Browse by: Grades 5-8 · Grades 9-12 · Discipline · Most Recent
Lesson Plans for Grades K-4
ART HISTORY |
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Students will study works of stained glass as a one dimensional art form and adapt what they learn to a three dimensional sculpture — a brilliantly-colored transparent mobile. |
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Give students an opportunity to enjoy creating random organic forms with color and transparency similar to actual glass. |
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"Drawing with Thread" is an interpretation of work by Wassily Kandinski in 1913. Kandinski is called the first totally abstract artist. Free flowing water color and line suggests but does not define images. |
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This project uses pastels – a favored medium of Impressionist artists – drawn onto matte surface Shrink Film. The chalk of the pastels doesn't actually shrink, it simply condenses along with the film to form rich, intense areas of color. |
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"Secco" is the term used for applying color to dry plaster, the manner Da Vinci used in his famed "The Last Supper." Using Plaster of Paris, students create drawings then purposefully add stress fractures. |
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Introduce students to Pop-Art while creating fun, colorful ties. |
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Students will create beautiful and fantastic cities while being introduced to the world of architecture and the concept of perspective. |
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BOOK AND PAPER MAKING |
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Teach your students how to make paper with this project. |
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Children will create their own journals, sketchbooks, or scrapbooks with this project. |
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Even young students can achieve beautiful results — without the use of chemicals or special materials. |
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Students learn a very basic bookbinding technique incorporating a dimensional object and simple fastening method. |
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Design a "big" storybook. Children can write the story and choose something in the story to be the book cover. |
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An easy bookmaking lesson that works across the entire curriculum. Students make books to use as journals or scrapbooks and fill with personnel stories or poetry, sketches or photos. |
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Students make printmaking papers, cards, book covers, picture frames and photo mats. |
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Make beautiful boxes to fill with good wishes. They make perfect gifts and give students experience with the arts of Calligraphy and Origami. |
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COLLAGE |
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Students create stunning transparent, glass-like mosaic pieces with acrylic paint and polymer gloss medium. |
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Students experiment with texture by turning a liquid into a solid and finally into a 3-D work of art. |
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Create Hawaiian-inspired shirts with brightly-colored flowers, leaves, and fish by printing them using fabric paints. "Gyotaku" - the Japanese word for "fish print"- is a fun and exciting way to give shirts an island beach look. |
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Artist Trading Cards are a fascinating pastime for a great number of professional artists. The cards are always 2½" × 3½", a size that fits into standard baseball card storage sleeves. |
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Using Tee Juice® Fabric Markers, students design a pair of painted shoes reminiscent of a famous artist's style and choices of subjects and colors. |
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“Write” names and messages by stringing beads on a bendable wire. Hang finished pieces in a window, string on a necklace or around a hat, pin to a bulletin board or display on a piece of matboard as a piece of art. |
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The new metallic paints are beautiful. Mix with different types of paints and "Glitter It" mediums to make paper tiles. |
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Don't throw away your old paper scraps! Save them for this project. Use torn paper to create new species of bugs. |
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Young people are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings and find squares, rectangles, rounds and the hardest triangles in everyday materials. |
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Listed are colorful samples of simple fans. Discuss the importance of fans and how they were used to keep people comfortable for years. |
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"Drawing with Thread" is an interpretation of work by Wassily Kandinski in 1913. Kandinski is called the first totally abstract artist. Free flowing water color and line suggests but does not define images. |
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This drawing project gives creativity a nudge by having children select a photo to start the drawing and then expanding it with related subject matter drawn all around it. |
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Children have many family members and pets and friends who are "honorary" family. Have students discuss their family and describe how they look. |
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Punched tin and metal is an old, traditional craft that involves creating holes in metal with sharp tools to form a design. Original designs were abstract patterns. This safe and colorful version is also abstract. |
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These paper dolls are wonderful to combine with the Global Village Paper. They can easily be turned into old-fashioned paper dolls, displayed in chains and hung. Or create a globe and arrange dolls around the total outside edge. |
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This lesson plan celebrates the Chinese tradition of passing along good fortune or "Fu" to others. |
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Lots of texture, color and dimension. The cultural diversity in the United States provides for many, many masks which represent traditional images. This fun mask requires children to create a mask just for themselves. |
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How Grandmother Spider Stole the Sun Students will be introduced to a Native American story, "How Grandmother Spider Stol the Sun", told by Joseph Brucha. They will use this to create a work of art out of clay and other materials, rather than paint and paper. |
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Students learn to apply yarn painting techniques in combining their ideas and their art. |
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This interactive torn-paper collage creates pockets for watercolor fish to swim in and may be linked to the study of pond life (science) and Japanese culture. |
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Found in art and architecture around the world, labyrinths are associated with metaphor, mystery and mythology. Incorporating various materials, students create their own labyrinths that may also be used as a simple game. |
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This simple lesson plan encourages students to create patterns by overlapping and defining lines on a canvas panel, and add dimension by incorporating more canvases or objects. |
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Create classroom fun with magnetic puzzles, a great exercise for classroom art history discussions. Each student can take home a masterpiece for their refrigerator. |
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The experience of drawing on a lightweight foil is a wonderful exercise for young children and children with special needs. |
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Similar to the Positive and Negative Space activity, this lesson will let the children's imaginations run wild. |
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Teach students about the unique symbolism of Native American culture while they learn valuable design and drawing skills. |
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Students will choose an artwork that inspires them from a specific time, genre or culture, and paint their own version on a cardboard frame. |
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A simple lesson to explore the basic concepts of weaving. |
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Students learn a nontraditional art process with this project. |
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Personal flags are expressions of a student's own life in symbols and serve as a link between the student and his or her environment. |
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Introduce students to Pop-Art while creating fun, colorful ties. |
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Minimal resources, great results! This lesson promotes an awareness of shape and space. |
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Button art is an inexpensive, creative project that's easy to do with a group, and produces great results. |
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Students construct a 3-dimensional form and fill it with rice to make gentle, percussive sounds. |
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Use two pieces of construction paper, scissors, and glue to explore pattern and repetition. |
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This project gives new life to second-hand shoes by turning them into "Robots," sculptural assemblages created with metallic paint, wire and found objects. |
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Using a single large screen divided into multiple small square window panes, a class of 15-20 students create their own individual art project that becomes part of the whole. |
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This is a simple and tidy art project with a special surprise — what appears to be "ugly" black scales are revealed to be sparkly, holographic ones! |
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An easy bookmaking lesson that works across the entire curriculum. Students make books to use as journals or scrapbooks and fill with personnel stories or poetry, sketches or photos. |
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Construction paper and glue is all that's needed for this project. |
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Students make printmaking papers, cards, book covers, picture frames and photo mats. |
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Make beautiful boxes to fill with good wishes. They make perfect gifts and give students experience with the arts of Calligraphy and Origami. |
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CRAFTS |
Grade Level |
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Students experiment with texture by turning a liquid into a solid and finally into a 3-D work of art. |
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From Mayco Colors, this lesson gives students the opportunity to explore the history and function of masks in various cultures and times. Students will be able to learn and master basic hand building and sculpting techniques using either self-hardening clay or clay requiring kiln firing. |
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Students will study works of stained glass as a one dimensional art form and adapt what they learn to a three dimensional sculpture — a brilliantly-colored transparent mobile. |
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Introduce students to calligraphy, ink, folding and dyeing techniques. The end result is a beautiful banner they will be proud to hang up! |
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“Write” names and messages by stringing beads on a bendable wire. Hang finished pieces in a window, string on a necklace or around a hat, pin to a bulletin board or display on a piece of matboard as a piece of art. |
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Beads can be made from a variety of materials, including Wonderfoam, chenille stems and Woodsies. |
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Students trace the contour of everyday classroom objects, overlapping them to form new shapes within the outlines. This exercise strengthens students' skills in using positive and negative space and creating abstract designs based on shapes. |
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The coarse, open weave of burlap substitutes for a weaving loom in this fiber art project. |
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Explore the history of carnival masks in various cultures, such as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnival of Venice and "Commedia Dell'arte" in Italy. Ornate and colorful masks are easy to create with Scratch-Art® Clear-Scratch™ film and permanent Sharpie® markers. |
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Teach your students how to make paper with this project. |
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Listed are colorful samples of simple fans. Discuss the importance of fans and how they were used to keep people comfortable for years. |
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Easy, Breezy "Screen Printing" Screenprints (also called "serigraphs") are greatly simplified with Scratch-A-Print and water-based paint. Multiple prints can be made on mini-size canvas, then made into ornaments, pendants, gift tags, etc. |
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Experience an archeological dig, right in your own classroom! Students create fossils the way that nature does - by making impressions and filling them. |
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Examples of intricately-designed stained glass can be found around the world: from gothic and medieval cathedral glass, to the art of Louis Tiffany and John La Farge. This project creates the look of stained glass in a simple process using Scratch-Art® Clear-Scratch™ film and permanent Sharpie® markers. |
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This lesson incorporates classroom-friendly acrylic felt and basic sewing/assemblage skills that can be adjusted for various age levels. |
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Certain people influence our lives in such a way that they leave "fingerprints" behind. These simple beads make great friendship bracelets. |
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Lots of texture, color and dimension. The cultural diversity in the United States provides for many, many masks which represent traditional images. This fun mask requires children to create a mask just for themselves. |
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Children will create their own journals, sketchbooks, or scrapbooks with this project. |
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Students learn to apply yarn painting techniques in combining their ideas and their art. |
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"Toro Nagashi", the Japanese Festival of Floating Lanterns is a beautiful event involving floating paper lanterns. Using YUPO paper and multiple mediums, students make lanterns for indoor or outdoor use. |
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Found in art and architecture around the world, labyrinths are associated with metaphor, mystery and mythology. Incorporating various materials, students create their own labyrinths that may also be used as a simple game. |
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Even young students can achieve beautiful results — without the use of chemicals or special materials. |
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Create unique and dazzling masks with an exciting Mardi Gras sparkle! |
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This simple lesson plan encourages students to create patterns by overlapping and defining lines on a canvas panel, and add dimension by incorporating more canvases or objects. |
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Create classroom fun with magnetic puzzles, a great exercise for classroom art history discussions. Each student can take home a masterpiece for their refrigerator. |
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This easy, kid-friendly project creates ornaments that sparkle and shine using Crayola Crayons and Sculpey III oven-bake polymer clay. |
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This lesson plan is inspired by the brightly colored pottery of Mexico. This simple papier mâché version casts paper pulp into a textured bowl using an existing plastic or ceramic bowl as a mold. |
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This project uses pastels – a favored medium of Impressionist artists – drawn onto matte surface Shrink Film. The chalk of the pastels doesn't actually shrink, it simply condenses along with the film to form rich, intense areas of color. |
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Early experiment with construction of slab clay techniques. An excellent introduction to the use of materials in a responsible manner. |
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A very easy mosaic project that is enjoyable for all ages. Even very young children will enjoy pressing objects into the moist clay. |
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Native American Burlap Weaving Students will learn about Native American craft art, basketry, rugs, clothes. These crafts were decorative as well as utilitarian, made for everyday use and also for ceremonial use. Students will also learn the use of symmetrical designs in Native American art. |
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Many Plains Indian tribes created masks for their horses to give them a look of intimidating power and fierceness. Students create a horse-shaped mask that can be worn or hung for display. |
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Native American Indians are famous for their beautiful turquoise and silver jewelry and belts. The Indians, who were very close to the earth and spiritual people, believed that certain animals, birds, etc. possessed special powers. They would carve these spirit totems into their jewelry and then wear them for good luck. Students will be introduced to different examples of Indian jewelry. |
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Teach students about the unique symbolism of Native American culture while they learn valuable design and drawing skills. |
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Students learn to work with leather in the manner of Native American craftsmen. |
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Students learn a very basic bookbinding technique incorporating a dimensional object and simple fastening method. |
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This lesson plan will help students relate to and understand a Native American Culture as well as helping them learn geographical directions. |
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Personal flags are expressions of a student's own life in symbols and serve as a link between the student and his or her environment. |
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Button art is an inexpensive, creative project that's easy to do with a group, and produces great results. |
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Students construct a 3-dimensional form and fill it with rice to make gentle, percussive sounds. |
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This project is a great way to teach color mixing and will easily link with social studies disciplines following Asian cultures (Japanese and Chinese silk painting) and also with science, as botanical studies. |
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Students study the anatomy of a flower, and create and identify its parts. |
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An easy bookmaking lesson that works across the entire curriculum. Students make books to use as journals or scrapbooks and fill with personnel stories or poetry, sketches or photos. |
|
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Students make printmaking papers, cards, book covers, picture frames and photo mats. |
|
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Make beautiful boxes to fill with good wishes. They make perfect gifts and give students experience with the arts of Calligraphy and Origami. |
|
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A great project! Fun, quick, and inexpensive. |
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Students learn the fine art of weaving and explore theories of form, space, movement, color and value. |
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The Huichol Indians used yarn to decorate gourds, clothing and other items. The yarn was applied in rows of varying colors and patterns. Bottles are a 3-D surface that offers endless design possibilities. |
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Students create a freestanding 3-dimensional sculpture using wire and modeled "clay" pieces. |
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DRAWING |
Grade Level |
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The stenciled hand print and aboriginal style drawings help children to relate to the man from the Australian Aboriginal Culture, while helping them to understand the use of line in art. |
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Students create stunning transparent, glass-like mosaic pieces with acrylic paint and polymer gloss medium. |
|
|
|
Using Tee Juice® Fabric Markers, students design a pair of painted shoes reminiscent of a famous artist's style and choices of subjects and colors. |
|
|
|
Students will study works of stained glass as a one dimensional art form and adapt what they learn to a three dimensional sculpture — a brilliantly-colored transparent mobile. |
|
|
|
“Write” names and messages by stringing beads on a bendable wire. Hang finished pieces in a window, string on a necklace or around a hat, pin to a bulletin board or display on a piece of matboard as a piece of art. |
|
|
|
Explore the history of carnival masks in various cultures, such as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnival of Venice and "Commedia Dell'arte" in Italy. Ornate and colorful masks are easy to create with Scratch-Art® Clear-Scratch™ film and permanent Sharpie® markers. |
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A more complex project for older children. Great for developing a better understanding of 3 dimensional space and geometry. |
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A simple project that requires minimal resources, but teaches children spacial relationships. |
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Young people are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings and find squares, rectangles, rounds and the hardest triangles in everyday materials. |
|
|
|
This drawing project gives creativity a nudge by having children select a photo to start the drawing and then expanding it with related subject matter drawn all around it. |
|
|
|
Children have many family members and pets and friends who are "honorary" family. Have students discuss their family and describe how they look. |
|
|
|
Examples of intricately-designed stained glass can be found around the world: from gothic and medieval cathedral glass, to the art of Louis Tiffany and John La Farge. This project creates the look of stained glass in a simple process using Scratch-Art® Clear-Scratch™ film and permanent Sharpie® markers. |
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This project is impressionistic in technique and does not require detail. |
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This project requires students to work with the same issues confronted by professional sculptors, working in the round, the work being understandable to the viewer, and structural stability. |
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Students will employ easy-to-use and safe materials in an introductory printmaking lesson. |
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Every child is a flower! Their self portraits are fun and make a beautiful garden in the classroom. Oil pastels and wiggly eyes brighten the flowers. |
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Adaptable for almost any age level, the basis for this lesson is very simple: define a space and fill it with a repetition of color, line and shape to make what we define as a Pattern. |
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"Toro Nagashi", the Japanese Festival of Floating Lanterns is a beautiful event involving floating paper lanterns. Using YUPO paper and multiple mediums, students make lanterns for indoor or outdoor use. |
|
|
|
This easy, kid-friendly project creates ornaments that sparkle and shine using Crayola Crayons and Sculpey III oven-bake polymer clay. |
|
|
|
The experience of drawing on a lightweight foil is a wonderful exercise for young children and children with special needs. |
|
|
Metal Tooling with Colored Pencils Students will apply design elements including line, pattern, texture, and color while considering their relationship to a 3-dimensional surface. |
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This project uses pastels – a favored medium of Impressionist artists – drawn onto matte surface Shrink Film. The chalk of the pastels doesn't actually shrink, it simply condenses along with the film to form rich, intense areas of color. |
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Monoprinting with Watercolor Markers A simple project that introduces students to printing. |
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Review of Native American Indian Culture. 2000 years ago, the Anasazi Indians inhabited the cliffs of the Southwest. They left Petroglyph drawings on rocks and cliffs. Students will learn more about this culture as they draw depictions of these symbols. |
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Many Plains Indian tribes created masks for their horses to give them a look of intimidating power and fierceness. Students create a horse-shaped mask that can be worn or hung for display. |
|
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|
Students learn to work with leather in the manner of Native American craftsmen. |
|
|
|
Students learn a very basic bookbinding technique incorporating a dimensional object and simple fastening method. |
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