1. Landscape
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 1: 1882–1900 Landscape was a popular subject for many artists throughout the nineteenth century. A number of artists in the late nineteeth- and early twentieth century were averse to the intense pace of modern society and created landscapes that suggested the antithesis to it.
Activity: photograph, sketch, and then paint a landscape/cityscape
Language Arts: “how your students the three images again. Give them a moment to review them closely. Ask them to write “postcards” from each of the three landscape scenes. They should include both a description of the places shown in the images and a description of the mood that comes across in each image. Ask them to imagine what it would be like to spend a day there as they write.”
Artist: Seurat, van Gogh, Edvard Munch
Grade: middle/high
Medium: painting
Theme: landscape
2. Rise of the Modern City
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 2: 1893–1913 The late nineteenth century saw the rise of the modern city shaped by industry, innovations in transportation, and shifting politics. During this period and throughout the early twentieth century, the urban experience became an important artistic subject.
History/Language Arts: 1.Research Derain’s London paintings and London maps, discuss what impression he was trying to make. 2. Research history of Dresden during the time Kirchner painted Street, Dresden. Write a letter describing your experience in the city based on painting and research. 3. Students research changes in Paris between 1850 and 1870, discuss impact on daily life.
Artist: Andre Derain, Ernst Ledwig Kirchner, Jacques-Henri Lartique
Grade: high
Theme: Social
Theme: Social
3. Artists' Journeys
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 2: 1893–1913 Late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century artists often took advantage of innovations in transportations by traveling to exotic or rural locations. Many radical artistic experiments occurred in the most rural and least “modern” of settings.
Activity: Create travel journal like Gauguin, research/discussion on abstract art Language Arts: examining Matisse painting and its inspiration from French poet Baudelaire’s Invitation to the Voyage Artist: Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Vasily Kandinsky Grade: middle/high Medium: drawing, collage, painting Theme: Modern Artists
4. New Visions of the World
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 4: 1914–1928 During an exceptionally charged moment in European history, two artists, Kasimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian, began exploring an entirely new form of painting. Students will explore the artists’ modern, non-figurative art.
Activities: Students will work in groups to create compositions around the room using colored/black masking tape and construction paper. Divide teams into line composition and color composition.
Language Arts: Students will read and report on central ideas of Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, which describes a square unable to comprehend a 3rd dimension, a interest of Malevich.
Artists: Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian
Grade: middle/high
Medium: Mixed Media (paper, tape)
Theme: abstract
5. Landscapes: Real and Imagined
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 5: 1913–1936 Landscape was a popular subject for a great number of nineteenth- and early-twentieth century artists, many of whom painted outside, directly from nature. Surrealist artists employed a very different source for their landscapes–the unconscious mind. Students explore surreal compositions with discussions, writing activities.
Activities: Create dream journal to be incorporated into a piece of art, creating a landscape from imagination.
Language Arts: After looking at the featured works, have students write descriptive postcards from each location.
Artists: Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Max Ernst
Grade: middle/high
Medium: paint, drawing
Theme: Surrealism
Language Arts: After looking at the featured works, have students write descriptive postcards from each location.
Artists: Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Max Ernst
Grade: middle/high
Medium: paint, drawing
Theme: Surrealism
6. Identity
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 6: Art Between the Wars During the interwar period, the idea of identity, both individual and social, came under scrutiny for intellectual and political reasons. In this lesson, students will discuss what identity means to them and will consider how their own identities are affected by the social and political realities of their time.
Activities: Research a portrait, create a portrait of a family member or friend Language Arts: Students choose on of featured portraits, writes a 1-page biography of the sitter based on observation/discussion History Using web sources, students will research subject of Lange’s Migrant Mother (Florence Owens Thompson), and describe how analysis of image compares to their findings about Thompson. Artists: Otto Dix, Pablo Picasso, Dorothea Lange, Alberto Giacometti Grade: middle/high Medium: drawing, collage, painting, sculpture, photography Theme: identity
7. Modern Movements
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 6: Art Between the Wars During the interwar years there was an increase in the number of people who migrated and emigrated. This lesson considers how artists reflected upon these physical movements in their artworks and examines the roles of narrative in artworks dealing with this theme.
Activities: story-telling through images/words based on The Migration Series History, Language Arts: 1. Have students write 1-page essay on a selected panel from The Migration Series, summarizing it and connecting it to the larger story. 2.Students will research Harlem Renaissance Artists: Gustav Klutsis, Max Beckmann, Jacob Lawrence Grade: middle/high Medium: drawing, collage Theme: migration/transportation/narrative
8. Action/Reaction: Art and Politics
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 6: Art Between the Wars Following the outbreak of World War I, avant-garde artistic practices that had been developed to challenge traditional means of representation lost their resonance with many artists. This lesson explores works of art that were created by artists in direct response to the war and the social turmoil of the time.
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 6: Art Between the Wars During the interwar period, the idea of identity, both individual and social, came under scrutiny for intellectual and political reasons. In this lesson, students will discuss what identity means to them and will consider how their own identities are affected by the social and political realities of their time.
Activities: Research a portrait, create a portrait of a family member or friend Language Arts: Students choose on of featured portraits, writes a 1-page biography of the sitter based on observation/discussion History Using web sources, students will research subject of Lange’s Migrant Mother (Florence Owens Thompson), and describe how analysis of image compares to their findings about Thompson. Artists: Otto Dix, Pablo Picasso, Dorothea Lange, Alberto Giacometti Grade: middle/high Medium: drawing, collage, painting, sculpture, photography Theme: identity
7. Modern Movements
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 6: Art Between the Wars During the interwar years there was an increase in the number of people who migrated and emigrated. This lesson considers how artists reflected upon these physical movements in their artworks and examines the roles of narrative in artworks dealing with this theme.
Activities: story-telling through images/words based on The Migration Series History, Language Arts: 1. Have students write 1-page essay on a selected panel from The Migration Series, summarizing it and connecting it to the larger story. 2.Students will research Harlem Renaissance Artists: Gustav Klutsis, Max Beckmann, Jacob Lawrence Grade: middle/high Medium: drawing, collage Theme: migration/transportation/narrative
8. Action/Reaction: Art and Politics
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 6: Art Between the Wars Following the outbreak of World War I, avant-garde artistic practices that had been developed to challenge traditional means of representation lost their resonance with many artists. This lesson explores works of art that were created by artists in direct response to the war and the social turmoil of the time.
Activities: Students will choose an image from newspaper that speaks to their own political, social times to base collage on. 2. Students will create artwork using newspaper/magazine imagery
Language Arts: Students will create word poems as groups using word banks developed during the discussion.
Artists: Fernand Leger, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Aleksandr Rodchenko
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, collage
Theme: portraiture
Artists: Fernand Leger, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Aleksandr Rodchenko
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, collage
Theme: portraiture
9. Color and Environment
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 7: 1950–1969 The artists Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman are also considered Abstract Expressionists. This lesson compares two of their large, abstract, colorful canvases and examines some of the ideas that informed their artistic processes. Color, shape, composition, proportion, balance, style, scale.
Activities: 1. Discussion on Newman’s “The basis of an aesthetic act is the pure idea. 2. Research Rothko’s mural in Houston 4. Research Newman’s Broken Obelisk, ask students to draw a design for a monument they would do and what it would symbolize.
Language Arts: Compare/contrast essay on Rothko and Newman
Artists: Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: abstract expressionism
10. Art and Politics
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 7: 1950–1969 The years from the 1950s to the 1970s were turbulent times. Many artists at this time represented political events in their work. This lesson looks at the work of three artists whose work represents ideas and specific events important to the political and social atmosphere of this time.
Activity: Make a political commentary. Students select photograph from the newspaper that has to do with a social injustice to create their own political commentary.
Language Arts, History: 1. Injustice today/ Warhol called the Birmingham Race Riots episode a "blot on the American conscience." Students will write an essay about an instance of prejudice or injustice they have encountered or observed. 2. Civil Rights. Students research one or more of several figures, laws, or events during civil rights era.
Artists: Jasper Johns, Charles Moore, Andy Warhol
Grade: middle/high
Medium: collage
Theme: Social
11. Materials and Process
From the guide On Paper: Drawings in the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art This lesson examines the variety of materials an artist may use when making a drawing and considers how the choice of material impacts the ideas the artwork communicates to the viewer. Activities: 1. Abstract it. Have groups sit in a circle around an object and draw it from all perspectives. Have them tear their drawings into 4 pieces and arrange as a group on a larger sheet of paper. Tape or glue the pieces down once the group has reached a consensus. 2. Experimental process. Students will use traditional and experimental art materials to create a work of art.
Language Arts: Have students write about their experimentation, inspiration for finished work, did some material lend themselves to artwork over others, or to more abstract or more representational artwork? Students will share their writing.
Artists: Juan Gris, Romare Bearden, Helio Oiticica, Mona Hatoum
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, mixed media
Theme: drawing
Artists: Juan Gris, Romare Bearden, Helio Oiticica, Mona Hatoum
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, mixed media
Theme: drawing
12. Art and Movement
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 3: 1907–1914 The artists in this lesson were interested in depicting the sensation of motion, inspired by advanced photographic techniques and other new forms of technology and transportation. Students will explore different artisitic techniques for communicating motion and narrative.
Activities: 1. Students will make 2 kinds of drawings that focus on capturing movement, the first will be quick sketches of movement, the second will use shapes, lines, and symbols to indicate movements in first drawing. 2. Students will write a narrative of a trip from beginning to end with as much visual information and description as possible. They will translate this into 3 sequential drawings and give the series a title.
Language Arts: Students will be writing a narrative of a trip with descriptive detail.
Artists: Etienne-Jules Marey, Gino Severini, Umerto Boccioni
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: social, maps, drawing
Artists: Etienne-Jules Marey, Gino Severini, Umerto Boccioni
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: social, maps, drawing
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 8: 1962–1974 The 1960s saw struggles against established power structures and institutions. Many public spaces, including streets and university campuses, became active sites of political expression, and artists began to look at such spaces as ideal sites of artistic intervention.
14. Globalization and the Standardization of Identity
Activities: 1. Discuss Marclay’s Graffiti Composition. Divide students into groups to develop artistic intervention on paper that can be photocopied and posted throughout the school. Students should consider if they want their work to pose direct questions or be more abstract. After one week, discuss reaction. 2. Digging deeper.
Language Arts: Have students write a short story about the people who lived in the house Matta-Clark “unbuilt.” History: Have students research events of May 1968 in Paris, and the use of graffiti and posters, particularly “Atelier Populaire.” Could also look into student protests in US in 60’s/70’s.
Artists: Daniel Buren, Gordon Matta-Clark
Grade: middle/high
Medium: photography
Theme: social, graffiti
Language Arts: Have students write a short story about the people who lived in the house Matta-Clark “unbuilt.” History: Have students research events of May 1968 in Paris, and the use of graffiti and posters, particularly “Atelier Populaire.” Could also look into student protests in US in 60’s/70’s.
Artists: Daniel Buren, Gordon Matta-Clark
Grade: middle/high
Medium: photography
Theme: social, graffiti
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 9: 1961–2004 Over the last several decades people from disparate parts of the world have become more and more connected, through fast communication and global travel. We share and exchange ideas, desires, customs, and habits, sometimes blending or adapting traditional or local customs to suit contemporary life, at other times abandoning local ways of life altogether and adopting an international style of living. The artists in this lesson address the changing identities of cities and populations.
Activities: Students will take photographs that highlight the contrast between old and new buildings near their homes. Consider juxtaposing the two images. Have them research them and find similarities, differences, which do they prefer?
Language Arts: Students can conduct research project focusing on information revolution of the 90’s, how did the craze for global interconnectivity begin? First memory of computer, computer search? Interview others.
Artists: Andraes Gursky, Sze Tsung Leong
Grade: middle/high
Medium: photography
Theme: social, architecture, technology
Language Arts: Students can conduct research project focusing on information revolution of the 90’s, how did the craze for global interconnectivity begin? First memory of computer, computer search? Interview others.
Artists: Andraes Gursky, Sze Tsung Leong
Grade: middle/high
Medium: photography
Theme: social, architecture, technology
15. Rise of the Modern City
From the guide Rise of the Modern City: Tall Buildings in MoMA's collection At the turn of the century, technology and mechanical engineering advanced at a rapid pace. Society quickly moved away from handmade objects and toward machine-based production and this changed the way everything was built, including buildings. Students will be introduced to Futurism, concept of manifesto, art and its relationship with political/social issues. Activity/English cross-curriculum: Students will look in newspapers/magazines/internet for articles/pictures of war, then make list of words that occurred to them while searching, write two poems using those words in the style of Marinetti’s word poems.
Artists: Gino Severini, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Grade: middle/high
Theme: social, language
16. Jean Michel Basquiat
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art This lesson considers the idea of expression in relation to Basquiat’s Untitled 1981.
Activity: Have students think about different sources of inspiration and create signs and symbols that represent places, objects, and people in their lives. They will create an artwork using their visual language.
Language: Students are encouraged to use words along with their images to create visual poetry.
Artists: Jean Michel Basquiat
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: Language
17. Revealing Process
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 5: 1913–1936 Many Dada and Surrealist artists were critical of the dominant social structures and political strategies that led to World Wars I and II. To critique the systems that shaped society, they turned to new art-making strategies, including collage.
Activity: Students will collect 5 objects, images, fragments to make a collage.
Language Arts: Students will write a journal to accompany the visual collage of found objects; their significance and making connections between them Artists: Kurt Schwitters, Jean Arp Grade: middle/high Medium: collage Theme: dada/surrealism, collage
18. Innovations in Media
From the guide Artist's Work/Artist's Voice: Picasso Picasso experimented in a variety of mediums, working in both two and three dimensions. This lesson focuses on Picasso’s assemblages, in which he incorporated preexisting and found objects. Activities: 1. Create a collection of found objects in your classroom. First, they can create something that is inspired by what they find. Then they can make a sketch of something that they want to create, and look for the pieces they need to make it. 2. Students will compare the way Dada artists used found objects compared to Picasso’s use.
Language Arts: Ask your students to write about which process was easier or more successful, and why.
Artist: Picasso
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media
Theme: sculpture
19. Transforming Everyday Objects
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 5: 1913–1936 Dada and Surrealist artists questioned long-held assumptions about what a work of art should be about and how it should be made. They boldly selected everyday, manufactured objects at times combining them with other items and called them “art.” Students will be introduced to Readymades and photograms.
From the guide Rise of the Modern City: Tall Buildings in MoMA's collection At the turn of the century, technology and mechanical engineering advanced at a rapid pace. Society quickly moved away from handmade objects and toward machine-based production and this changed the way everything was built, including buildings. Students will be introduced to Futurism, concept of manifesto, art and its relationship with political/social issues. Activity/English cross-curriculum: Students will look in newspapers/magazines/internet for articles/pictures of war, then make list of words that occurred to them while searching, write two poems using those words in the style of Marinetti’s word poems.
Artists: Gino Severini, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Grade: middle/high
Theme: social, language
16. Jean Michel Basquiat
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art This lesson considers the idea of expression in relation to Basquiat’s Untitled 1981.
Activity: Have students think about different sources of inspiration and create signs and symbols that represent places, objects, and people in their lives. They will create an artwork using their visual language.
Language: Students are encouraged to use words along with their images to create visual poetry.
Artists: Jean Michel Basquiat
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: Language
17. Revealing Process
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 5: 1913–1936 Many Dada and Surrealist artists were critical of the dominant social structures and political strategies that led to World Wars I and II. To critique the systems that shaped society, they turned to new art-making strategies, including collage.
Activity: Students will collect 5 objects, images, fragments to make a collage.
Language Arts: Students will write a journal to accompany the visual collage of found objects; their significance and making connections between them Artists: Kurt Schwitters, Jean Arp Grade: middle/high Medium: collage Theme: dada/surrealism, collage
18. Innovations in Media
From the guide Artist's Work/Artist's Voice: Picasso Picasso experimented in a variety of mediums, working in both two and three dimensions. This lesson focuses on Picasso’s assemblages, in which he incorporated preexisting and found objects. Activities: 1. Create a collection of found objects in your classroom. First, they can create something that is inspired by what they find. Then they can make a sketch of something that they want to create, and look for the pieces they need to make it. 2. Students will compare the way Dada artists used found objects compared to Picasso’s use.
Language Arts: Ask your students to write about which process was easier or more successful, and why.
Artist: Picasso
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media
Theme: sculpture
19. Transforming Everyday Objects
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 5: 1913–1936 Dada and Surrealist artists questioned long-held assumptions about what a work of art should be about and how it should be made. They boldly selected everyday, manufactured objects at times combining them with other items and called them “art.” Students will be introduced to Readymades and photograms.
Activities: Make a photogram.
Language Arts: Ask student to research a work of art that has recently been criticized. Write a 1-page summary of how and why the work challenged/upset critics.
Artists: Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Meret Oppenheim
Grade: middle/high
Medium: photography
Theme: dada/surrealism, readymades, photography
Artists: Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Meret Oppenheim
Grade: middle/high
Medium: photography
Theme: dada/surrealism, readymades, photography
20. Ideal Objects
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 4: 1914–1928 Artists Gustav Klucis and Gerrit Rietveld were interested in applying modernist ideas and principles to everyday design. Students will make connections between two design objects intended for different purposes and the ways artists can affect social/political behavior through design.
Activities: 1. Students will create propaganda campaign for school for general publicity, or school cleanliness, or participation in extracurricular activities using text and artistic techniques like collage and photomontage. 2. Students will design a prototype for a piece of furniture intended for 5-7 year-olds. Elements of design must come from basic shapes. Students will begin with sketch of design.
Language Arts: Sketches will be accompanied by a paragraph explaining function of the design. History Students will research Stalin’s Five Year Plan and the use of propaganda today. Information available on Red Studio website.
Artists: Gerrit Rietveld, Gustav Klutsis
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, collage
Theme: sculpture, design, social
21. Rise of the Modern City
From the guide Rise of the Modern City: Tall Buildings in MoMA's collection At the turn of the century, technology and mechanical engineering advanced at a rapid pace. Society quickly moved away from handmade objects and toward machine-based production and this changed the way everything was built, including buildings. Students will explore the development of urban environments, compare/contrast graphics and drawings and learn terms utopian and conceptual.
Activity: Lead students on walking tour of neighborhood, include perspectives from worm’s eye to bird’s eye. They will record experiences in journals including sounds, sights, buildings, interviews with people in the community and document with drawings and photography. They will create a 2-d presentation based on work in the form of maps, writings, collages, drawings. Includes “further consideration” for group project.
Language Arts: Students will include written documentation in journals
Artists: Hugh Ferriss, Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, E. McKnight Kauffer
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, collage, drawing
Theme: design, social, architecture
22. Simple Machines
From the guide Made for Living: Objects of Design in MoMA's Collection The 1934 exhibition of design objects Machine Art surprised Museum audiences by including a three-story display of machine-made objects such as springs, laboratory appliances, tools, and furniture. The objects were placed on pedestals, just like sculptures. This lesson introduces students to design objects in MoMA's collection that are also simple machines, and looks at how these innovative machine-made objects make people's lives easier. Students will be introduced to the “machine age” and MoMA’s design collection.
Activities: 1. Geometric beauty: Students will draw as many basic shapes as they can, then combine them to create a composition. 2. Ask student to think of a problem they encounter and to design a tool to counter it. They will name the tool, create a sketch, list materials and write instructions for how to use it. Students could also used mixed media components to create a 3-D representation of their tool.
Language Arts: Students will be creating detailed written components for their tool designs.
Artists: Wingquist, American Steel and Wire Co., The Stanley Works, Aluminum Co. of America, Carl Elsener
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, drawing
Theme: design, social
23. Designing for the Future
From the guide Rise of the Modern City: Tall Buildings in MoMA's collection In the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, there was a shift in thinking about architecture. Some people believed that as structures grew taller and taller, they got more out of touch with the life of the city below. The terrorist attacks of September 11 had a tremendous impact on our relationship to tall buildings. The focus on form, function, and beauty has been tempered by the need for safety. Students will learn about sustainability, safety, use, green technologies, and how build environment interacts with natural environment. Activity/Cross-curriculum (Language Arts, Technology): Students will become critics and write an article about one of the featured buildings, including comments on design, style, material, features, etc.
Artists: Ken Yeang, Rem Koohlaas and Ole Scheeren, United Architects
Grade: middle/high
Theme: social, environment, design, architecture
24. Pedro Figari
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art This lesson explores the theme of environment in Figari’s Creole Dance, c. 1925. Discuss the artist use of color, detail, line, scale and movement.
From the guide Modern Art and Ideas 4: 1914–1928 Artists Gustav Klucis and Gerrit Rietveld were interested in applying modernist ideas and principles to everyday design. Students will make connections between two design objects intended for different purposes and the ways artists can affect social/political behavior through design.
Activities: 1. Students will create propaganda campaign for school for general publicity, or school cleanliness, or participation in extracurricular activities using text and artistic techniques like collage and photomontage. 2. Students will design a prototype for a piece of furniture intended for 5-7 year-olds. Elements of design must come from basic shapes. Students will begin with sketch of design.
Language Arts: Sketches will be accompanied by a paragraph explaining function of the design. History Students will research Stalin’s Five Year Plan and the use of propaganda today. Information available on Red Studio website.
Artists: Gerrit Rietveld, Gustav Klutsis
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, collage
Theme: sculpture, design, social
21. Rise of the Modern City
From the guide Rise of the Modern City: Tall Buildings in MoMA's collection At the turn of the century, technology and mechanical engineering advanced at a rapid pace. Society quickly moved away from handmade objects and toward machine-based production and this changed the way everything was built, including buildings. Students will explore the development of urban environments, compare/contrast graphics and drawings and learn terms utopian and conceptual.
Activity: Lead students on walking tour of neighborhood, include perspectives from worm’s eye to bird’s eye. They will record experiences in journals including sounds, sights, buildings, interviews with people in the community and document with drawings and photography. They will create a 2-d presentation based on work in the form of maps, writings, collages, drawings. Includes “further consideration” for group project.
Language Arts: Students will include written documentation in journals
Artists: Hugh Ferriss, Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, E. McKnight Kauffer
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, collage, drawing
Theme: design, social, architecture
22. Simple Machines
From the guide Made for Living: Objects of Design in MoMA's Collection The 1934 exhibition of design objects Machine Art surprised Museum audiences by including a three-story display of machine-made objects such as springs, laboratory appliances, tools, and furniture. The objects were placed on pedestals, just like sculptures. This lesson introduces students to design objects in MoMA's collection that are also simple machines, and looks at how these innovative machine-made objects make people's lives easier. Students will be introduced to the “machine age” and MoMA’s design collection.
Activities: 1. Geometric beauty: Students will draw as many basic shapes as they can, then combine them to create a composition. 2. Ask student to think of a problem they encounter and to design a tool to counter it. They will name the tool, create a sketch, list materials and write instructions for how to use it. Students could also used mixed media components to create a 3-D representation of their tool.
Language Arts: Students will be creating detailed written components for their tool designs.
Artists: Wingquist, American Steel and Wire Co., The Stanley Works, Aluminum Co. of America, Carl Elsener
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, drawing
Theme: design, social
23. Designing for the Future
From the guide Rise of the Modern City: Tall Buildings in MoMA's collection In the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, there was a shift in thinking about architecture. Some people believed that as structures grew taller and taller, they got more out of touch with the life of the city below. The terrorist attacks of September 11 had a tremendous impact on our relationship to tall buildings. The focus on form, function, and beauty has been tempered by the need for safety. Students will learn about sustainability, safety, use, green technologies, and how build environment interacts with natural environment. Activity/Cross-curriculum (Language Arts, Technology): Students will become critics and write an article about one of the featured buildings, including comments on design, style, material, features, etc.
Artists: Ken Yeang, Rem Koohlaas and Ole Scheeren, United Architects
Grade: middle/high
Theme: social, environment, design, architecture
24. Pedro Figari
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art This lesson explores the theme of environment in Figari’s Creole Dance, c. 1925. Discuss the artist use of color, detail, line, scale and movement.
Activity/cross-curriculum (Language Arts): Ask students to write about significant memories of a place, their daily environment, special childhood memories. Students who have emigrated from other countries might choose to focus on images of their homeland. They could create visuals as well by drawing, painting their memories.
Artist: Pedro Figari
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, paint
Theme: social, environment, elements
Artist: Pedro Figari
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, paint
Theme: social, environment, elements
25. Antonio Berni
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art This lesson focuses on Berni’s representation of people in his work New Chicago Athletic Club, 1937. In the early 1930s, the Argentine artist Antonio Berni banded together with other young artists to start the Nuevo realismo, or “New Realism,” movement, dedicated to highlighting the social injustice, class struggle, and political division that he experienced in his native Argentina. Activity/cross-curriculum (Language Arts, History): Students will use what they have learned to write a short story, imagining they are one of the people in the painting.
Artist: Antonio Berni
Grade: middle/high
Theme: social, political
From the guide Latin American and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art This lesson focuses on the theme of expression through Gonzalez-Torres’s “Untitled” (Perfect Lovers), 1991. Students will discuss how the work reflects its title, the use of found objects and how the artist’s history affects their ideas about the work.
Activity: Gonzalez-Torres imbued two ordinary store-bought clocks and the color light blue with a deeply personal meaning. Ask your students to create a sculpture using objects they have specifically chosen for this purpose, stressing that they should pay careful attention to their selection.
Language Arts: At the end of the exercise, ask your students to write about their artworks and share their impressions with their classmates.
Artist: Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, sculpture
Theme: found object, sculpture, identity
Artist: Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Grade: middle/high
Medium: mixed media, sculpture
Theme: found object, sculpture, identity
27. The Red and Blue House
From the guide Creative Living: Residential Architecture in MoMA's Collection This lesson explores Schröder House in Utrecht, The Netherlands designed by Gerrit Rietveld with a focus on its setting and the Red and Blue Chair. Students will explore the modern home’s shapes and colors and compare it nearby houses.
Activities/cross-curriculum (language arts): 1. The rooms in the home were proportionate in size to how much time would be spent in them. Make a list of all the rooms in your home, compare the size of the room to how much time you spend in there. 2. Write a short essay in response to included critic’s statement. 3. Create your own story considering statements made by the family living in the house.
Artist: Gerrit Rietveld
Grade: middle/high
Theme: design, architecture
Artist: Gerrit Rietveld
Grade: middle/high
Theme: design, architecture
National Gallery of Art
1. “Who Am I?: Self-Portraits in Art and Writing
Online Interactive Unit
Who am I? is a set of art and writing activities designed to help students begin to answer this important question. Students will look carefully at self-portraits in the National Gallery of Art's collection by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Judith Leyster, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Andy Warhol. Teachers will have access to multiple lessons and activities that combines art and English-Language Arts in unique and interesting ways.
Includes Student Activities (10)/ Teacher Lesson Plans (5)/ Printable Worksheets (5) / Glossary / Artist Biographies
Grade: Middle (can be adapted for other levels)
Activities: Painting, Digital Photography
Theme: Self-portrait
Artists: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Judith Leyster, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Andy Warhol
2. Art & Nineteenth Century America
Online Interactive Unit
In the United States, the nineteenth century was a time of tremendous growth and change. In this lesson, works of art are paired with written documents, including literary selections, a letter, and a speech. As budding historians, students can use these primary sources to reconstruct the influence of technology, geography, economics, and politics on daily life. This program is also available as a printed booklet with color reproductions. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Includes Student Activities: Interactive art inquiry, map skills, vocabulary, creating a timeline, a century of advances
Includes: Discussion/Printable worksheets/Related resources/Glossary
Grades: 5–6 (can be adapted for other levels)
Theme: American History
Other subjects: History
3. Art & Greco-Roman Origin Myths
Online Interactive Unit
Mythology is a powerful vehicle for teaching students about symbols and the ways people have sought to explain their relationships to nature and to each other. Teachers can use this lesson to introduce or examine the role of myths in explaining human customs, mysteries about nature, or the reasons why things exist in the world. This program is also available as a printed booklet with color reproductions. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: map skills, art inquiry, interactive matching symbols with mythological figures, myths from other cultures
Includes Art Discussion/ Student Activities/Printable Worksheets/ Related resources/ Glossary
Grades: 5–6 (can be adapted for other levels)
Theme: Mythology
Other subjects: History
Online: Interactive
4. Art & Heroes & Heroines
Online Interactive Unit
Teachers can use this lesson to introduce or examine in depth the concept of heroism through discussions of heroic actions and character. Students will look at images of military, religious, political, and everyday heroes and heroines and discuss their lives and the effects of their deeds. This program is also available as a printed booklet with color reproductions. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
8. Edo: Art in Japan-1615-1868
Printable Teaching Unit
Teaching program on the fine arts and cultural history of Japan from 1615 to 1868. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
1. “Who Am I?: Self-Portraits in Art and Writing
Online Interactive Unit
Who am I? is a set of art and writing activities designed to help students begin to answer this important question. Students will look carefully at self-portraits in the National Gallery of Art's collection by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Judith Leyster, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Andy Warhol. Teachers will have access to multiple lessons and activities that combines art and English-Language Arts in unique and interesting ways.
Includes Student Activities (10)/ Teacher Lesson Plans (5)/ Printable Worksheets (5) / Glossary / Artist Biographies
Grade: Middle (can be adapted for other levels)
Activities: Painting, Digital Photography
Theme: Self-portrait
Artists: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Judith Leyster, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Andy Warhol
2. Art & Nineteenth Century America
Online Interactive Unit
In the United States, the nineteenth century was a time of tremendous growth and change. In this lesson, works of art are paired with written documents, including literary selections, a letter, and a speech. As budding historians, students can use these primary sources to reconstruct the influence of technology, geography, economics, and politics on daily life. This program is also available as a printed booklet with color reproductions. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Includes Student Activities: Interactive art inquiry, map skills, vocabulary, creating a timeline, a century of advances
Includes: Discussion/Printable worksheets/Related resources/Glossary
Grades: 5–6 (can be adapted for other levels)
Theme: American History
Other subjects: History
3. Art & Greco-Roman Origin Myths
Online Interactive Unit
Mythology is a powerful vehicle for teaching students about symbols and the ways people have sought to explain their relationships to nature and to each other. Teachers can use this lesson to introduce or examine the role of myths in explaining human customs, mysteries about nature, or the reasons why things exist in the world. This program is also available as a printed booklet with color reproductions. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: map skills, art inquiry, interactive matching symbols with mythological figures, myths from other cultures
Includes Art Discussion/ Student Activities/Printable Worksheets/ Related resources/ Glossary
Grades: 5–6 (can be adapted for other levels)
Theme: Mythology
Other subjects: History
Online: Interactive
4. Art & Heroes & Heroines
Online Interactive Unit
Teachers can use this lesson to introduce or examine in depth the concept of heroism through discussions of heroic actions and character. Students will look at images of military, religious, political, and everyday heroes and heroines and discuss their lives and the effects of their deeds. This program is also available as a printed booklet with color reproductions. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: interactive art inquiry, map skills, online medal maker, developing a definition of Hero and Heroine, word meanings, journal entry of my favorite hero
Includes Art Discussions/Student Activities/ Printable Worksheets/Related Resources/Glossary
Grades: 5–6 (can be adapted for other levels)
Theme: World History and Art
Other subjects: Social Studies, History
Online: Interactive
5. The Art of Romare Bearden: A Resource for Teachers
Online Interactive Unit
The visual narratives and abstractions of this preeminent African-American artist explore the places where he lived and worked: the rural South, Pittsburgh, New York's Harlem, and the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. Bearden's central themes–religion, jazz and blues, history, literature, and the authenticities of black life endured throughout his remarkable career. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides, 6 color study prints, 5 overhead transparencies, and a music CD. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: Write a poem inspired by collage, Make a collage, Organize an exhibition, “What’s your cause?”, Study art like Bearden, Compare poetry and music, Match Bearden’s work with artistic models
Includes Art Discussions/Student Activities/ Printable Worksheets/Related Resources/Glossary
Grades: 5–6 (can be adapted for other levels)
Theme: World History and Art
Other subjects: Social Studies, History
Online: Interactive
Online Interactive Unit
The visual narratives and abstractions of this preeminent African-American artist explore the places where he lived and worked: the rural South, Pittsburgh, New York's Harlem, and the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. Bearden's central themes–religion, jazz and blues, history, literature, and the authenticities of black life endured throughout his remarkable career. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides, 6 color study prints, 5 overhead transparencies, and a music CD. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: Write a poem inspired by collage, Make a collage, Organize an exhibition, “What’s your cause?”, Study art like Bearden, Compare poetry and music, Match Bearden’s work with artistic models
Includes printable (PDF) version and teaching activities, including online interactive activities
Grade: middle/high
Medium: collage
Artist: Romare Bearden
Other subjects: Social Studies/History, Music
Online: Interactive
6. Chinese Archaeology
Online Teaching Unit
Grade: middle/high
Medium: collage
Artist: Romare Bearden
Other subjects: Social Studies/History, Music
Online: Interactive
6. Chinese Archaeology
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on Chinese artifacts from 6000 B.C. to 924 A.D. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs
Includes Teaching Activities (23)/ Chronology/ Glossary/ Audio Pronunciation Guide
Grade: any
Theme: World Culture-Chinese Archaeology
Other Subjects: History/Social Studies
Includes Teaching Activities (23)/ Chronology/ Glossary/ Audio Pronunciation Guide
Grade: any
Theme: World Culture-Chinese Archaeology
Other Subjects: History/Social Studies
7. Art Nouveau
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on turn of the 20th-century art movement; decorative arts. Activities include several discussion prompts and images. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on turn of the 20th-century art movement; decorative arts. Activities include several discussion prompts and images. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge
from NGA Loan Programs.
Includes History/ Sources and Inspiration/ Glossary/ Teaching Activities
Grade: any
Style: Art Nouveau
Other subjects: History
Includes History/ Sources and Inspiration/ Glossary/ Teaching Activities
Grade: any
Style: Art Nouveau
Other subjects: History
8. Edo: Art in Japan-1615-1868
Printable Teaching Unit
Teaching program on the fine arts and cultural history of Japan from 1615 to 1868. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: Art- Traditional robe designs, Math/art- Folding screens, Art/social studies- discovering professions in Edo society/period, Language Arts- exploring Japanese vocabulary, Language Arts- Japanese poetic form/haiku, Language Arts- exploring the meaning of souvenirs, Art- creating motifs/changing their format, Art/Drama- Creating masks out of paper mache, Social Studies- comparing Edo culture to 18th century America and envisioning how historians will describe American style in 2150. Students will create magazine, commercial, web site, or music video presenting key characteristics of American style.
Includes Edo Style/Samurai/Work/Religion/Travel/ Entertainment/Glossary/ Chronology/Activities
Grade: any
Medium: drawing, mixed media, design, painting
Theme: World Culture-Japanese Culture
Other subjects: History, Social Studies, Math, Drama
9. Van Gogh
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on the work of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh.
This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs
Activities include: Geography, Drawing Exercise, Comparing landscapes with word list/write a poem based on list, Environment, Verbal and Visual Matching, Color Impact, Art and Letter Writing, Self-Portrait, The Bedroom, Debate, Art History Project
Includes Commentary/ Activities/ Study Sources/ Pronunciation Guide
Grade: middle/high
Activities: drawing, self-portrait, multimedia
Style: Impressionism
Artist: Van Gogh
Includes Edo Style/Samurai/Work/Religion/Travel/ Entertainment/Glossary/ Chronology/Activities
Grade: any
Medium: drawing, mixed media, design, painting
Theme: World Culture-Japanese Culture
Other subjects: History, Social Studies, Math, Drama
9. Van Gogh
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on the work of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh.
This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs
Activities include: Geography, Drawing Exercise, Comparing landscapes with word list/write a poem based on list, Environment, Verbal and Visual Matching, Color Impact, Art and Letter Writing, Self-Portrait, The Bedroom, Debate, Art History Project
Includes Commentary/ Activities/ Study Sources/ Pronunciation Guide
Grade: middle/high
Activities: drawing, self-portrait, multimedia
Style: Impressionism
Artist: Van Gogh
Online: Interactive
10. Degas at the Races
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on genre scenes and movement studies of French impressionist painter Edgar Degas. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: Construct a viewfinder and experiment with drawing various scenes, drawing a picture with a single line, “flip book” with sequential images, horse “portraits,” groups research advertisements, design advertisement using a horse, write a news article covering Scene from the Steeplechase (who, what, why, where, and how), choose your own emblematic moment to write and then draw/paint/sculpt.
Includes Introduction/ Paintings and Drawings/ Sculpture/ Teaching Activities/ Biography/ Bibliography/ Vocabulary
10. Degas at the Races
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on genre scenes and movement studies of French impressionist painter Edgar Degas. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include: Construct a viewfinder and experiment with drawing various scenes, drawing a picture with a single line, “flip book” with sequential images, horse “portraits,” groups research advertisements, design advertisement using a horse, write a news article covering Scene from the Steeplechase (who, what, why, where, and how), choose your own emblematic moment to write and then draw/paint/sculpt.
Includes Introduction/ Paintings and Drawings/ Sculpture/ Teaching Activities/ Biography/ Bibliography/ Vocabulary
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, painting, sculpture
Style: Impressionism
Artist: Degas
11. Picasso
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on the early works of modern Spanish painter Pablo Picasso; The Blue Period. Activities include: Discussion, Create Dialogue for characters, Pose students in painting positions to question composition, Make a painting using shades on one color with appropriate subject, Series of drawings based on memory, observation and expression, Students will write a short poem/essay on verbal equivalents to color and form, Study relationship in Tragedy and Family Saltimbanques and create composition communicating relationships.
Medium: drawing, painting, sculpture
Style: Impressionism
Artist: Degas
11. Picasso
Online Teaching Unit
Teaching program on the early works of modern Spanish painter Pablo Picasso; The Blue Period. Activities include: Discussion, Create Dialogue for characters, Pose students in painting positions to question composition, Make a painting using shades on one color with appropriate subject, Series of drawings based on memory, observation and expression, Students will write a short poem/essay on verbal equivalents to color and form, Study relationship in Tragedy and Family Saltimbanques and create composition communicating relationships.
Includes Background Information/Discussion Questions/ Suggested Activities/ Images
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, paintings
Theme: World Culture-Japanese Culture
12. Shaw Memorial: Feature
Online Art Information
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing, paintings
Theme: World Culture-Japanese Culture
12. Shaw Memorial: Feature
Online Art Information
In-depth study of the Memorial to the Massachusetts 54th Regiment (an African-American Civil War troop). Activities includes: 2 lesson plans for grades 3-8 (Personal Memories, Public Memories), 3 lesson plans for 9-12 (An Inspirational Monument, Saint Gaudens, the Shaw Memorial, Art Historians, and the Critics, and A Primary Source Document Activity.)
Includes Introduction/Artist/History/Memorial/ Exhibition/Resources
Grade: elementary/middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: Social, American History
Other subjects: History
13. The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt
Online Art Information
Includes Introduction/Artist/History/Memorial/ Exhibition/Resources
Grade: elementary/middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: Social, American History
Other subjects: History
13. The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature. Includes information, streaming slideshows, videos, and virtual tour on Egyptian artifacts and their role in the afterlife. Activities includes: Family guide, Map of Ancient Egypt, Loan programs.
Includes Virtual Tour/Streaming Slideshows/Selected Objects/Streaming Video/ Resources
Includes Virtual Tour/Streaming Slideshows/Selected Objects/Streaming Video/ Resources
Grade: any
Theme: World History/Culture-Ancient Egypt
Other subjects: History
Online: Interactive
14. Jackson Pollock
Online Art Information
In-depth study of the American abstract-expressionist Jackson Pollock.
Includes Information about the artist and painting/In-depth look at his process
Grade: any
Theme: Abstract Expressionism
Artist: Jackson Pollock
15. Mark Rothko
Online Art Information
In-depth study of the career of Mark Rothko, including a discussion of mid-20th century abstract expressionism.
Includes Introduction/Early Years/Myths & Symbols/Toward Abstraction/The Classic Paintings/Late Works
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Abstract Expressionism
Artist: Mark Rothko
Theme: World History/Culture-Ancient Egypt
Other subjects: History
Online: Interactive
14. Jackson Pollock
Online Art Information
In-depth study of the American abstract-expressionist Jackson Pollock.
Includes Information about the artist and painting/In-depth look at his process
Grade: any
Theme: Abstract Expressionism
Artist: Jackson Pollock
15. Mark Rothko
Online Art Information
In-depth study of the career of Mark Rothko, including a discussion of mid-20th century abstract expressionism.
Includes Introduction/Early Years/Myths & Symbols/Toward Abstraction/The Classic Paintings/Late Works
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Abstract Expressionism
Artist: Mark Rothko
