What happens to light as it passes through a hole? This is the main question centered around the designing of a solar eclipse dynamic art piece that uses a solar eclipse and paper to create a pinhole projection of the art.

Chapters 28 – 31 of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are the focus of a series of critical thinking questions. Responders are encouraged to refer directly to the novel to support their inferences and interpretations. 

Highly ornate or complex art can only be mastered with patience and skill. Learners explore the skills required to carve complex geometric designs seen on the image of a palace facade. They examine the image, discuss carving techniques,...

A cross-curricular lesson combines poetry and history for your middle and high schoolers. The class critically examines Kipling's poem, "White Man's Burden" as historical evidence of the Imperialist ideology popular during his time. The...

Why would an artist destroy his own work? Kids examine the Malagan practice of creating and then destroying art. They talk about the cultural and spiritual significance of this practice, as well as how it relates to consumerism in...

Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...

Have a class discussion to better understand the art of Martha Rosler. Young art critics consider Martha's art as it is used to express issues of political unrest and social awareness. They look at each of the five images and use the...

Students observe art from different Aboriginal cultures.  In this art evaluation lesson plan, students discover the different traditions of cultures from the Pacific North West.  Students judge the art from these cultures with...

Young art critics consider symbolic protection as it has been used in various cultures around the globe. They view body art from the Marquesas Islands, looking for animals, letter, shapes, and patterns. They compare and contrast body art...

As learners continue to examine a short story of their choice, they take some time to look at analysis completed by others on the same story. In the eleventh instructional activity in a series of fourteen, pupils explore various sites...

Each of the slides in this presentation provide learners with an image found at a northwestern art museum and a critical analysis of what can be seen in each piece. Learners can view this prior to a museum trip in order to build...

Students research the sources of prehistoric cave paintings and engage in an activity of creating their own cave art. The lesson focuses on the design, composition style of the art, and importance of cultural contributions cave painting...

A perfect resource for an art teacher of any grade. First, click on the resource's second tab, entitled "Activities," to find four unique grade-specific lesson all based on the theme of cityscapes.  Each activity utilizes the...

This learning experience fosters awareness of representations we see, and don't see, in the media. Learners list TV programs, games, and films they enjoy, identify characters' ethnic, religious, (dis)ability, and sexual orientation...

Stress the importance of authenticating online resources and understanding the sources of websites' information with this activity. Using a Web-based activity, the lesson prompts young learners to think critically about determining the...

Can you imagine what it's like to be able to carve an animal out of stone? Kids do, as they analyze the techniques used to create the South Indian sculpture, Sacred Bull of Shiva. After a critical look at the piece, they write a...

As class members continue their study of approaches to literary criticism, readers examine the symbolism and archetypal patterns in John Knowles' A Separate Peace, and how these parallels are used to develop a theme...

High schoolers examine how European-America aestheticians (philosophers of art) do not all agree about the value and definition of art. students examine how some cultures do not have a distinct word or definition for art.

Five lessons display the art created by Germans under the Weimar Republic. The focus of these lessons is to help learners understand the role of art in politics, government censorship, and Nazi tactics. Web links are included.

Art and architecture are great ways to help define historical periods and cultural norms. Take a critical look at the art of the Byzantine period as seen under Justinian rule. Iconography, vocabulary, religious, and political concepts...

Curator, artist, art handler, archivist, conservator-restorer, guide. Who would have thought there were so many different kinds of museum professionals? After a visit to an art museum, class members reflect on the role of the museum in...

A free press is entitled to its opinions. While the news pages report the facts of events, editorial pages feature writers' and cartoonists' opinions about events to either directly or indirectly persuade. Introduce viewers to the art of...