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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.