students will explore the geography and culture of Japan. They will display their art on a scroll and design a class art gallery.