Visual and Performing Arts Teacher Resources
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Visual and Performing Arts resources foster different forms of creative expression, whether through drama, music, film, dance, or visual art, and teach students to value aesthetics. In addition, they provide learners with the historical and cultural contexts for events.
Hands-on activities can be used to introduce young learners to the concept of symmetry while an activity for middle schoolers connects art, advertising, and nutrition. Other lessons, activities, and videos permit students to discover the themes, values, and traditions of world cultures.
The arts have long been used to draw attention to and encourage response to important social issues, environmental concerns, and even the horrors of war. Here’s an article packed with suggestions for how to integrate the arts into science classes and this lesson connects science, math, and art.
No matter your subject area, Lesson Planet has teacher-curated resources designed to spark the interest of your students in the visual and performing arts.
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Lesson Planet Curated
Crash Course Theater and Drama
Forsooth! Here’s a collection that has everything you ever wanted to know about the theater and drama—everyone from Aristotle to Chikamatsu, from Moliere to Shakespeare to Williams. From Banraku to Zaju, every type from comedy to...
Curated OER
Responding: "Guerrila" Art
Eighth graders are introduced to performance art as a way to respond to important current-day issues in society. Pupils create their very own original art work using photography and poetry. These three lessons do a nice job of, not only...
Curated OER
20th Century American Art
See the changes, controversy, and innovations that define postwar American art. The onset of the modern art era in American history is well-defined in this slide-show. You'll see how Abstract Expressionism shifted into conceptual, pop,...
Getting to Know
Shape and Form in Art
Introduce youngsters to the important role shape and form play in art with this extensive collection of activities and projects. From teaching first graders how to create mandalas to engaging third and fourth graders in the design...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Mehndi Art Gloves
Class members get a chance to practice the art of Mehndi as they use markets to apply patterns to a latex glove.
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 2
Is there a difference between examining an original work of art and viewing a reproduction? Class members are asked to reflect on this question after researching a piece, study a reproduction of it, and the examining the original in an...
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Islamic Art and Geometric Design
After an overview of Islamic traditions and art, young artists create their own geometric shapes and patterns using only a straightedge and a compass.
Curated OER
Lesson: Younger Than Jesus: Understanding, Looking at, Making Abstract Art
Before the class makes abstract art, they see contemporary examples and analyze them. They look at art made by abstract artists under the age of 33 then use similar techniques to create an interesting collection of their own. The lesson...
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,...
Curated OER
Art Smart!
Here is an amazingly thorough, and detailed, lesson plan on elements of art and art appreciation. Designed for third graders, this series of lessons should open up the eyes of your charges to the wonderful world of art that is all around...
Art Authority
Art Authority K-12
Image field trips to museums that display over 1000 major works of western art. Imagine no airfare, no long lines, and only one admission fee. Imagine viewing at your convenience, with your own private docent providing information about...
Google
Art: Interactive Art
What would the Mona Lisa say if she could talk? Scholars create a digital story within the Scratch block-based coding program. They make famous paintings talk and move when viewers click on them to complete the third of eight parts in...
Curated OER
Art and Revolution
Explore art and revolution that dawned in the mid 20th century. Constructivism, Bauhaus, and de stijl are all covered in this visually stimulating presentation.
Curated OER
What is Art?
Students become familiar with the art and architecture and history of the Chicago World's Fair. In this public arts project instructional activity, students compare and contrast fine art and public art through a study of the...
Curated OER
Becoming an Art Critic: Graphic Organizer
You don't need to be planning a museum tour to take advantage of this graphic organizer that teaches kids how to read a work of art. The student version directs viewers' attention to the content, color, and composition, while the teacher...
Teaching Channel
Building Analysis Skills Through Art
Useful teaching strategies abound in this inspirational, informative video! Walk step by step through one teacher's two-part lesson in her special education/ELL class as they develop text analysis skills by first beginning with...
Google
Art: Introduction and Discovery
Art isn't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about computer science. The first installment of an eight-part Google CS Art unit introduces the series and highlights class procedures. Pupils view videos that show how to use...
National Arts Centre
Visual Metaphors in Scenic Design: Activity
As part of a study of how visual metaphors are used in set design, class members examine an image of designer Josef Svoboda's 3-D scale model for the opera Idomeneo, re` di Creta. They then find another example that employs a visual...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 1
To prepare for a field trip to a local art museum, art class members journal their initial reactions to a reproduction of the work they will focus on during their visit. The whole class then considers the artistic elements in the piece...
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...
Dick Blick Art Materials
“Decalcomania” Glue Paint Symmetry Prints
Who knew you could paint with glue? After first adding liquid water color paints to bottles of white Elmer's glue and applying them to paper, students of all ages are then challenged to use their imagination and...
Curated OER
Colors Clip Art
Explore the ways in which block color clip art can enhance your classroom. These bright printable color blocks come with five different teaching ideas that span graphing, sorting, and even bulletin board building.
Google
Art: Digital Art
There's no need to filter out the project. Future computer scientists set up a program that acts like a photography filter to complete the sixth of eight parts in the Google CS Art unit. They use the turbo mode in the Scratch coding...
Google
Art: Paint with Tera
Here's a creative resource that definitely isn't paint by numbers. As the fourth in and eight-part Art series, learners create a paint program using the Scratch block code. By completing the activity, class members come to understand the...
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