Source: The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo
Examine and assess the relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Identify how Frida Kahlo incorporates this tumultuous relationship into her artwork.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: NewsHour Extra
Explore the Maya culture and how we have developed our knowledge of it through art, architecture and the heritage of modern Maya people. Examine Maya artworks to draw conclusions about their seasons, gods, foods, roles of women and government.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Archeology. Sociology. World History: 300-1000 CE. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: American Masters
Examine various definitions about what constitutes art, and explore how Andy Warhol's art created a whole new definition of what art is. Research selected art movements.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: The War
Explore the themes and messages found in World War II propaganda posters. Examine the composition of propaganda posters and their effectiveness in communicating their messages, and create a propaganda poster on a current topic.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: United States History: 1929-1945. War. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: How Art Made the World
Analyze images and text in print advertisements for persuasive and propaganda techniques, examine the design of an advertising campaign for a commonplace object and then design a campaign for a fictitious political figure.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo
Analyze Frida Kahlo's paintings to determine how she used them for self-expression. Create a personal piece of art to express sentiments on a particular subject.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Simon Schama's Power of Art
Compare and contrast a variety of artists' interpretations of the Biblical figure David. Complete research online, interpret findings, and discuss the influence religion and culture had on art during the Baroque period.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Religion. Art History. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Point of View
Explore the difference between factual accounts and more poetic/symbolic accounts of an event, and analyze how artists have depicted different historical events.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Compare and contrast the work of political cartoons found in newspapers and magazines with political commentary found in contemporary art.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore the role of caricatures in art and literature.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Hans Hofmann
Create a two-dimensional design that uses push and pull of color and overlapping shapes to give a 3-D effect. Explore color temperature, use warm and cool colors and experiment with various ways of blending oil pastels.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Consider the representation of conflict in visual art and the notion of presenting opposition and conceptual ideas through symbolic imagery.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore the variety of art forms that become possible when the distinctions between traditional media become blurred or transgressed.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Islam: Empire of Faith
Consider the importance of the textile industry and symbolic representations of life existing in the Islam religion in the 11th and 12th centuries. Create a drawing and museum description of an Islamic textile piece from the height of the Empire.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Religion. World History: 1000-1500 CE. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting: Art Beat at School
Learn about cultural influences on art and how art can be used to tell a story. Explore color theory and the use of text in visual art and design while creating a poster.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Creative Thinking. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo
Explore how cultural aspects of our lives are depicted in society. Identify the cultural elements Frida Kahlo referenced in her work.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Anthropology/Cultures. Cultural Studies: Latino American/Chicano Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Compare how abstraction and realism in visual art relate to fact and fiction in literary art.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore the creative process with emphasis on comparing solo works and collaborative works in visual and literary art.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: American Masters
Understand the nature of art, what purposes it serves and how Diego Rivera's art reflected what was happening in the world during the time period of his paintings.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting: Art Beat at School
Examine how life experiences can inspire artistic expression and consider what environmental issues can be explored through art. Explore the use of dry media such as charcoal, pastel and other materials.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: How Art Made the World
Analyze the concepts of recorded images, memory, death and memorials. Examine family photographs to explore the impact of photography on human memory.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Civics: Community & Citizenship. Family Life. Photography. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting: Art Beat at School
Learn about three-dimensional forms and how to see form and line in raw materials. Explore various sculpture techniques and hand tools for carving in stone or wood, and create a stand or other way to display a sculpture.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore public sculptures and memorials. Discuss how artists' interpretations of history can influence perceptions of the past.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting: Art Beat at School
Define abstract art and understand why artists would want to paint abstractly. Experience the process of understanding composition, utilizing different tools and materials and creating and evaluating abstract art.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Art History. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: The West
Analyze the influence of paintings and photographs upon public attitudes towards western lands and the native populations. Evaluate images as historical documents, and explore the charge that some artists distorted the images to influence the public.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Cultural Studies: Native American Studies. Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Investigate various approaches to integrating landscape into visual art.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Hans Hofmann
Describe how politics and censorship shaped the life of Hans Hofmann. Identify ways in which Abstract Expressionists use color, line and form to express themselves, and create artworks to explore the elements and principles of this artistic style.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Simon Schama's Power of Art
Examine the historical circumstances under which "The Death of Marat" was created and the formal components that reveal its meaning. Consider how art can serve, and historically has served, as a medium for political propaganda.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: World History: 1500-1750. World History: 1750-1900. Art History. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting: Art Beat at School
Investigate the business of locally-crafted jewelry and the aesthetics of ornamentation. Explore the cultural history and current processes of jewelry design and creation through discussion, journaling and field trips.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Anthropology/Cultures. Civics: Community & Citizenship. Creative Thinking. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting: Art Beat at School
Explore the art of kinetic sculpture using found materials to create objects with human characteristics. Work as a team to create robotic sculptures utilizing unusual materials.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Creative Thinking. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Examine the relationship between evolving philosophies about nature and landscape and representations in visual art.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: KERA: Matisse & Picasso
Define modernism in art, describe characteristics of this art form and explain how the works of Matisse and Picasso display evidence of modernism.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Critical Thinking Skills. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: KERA: Matisse & Picasso
Create a timeline of personal and world events that occurred during the lifetimes of Matisse and Picasso. Discuss how events influenced their work and consider how art history can serve as a major source of historical and cultural interpretation.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Historical Perspective. World History: 1900-1945. Critical Thinking Skills. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: KERA: Matisse & Picasso
Analyze artworks of Matisse and Picasso to determine their meaning. Answer who, what, when, where and why questions about each painting, and write an article or poem that describes your interpretation.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Critical Thinking Skills. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: KERA: Matisse & Picasso
Compare paintings by Matisse and Picasso that show interior spaces and discuss the difference between two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. Create a diorama of an interior space that has personal meaning.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Critical Thinking Skills. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore the concepts of abstraction and realism. Look at the ways that the concept of "likeness" can be visually represented.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting: Art Beat at School
Explore the basic elements of photography and learn how to make a pinhole camera. Examine the history of photography and the use of a pinhole camera as a fine art tool.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Photography. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore the connections between art and advertising, understand the right and responsibilities of advertising in the public realm and examine the differences between participation in and critique of mass media.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Investigate the effects of migration versus voluntary movement and how the process of relocation and dislocation can affect the emotional being of a person. Explore how contemporary artists represent their own global experiences in their work.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Immigration. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: American Family
Explore the history of mural art and the visual symbolism portrayed in murals. Design and create a mural of local history, culture and events within your memory with symbolism reflecting your interpretation of those components.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Civics: Community & Citizenship. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Great Lodges
Design a sand painting based on understanding traditional Navajo and Hopi culture and symbols.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Cultural Studies: Native American Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore how ritual intersects with artistic practice. Consider the rituals in daily life, and examine how they effect culture and how culture affects rituals.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Sociology. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore the use of unusual materials and inventive tools to make art. Create several works of art that incorporate new methods, means and resources.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Study the form of the ode using both written and visual examples. Choose a favorite landscape or place, and write and illustrate an ode to represent the feelings and significance inspired by that chosen place.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Writing: Composition. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Thomas Eakins - Scenes from Modern Life
Explore societal norms in the 1880's and the current times and examine the work and life of Thomas Eakins. Discuss the concepts of individuality and the impact of "being different" on the artist's creative process.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Health & Fitness, Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Social Skills. Writing: Composition. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Consider the ethical issues surrounding the exposure of other people's personal stories through art and literature. Create a narrative incorporating the stories of friends and family.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Writing: Composition. Ethics. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Thomas Eakins - Scenes from Modern Life
Explore and understand the life and artwork of Thomas Eakins. Learn about Eakin's use of photography as a tool for painting, and apply the artist's methods and techniques in a painting or drawing.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Photography. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Simon Schama's Power of Art
Explore the work of Picasso and his transition from apolitical to political artist. Analyze Picasso's Guernica for imagery, line, composition, color, shape, mood and subject.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: War. World History: 1900-1945. Art History. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: How Art Made the World
Explore the varied ways the human body is portrayed in contemporary media through four activities. Sort character types, tell stories through collage, examine the culture of dolls and action figures and then produce a collaborative puppet show.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Storytelling. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting: Art Beat at School
Explore the history and process of the printmaker's art. Learn about four different methods of printmaking: intaglio, relief, lithography and serigraph.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Art History. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Examine the relationships between architecture and sculpture. Write a proposal for a work of public art that reflects the community and addresses the differences between public and private, interior and exterior spaces.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Architecture. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore how artists draw from and re-interpret world myths, religious stories and historical events to create contemporary stories and characters. Write a mythological story that derives from another work of art or myth.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Folklore. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Simon Schama's Power of Art
Identify the artistic contributions of Rembrandt van Rijn, and analyze one of his paintings in terms of the elements and principles of design. Analyze how Rembrandt's style evolved over his lifetime and compare his work with that of his contemporaries.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Art History. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: NewsHour Extra
Discuss ways artists express points of view in their creations, discuss social themes prevalent during the Harlem Renaissance period and compare and contrast them to social themes today. Create a mixed-media collage expressing a social concern.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Cultural Studies: African American Studies. United States History: 1890-1930. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Simon Schama's Power of Art
Examine Mark Rothko's The Seagram Murals and learn how to analyze a work of art through the context of objective and subjective terminology and perspectives.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Art History. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Thomas Eakins - Scenes from Modern Life
Explore and understand the life and artwork of Thomas Eakins to discover the correlation between photography of human motion and locomotion described by Eakins. Create artwork using digital video technology.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Science & Tech, The Arts
Topics: Motion & Forces. Photography. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore the ways that visual art relates to creative writing and the process of creativity. Consider how language might be used to emulate or mimic the systematic styles of a variety of visual artists.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Writing: Composition. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Examine the function of the alter-ego in contemporary art and literature. Create an alter-ego, and illustrate the alter-ego's adventures in a comic narrative.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Writing: Composition. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Scientific American Frontiers
Investigate the artwork created by a robot using artificial intelligence, and discuss the question, "What is art?" Construct a pendulum that will sprinkle sand in an artistic design.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Science & Tech, The Arts
Topics: Communications & Computing. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Point of View
Investigate the idea of artistic production in isolation from society by studying the life and work of the reclusive janitor Henry Darger, whose paintings and prose weren't discovered until after his death.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Literature: American. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Point of View
Investigate the interaction of popular culture and artistic production by examining the use of popular borrowed images in the work of reclusive janitor Henry Darger. Create collages that re-tell Darger's narrative in the visual language of New York.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Point of View
Explore the differences between writing (or drawing) in a personal journal (or sketchbook) and writing (or creating artwork) that will be viewed by other people. Create your own personal journal or sketchbook.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Writing: Composition. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: And Then One Night
Examine how art and music help define and unify a social movement, how they can function as symbols of protest, and can communicate an effective message from controversial topics. Analyze and express personal views on capital punishment.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Civics: Current Events/Issues. Ethics. Music. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Independent Lens
Analyze political cartoons drawn by Dr. Seuss, interpret their meaning and discuss the effectiveness of cartoons as an expression of political views. Create political cartoons about a current event.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Civics: Current Events/Issues. Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Ken Burns American Stories
Investigate how the Shakers' values and ideology shaped their communal habits and describe how the artifacts they produced continue to influence our ideals of beauty. Understand how the search for utopia has influenced the American dream.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Religion. Sociology. Architecture. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Ken Burns American Stories
Assess the role of art as a vehicle for examining history and forms of social commentary by exploring the life and works of Thomas Hart Benton. Design a piece of art that reflects a world or domestic current event.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Sociology. United States History: 1890-1930. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Point of View
Examine how Tintin cartoonist, Herge, reflected the social conditions and cultural identity of place and time. Discuss the difference between primary and secondary sources and how the use of one kind or the other might influence storytelling.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Social Studies, The Arts
Topics: Anthropology/Cultures. Media Studies. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Explore the role of labor, craftsmanship, tools and techniques in contemporary art, and determine how and when these impact meaning. Compare the use of traditional tools and techniques with contemporary artistic practices.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting: Art Beat at School
Learn how to use pieces or whole parts of furniture to create unique artworks. Create a piece of art using old furniture from thrift stores and garage sales.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Creative Thinking. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Simon Schama's Power of Art
Compare and contrast the lives and personal visions of J.M.W. Turner and Vincent van Gogh through the examination of their late paintings.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: The Arts
Topics: Art History. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Discuss the meaning of "home," and create visual and written representations of the meaning of home shaping them by personal and social forces. Write and illustrate a creative work about what makes a home.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Health & Fitness, The Arts
Topics: Psychology. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: Art in the 21st Century
Compare and contrast personal letters, memoirs, songs, poems and visual art that represent the experiences of wartime participants. Define "voice" in art and literature and create a narrative from the point of view of a wartime participant.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Literature: American. Non-Fiction: Letters, Diaries and Essays. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
Source: How Art Made the World
Explore the transformation of simple shapes into signs of character and life, and examine comic books for symbols that imply movement. Create collaged faces and flip books that demonstrate both emotion and movement.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Reading & Language Arts, The Arts
Topics: Storytelling. Visual Arts.
Resource Type: Lesson Plan
