Browse the Lesson Plans by Arts Content Standards
Number of records found for Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Standard 2: 69
A Multicultural Look at Sculpture
This unit examines the role culture plays in sculpture focusing on American Indian arts. Students will discuss the artist's work with antlers and animal bones, research the history of gargoyles and grotesques and present a graph of their findings to the class.
Featured Artist: Rob Wurzer, Carver
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Additive Clay Sculpture
This lesson plan looks at techniques of building up clay into coils and carving it off to create the desired shape wanted. Through hands-on activities, students will create animals using this technique, learn how to use clay tools and the steps of bisque and glaze firing.
Featured Artist: James Robinson, Sculptor
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
All That is Irish and More.
This unit explores the history of Irish and American folk music as heard through violin and fiddle music. Activities will teach students how to deferentiate the different styles through discussion and writing exercises.
Featured Artist: Kevin Burke, Musician
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Music
Another World
This lesson plan incorporates science with the art of blown glass creating optical illusions through kaliedoscopes and understanding the science of space. Students will learn the scientific process of blowing glass and create their own kaleidoscope with simple materials.
Featured Artist: David Schwartz, Glass Artist
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Calligraphy, Handwriting and the Alphabet
This lesson explores the history of calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing and its influence on the art world. While utilizing internet resources and students' creativity, students will produce projects using writing skills and unique tools to do that.
Featured Artist: Inga Dubay, Calligrapher
Grade Level(s): 6-8, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Collaging with Sister Mary
This lesson plan includes cultural diversity, the color wheel, and color awareness through discovery as shown by the artist through her own creative process. Students will use tissue paper, glue, and paintbrushes while they creat their own tapestries and other collage art.
Featured Artist: Sister Mary Bertoli, Mixed Media Artist
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Music, Visual Arts
Contemporary Music With a Classical Flavor
This unit explores the work of music composition and how the resulting pieces can reflect the passion and style of its composer. Activities enable the students to better understand the compositional process with discussion and creation of their own written and illustrated piece.
Featured Artist: David Schiff, Composer
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Music
Costume Design as a Career?
Learning about costume design is covered by this unit, delving into fabric arts, using visual references and learning about this artform as a career choice. Students will learn illustration, historical reference, self expression and the use of fabric arts specifically used in theatre.
Featured Artist: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Costumer
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Creative Dramatics in the Classroom
This unit explores experimental theatre, expressing a point of view through dramatics and introducing a mult-media element into interactive performances. Students will examine the basics of theatre through discuss and research, play theatre games and write about their experiences.
Featured Artist: Liminal, Theatre
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Theater
Cultural Influences
This unit looks specifically at community and what that means to an artist through the eyes of Adriene Cruz. Activities help students see how art can transform a neighborhood through discussion and by making creative pieces that reflect cutural expression and symbolism.
Featured Artist: Adriene Cruz, Quilter
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Designing Jewelry by Using the Human Form
This artist is both a painter and jeweler who uses the shapes found on the human body to create her jewelry designs. This lesson covers drawing, the human figure, and jewelry making.
Featured Artist: Sasha Samuels, Painter
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Doing What You Love
This unit provides an opportunity to look at what you love to do and how that can be richly rewarding if pursued through your lifetime. Students will look at an artist who does just that and will be encouraged through artist activities to discover something they too like to do.
Featured Artist: Patrece Conoy, Weaver
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Dramatic Art as a Healing Mechanism
This lesson plan is geared for older students, watching how the artist creates visual art that is a direct response to his personal struggles with alcoholism and post tramatic stress disorder. Students will use their own life experiences while exploring the use of dry media, such as: charcoal, pastel, and other mixed media.
Featured Artist: Rick Bartow, Painter
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Music, Visual Arts
Drawing as a Foundation
This lesson plan teaches the use of research to understand the subjects you choose to draw or paint and their environment, looking specifically at nature through the eyes of the artist. Students will learn about communication and expression through hands-on sketching exercises, research and assorted use of materials.
Featured Artist: Lorenzo Ghiglieri, Mixed Media Artist
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Expression
This lesson will cover self-expression and personal history using the many aspects of ceramic mask making. Students will learn the skills for collaboration, the history behind the salmon rack in Native American culture and using visual techniques to relay a personal message.
Featured Artist: Lillian Pitt, Sculptor
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Fabric Art
This lesson plan will cover recycling, vintage art, and making an art project from recycled products. Students will learn how to turn their collected materials into creatively unique works of art.
Featured Artist: Mary Katherine Lamb, Fabric Artist
Grade Level(s): K-3
Disciplines Covered: Other, Visual Arts
Fashion and Functionality
This unit addresses the exploration of artistic development as a child and how that can become a career in the arts as an adult. Students will study the work of a clothing maker and the artistic expression behind those designs by creating their own through hands-on activities.
Featured Artist: Adam Arnold, Clothing Maker
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Find the Animal Within the Material
This lesson plan encourages imagination and "thinking outside the box" with three dimensional forms. Students will learn about the basic principles of subtractive sculpture, to using hand tools with alternative materials to finally presenting a finished piece of art.
Featured Artist: Chester Armstrong, Sculptor
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
For the Love of Publication!
This lesson looks at the passion behind self-published magazines, how creative writing can impact a community and give voice to something that you feel strongly about. Students will work on creating their own publication through brain-storming, research and basic supplies.
Featured Artist: Zines, Writers/Self-Publishers
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Get Up Close and Personal
This lesson plan covers the importance of tracking time, both personally and globally. Painting, printmaking, collaging and layering of materials brought into the studio will encourage students to create their own journals or stories.
Featured Artist: Margot Voohies Thompson, Painter
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Gold!
Through this Lesson Plan you will learn about the relationship of gold leaf to math, history, apprenticeships, design and history of the material. The activities cover discussion, research and actual creation of pieces using gold pencils and inks.
Featured Artist: Nancy Thorn, Craftsperson
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
How and Why to Look at Abstract Painting
This unit works towards defining abstract art and helps students understand why artists would want to paint abstractly. Activities take students through the process of understanding composition, creating and evaluating abstract art and utilitizing different tools and materials.
Featured Artist: Stan Beppo, Painter
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
I See By Your Outfit That You Are a Cowboy!
This lesson plan helps explore the concepts of work and environment as themes in poetry. Students will research cowboy life and culture focusing on nature and the western landscape and then working towards creating their own pieces based on their own locale themes.
Featured Artist: Leon Flick, Poet
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Theater
Indian Basket Weaving
This lesson covers the art of weaving and basket making that was traditionally created by Native Americans. Students will explore Indian designs, experiment with weaving materials and create their own basket.
Featured Artist: Pat Courtney Gold, Weaver
Grade Level(s): K-3
Disciplines Covered: Other
Jewelry Everywhere
The overall theme of this lesson plan is the business of locally made jewelry as well as the aesthetics of ornamentation. Students will look closely at the cultural history and current processes of jewelry making through discuss, journaling and field trips.
Featured Artist: Stewart Jones, Jeweler
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Kinetic Sculpture
This lesson plan introduces the art of kinetic sculpture using found materials to create objects with human characteristics. Activities address inventive thinking, utilizing unusual materials and team building through the creation of robotic sculptures.
Featured Artist: Pete Beeman, Sculptor
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Music, Theater, Visual Arts
Landscape Painting Through the Ages
This lesson covers the genre of landscape painting from the Renaissance to Contemporary artists. Art history with references and guides, along with different painting styles, are utlitized along with creative art activities for different grade levels.
Featured Artist: James Lavadour, Painter
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Lighting The Way
This lesson plan looks at photography from the perspective of light and how important that is to composition and the effect it has on the emotional impact. Through discussion and hands-on activities, students will study the basics of photo journalism, compositional skills and choosing subject material.
Featured Artist: Jeff Bizzell, Photojournalist
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Living a Dream: Writing for the Movies
This lesson plan focuses on the art of writing for the movies and using life experiences to help create story ideas. Students will learn about visual storytelling through writing and discussion using imaginary and real characters.
Featured Artist: Mike Rich, Screenwriter
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Look and Look Again
This lesson plan examines the process of creating a visual image and using observation skills to do that. Through independent work, students will observe their surroundings and present their findings and also explore different moods through expressions of color.
Featured Artist: Magda Druzdel, Painter
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Music, Visual Arts
Making a Pinhole Camera
This unit delves into the history of photography and the use of a pinhole camera as a fine art tool. Students will be acquanted with the basic elements of photography while providing an inexpensive and interesting way to take pictures.
Featured Artist: John Maher, Photographer
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Making Musical Instruments
This unit looks at alternative ways of creating music using non-traditional instruments. Activities include designing and creating a percussion instrument out of household materials and bringing awareness to the challenges of physically challenged persons by creating art using other body parts instead of hands.
Featured Artist: Stephen Cohen, Instrument Builder/Musician
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Music
Move Your Body!
This unit looks at non-traditional movement styles and how many elements can be introduced into individual dance pieces. These activites take place in gym or large area to allow students to experiment with group dance as a form of exercise.
Featured Artist: Body Moves, Dance
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Music
Mural Painting
This unit looks closely at the art and techniques of mural painting while exploring ideas and purpose behind creating a mural in the community. Students will have hands-on activities and learn skills that work towards creating their own mural.
Featured Artist: Mural Painters McMenamins Artists,
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Myth and The Human Form
This unit explores three dimensional form and a different way of approaching the creative process. Students will study symbolism and mythology and then create sculptures based on their findings.
Featured Artist: Margarita Leon, Sculptor
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Oboe in Oregon!
This unit introduces the students to the unique sounds of the oboe and the blending of different musical styles and instruments. Activities include discussion, reading and research to determine the differences between instruments and their unique sounds.
Featured Artist: Oregon, Musical Ensemble
Disciplines Covered: Music
Painter of Gourds
This lesson encourages students to use a non traditional canvas for painting using gourds and discovering their many cultural values. Students will study drawing through observation, gourd history and hands-on creation of gourd art.
Featured Artist: Kate Aspen, Painter
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Painting The Urban Environment
This unit looks closely at finding beauty in industrial forms and understanding light and color and how it enhances the beauty in a subject. Activities will encourage students to create a strong composition in painting or photography, analyse their own work and learn how to use various cameras.
Featured Artist: Kirk Lybecker, Mixed Media Artist
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Paper and Light = Lanterns
This lesson explores the relationship between paper and light through lantern making from various cultures. Activities will allow students to learn the science of papermaking, it's history and culture and hands-on creation of a traditional Vietnamese lantern.
Featured Artist: Lam Quang, Paper Maker
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
People Moving
This lesson teaches the elements of dance and movement using improvisation, self-expression and collaboration. Students will analyze and discuss dance, lighting and music and work as a group to create their own presentation.
Featured Artist: Body Vox, Dance
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Music, Visual Arts
Photography in The Industrial Work Place
Taking risks to find a direction in life by being willing to try something new is covered by this lesson plan. Students will be encouraged to explore new avenues, like industrial workplaces, for their collaged artwork using many techniques including photography.
Featured Artist: Donna Steger, Painter
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Political Illustration
This lesson plan offers the unique opportunity to see behind the scenes of the life of a political illustration artist. Students will learn how to use an illustration to express a political point while exploring many art mediums and self-expression.
Featured Artist: Jack Ohman, Illustrator
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Portland Architectural Tour
The artist takes us on a tour of architectual significant Portland buildings in Oregon and explains why they are so important. Students will learn the influence of culture, how architecture reflects local and world history and how to present their findings in a creative way.
Featured Artist: Randy Gragg, Writer
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Other
Portrait Drawing Using a Model
This unit covers the art of portraiture, how we approach the human form and understanding facial structure. These activities take students through the process of drawing with charcoal, self-portraits and working with a model.
Featured Artist: George Johanson, Painter
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Printing Through a Master
This lesson plan takes the students through the studio experience of learning how to print through a master printer. Students will be able to create their own printing projects and discover the traditional art of print making.
Featured Artist: Inkling Studio, Printer
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Reviewing the Movies
This unit helps to understand the many elements that go into critiquing movies and how we can communicate our feelings to others. Students will review movies, learn how to write a review and share their opinions in a constructive way.
Featured Artist: Shawn Levy, Writer
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
School Art Night
This lesson plan helps to understand the work and planning that goes into an Art Night at school using a Portland monthly event as an example. Students will focus on the business of art in their activities using brainstorming, organizational skills and team effort.
Featured Artist: Last Thursday, Art Event
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Sounds and Stories
You will learn about the many aspects of sound through this lesson plan and how sound tells stories and evokes memories. Students will learn the importance of team work, creative writing and will venture out on field trips to record sounds around their classrooms and school.
Featured Artist: Don Hunter, Audio Collector
Stained Glass Art
The art of stained glass is explored through this lesson plan, its world history, the creation of stained glass and the mathematics behind its design and integrating geometry. Students will use picture frames and glass paint to replicate this process and learn how to assess their own work and other students work.
Featured Artist: Chuck Franklin, Glassmaker
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Storytelling Through Sculpture
This unit explores sculpting with clay and using characters in history or literature as models to work from. Activities involve students in researching their characters and creating sketches, and then clay models that are later presented in a show.
Featured Artist: Martin Eichinger, Sculptor
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Swing Squares
This unit looks at the culture and history of square dancing and Old time music. The activities get students to their feet to learn how to dance and call a square dance learning how to work as a team, follow instructions and have fun doing it!
Featured Artist: Bill Martin, Square Dance Caller
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement
The Art Space
This lesson plan looks at the use of art centers in the community and the kind of art work that can be showcased. These activities will challenge the students to look at avant-garde artwork, to design their own art space and what kind of art they would like to display.
Featured Artist: Portand Institute for Contemporary Art, Arts Organization
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Theater, Visual Arts
The Magic of Composition
This unit looks at the ability of an artist to invent and change what he/she sees to create a stronger compositional piece of art. Students will evaluate and critique both their own and other students work while creating their own art pieces.
Featured Artist: Michael Gibbons, Painter
Grade Level(s): 9-11
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
The Physics of Art Bells
A unique lesson plan that looks at the original craft of making bells and using those bells as part of metal sculptures created by artist, Steve Reinmuth. Students investigate what makes a ring different, the cultural history of bells and even create their own form of bell to explore shape and sound.
Featured Artist: Steve Reinmuth, Sculptor
Disciplines Covered: Music, Visual Arts
The Spirit of Puppetry
This unit looks at the collaborative process of a production using giant hand-made puppets, from sketching to three-dimensional artwork. Activities include building a 3D object, self expression, using paper mache and exploring the use of puppetry around the world.
Featured Artist: Michael Curry, Puppeteer
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Music, Theater, Visual Arts
Three Viewpoints
This lesson plan delves into the world of photographer and the many ways that we view this world and how we can document it. Students will choose their own landscape and nature subjects to photograph, creating their own visual map from unique perspectives.
Featured Artist: David Jensen, Photographer
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Transformational Art Using Furniture
This lesson plan explores a new concept of how to look at furniture in a different way and using pieces or whole parts of furniture to create unique pieces of art. Students will use old furniture from thrift stores and garage sales to create their own individual piece.
Featured Artist: Terry Bostwick, Mixed Media Artist
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5
Disciplines Covered: Other
Up From the Streets: Hip Hop as a Recognized Art
This unit encourages exploration into legitimate and commercial art and takes a closer look at the cultural roots of poetic delivery in spoken word. Activities use improvisation, discussion and demonstration to understand the world of hip-hop.
Featured Artist: NW Academy, Arts Education
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Music, Visual Arts
Vaudevillian, Here We Come!
This unit looks at the many aspects involved with creating a fair using vaudeville as the main performing art. Activities can culminate with a school event after students have created their own characters made from paper mache and learned about parades and organizing such an event.
Featured Artist: Country Fair Vaudevillians, Theatre Performers
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Music, Theater, Visual Arts
Victorian Age Architectural Design
This video showcases the historic Simon Benson House in Portland, OR, and its history and architectural importance. Students will learn all about Victorian architecture and will have the opportunity to build and decorate their own Victorian house after learning the design elements from a self-made journal.
Featured Artist: Benson House, Architectural Interest
Disciplines Covered: Other
We of the Sea
This lesson plan looks at the oral tradition of poetry, it's ties to community, culture and history. Students will look at tribal Native American stories about fishing and how to prepare and tell their own stories.
Featured Artist: Astoria Fisher Poets, Poet
Disciplines Covered: Other
Weaving Traditions
This lesson plan really encourages the unity of family and either following old traditions or creating new ones that can be handed down with each generation. Students will study weaving patterns in Native American art and create their own basket weaving project using cotton twine.
Featured Artist: Minerva Soucie, Weaver
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
What is a Puppet?
This lesson plan looks at the creation of puppets, that not all puppets are traditional and discovering how using your own body can bring puppets to life. Student activities include the construction of puppets from reused materials, creating a story and enhancing self-esteem through performance.
Featured Artist: Tears of Joy, Puppet Theater
Grade Level(s): 9-11, 6-8, 4-5, K-3
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Why We Paint From Our Heart!
This lesson plan looks at the relationship between people and nature and one artist's journey to submerge himself into the environment that he loves to paint. Activities include discussion and research on how to capture nature and learning techniques of collage using digital images.
Featured Artist: Jim Denney, Painter
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
Women of Stone
This lesson focuses on the theme of "what it means to be a woman" through art and exploration into the femal genre. Acitivities include looking at the historical significance of being a woman, social perspectives and stone carving.
Featured Artist: MJ Anderson, Sculptor
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Visual Arts
Women of Words
Poetry can come in many forms as this Lesson Plan teaches us as it focuses on hip-hop poetry demonstrated by two African American Poets. Students will learn how to perform poetry in tandem, expressing social and life experience in art.
Featured Artist: Good Sista/Bad Sista, Poets
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement
Wood Stories
This lesson plan looks at the relationship between the Jewish culture, history and heritage and how that has influenced carver Dan Kvitka's work. Students will look at their own history and heritage through discuss, writing and creation of a CD.
Featured Artist: Dan Kvitka, Wood Carver
Disciplines Covered: Visual Arts
You Call That Art?
This unit encourages students to define art and the form that it can take through personal challenges and limitations. Activities include thought provoking hands-on activities, history and discussion that brings students to a better understanding of art.
Featured Artist: Duff Severe, Craftsperson
Disciplines Covered: Dance/Movement, Music, Theater, Visual Arts