1. Lesson: Chinese Instruments
Explore the similarities and differences between traditional western instruments and Chinese instruments while creating a Chinese instrument.
Grade: K-4
Arts Subject: Music, Visual Arts
Other Subjects: Geography, Informal Education
2. Lesson: Cinderella Trilogy
Compare and contrast three variations of the Cinderella folktale: “Rhodopis,” the Egyptian version; “Yeh-Shen,” the Chinese version; and “The Hidden One,” the Native American version.
Grade: K-4
Arts Subjects: Visual Arts
Other Subject: Geography, Language Arts
3. Lesson: America, A Home for Every Culture
Students will discuss and explore the cultures that have contributed to making the United States the unique and diverse country it is today.
Grade: K-4
Arts Subject: Music, Visual Arts
Other Subject: Geography, History
4. Lesson: Harriet Tubman: An Informative and Impressionistic Look
Students take a hands-on approach to examining the life of Harriet Tubman through a comparison of informative resources and impressionistic art.
Grade: K-4
Arts Subject: Visual Arts
Other Subject: Geography, Language Arts, History
5. Lesson: Harriet Tubman: Illustrating History
Using collage, students create a scene from the life of Harriet Tubman.
Grade: K-4
Arts Subject: Visual Arts
Other Subject: Geography
6. Lesson: Making Rain
In this lesson, students experience rain through several activities, experiments, reading, and performing.
Grade: K-4
Arts Subject: Music, Visual Arts
Other Subject: Science, Geography
National Gallery of Art:
1. Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples
Exhibition Resources for Teachers and Students
Teacher and student resources related to the Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples exhibition (October 19, 2008–March 22, 2009). Includes an introduction to the exhibition, printable Discovery Guides for students, a guide for Latin classes, and related resources. Discovery Guides help students locate key works and themes; one is designed for ages 7-14 and the other is designed for high school students.
Includes Introduction/Exhibition Discovery Guides/A Guide for Latin Classes/Selected Images/Related Resources
Grade: elementary/middle/high
Theme: World Culture- Pompeii and Roman
Other subjects: Language Arts
Printable Learning Resource (PDF)
Picturing France, 1830–1900 is a learning resource intended primarily for middle and upper grade levels. It takes a multifaceted look at art and culture, exploring most of the nineteenth century's major stylistic trends (from realism to post-impressionism) and artists (including Rousseau, Corot, Manet, Degas, Cassatt, Morisot, Monet, Renoir, Seurat, Gauguin, Cézanne, and Van Gogh).
This program is also available as a printed booklet with 40 slides, an image CD with more than 75 works of art, 20 color study prints, a wall map, and a separate classroom guide, with activities and student handouts. Borrow free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Includes Introduction/Paris and the Painters of Modern Life/Encounters with Nature in the Forest of Fountainebleau/Life and Leisure in Auvergne and Franche-Comte/Painters and Tourists in Normandy/Seeking the “Primitive” in Brittany/Effects of the Sun in Provence/Glossary/ Notes/Bibliography/Images
Grade: middle/high
Medium: Drawing
Theme: World Culture-France, Impressionism, Realism
Other subjects: Language Arts, History
Printable Learning Resource (PDF):
Focuses on 20 examples of calligraphy, manuscript illumination, the decorative arts, and architecture to address four general areas: arts for the mosque, Islamic science and learning, arts for the court, and exchange between East and West. This program is also available as a printed booklet with 20 slides, 4 color study prints, and an image CD. It may be borrowed free-of-charge from NGA Loan Programs.
Activities include Math-shapes and patterns-geometric forms, Social Studies-Investigation, Language Arts-creative writing.
Grade: middle/high
Medium: drawing
Theme: World Culture-Islamic culture
Other subjects: Math, History/Social Studies, Language Arts
Printable Children’s Guide (PDF)
A printable, children’s guide about courtly art of the ancient Maya.
Includes Images/Map/History of the Maya and their Gods/Archeological Finds/Activities
Grade: elementary/middle
Theme: World Culture- Ancient Maya
Other subjects: History/Social Studies
Printable Children’s Guide (PDF)
A printable, kid-friendly introduction to Italian painter Canaletto, known for his views of Venice, Italy.
Grade: elementary/middle
Theme: World Culture- Canaletto’s Venice
Other subjects: History
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature (2009). The Royal Armory in Madrid, assembled at a time when the Spanish Crown was at the height of its international power, is the oldest and one of the finest and largest armories in the world. Armor drawn from the the Spanish Royal Armory is shown alongside portraits of rulers dressed in the same armor, painted by such masters as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Diego Velázquez. Feature also includes an interactive diagram of armor and a detailed look at a magnificent tapestry from the royal collection.
Includes Royal Armor and Portraits/Armor Diagram/Fame Tapestry/Exhibition Information
Grade: middle/high
Theme: World Culture- Imperial Spain
Other subjects: History
Online Art Information:
Exhibition feature (2007). The story of photography’s phenomenal success in Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Austria during the time of tremendous social and political upheaval.
Includes Preview/Films/Concerts/Publications/Lectures and Symposium
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Photography, Social, Political
Other subjects: History
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature (2007). The feature takes us back to a time when European artists depicted real and imagined places and distributed their marvelous images to an intensely curious audience in the only way possible – through prints on paper. Interactive descriptions.
Includes Introduction/Biblical, Allegorical and Fantasy Travel/Travel to Rome, Constantinople, and the Holy Land/Further Marvels of the East and West
Grade: middle/high
Theme: World Culture, Mythology
Other subjects: History
Online: Interactive
9. Dada
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature (2006). Explores the robust variety of Dada art that emerged between 1916 and 1924 in the movement's primary centers: Zurich, Berlin, Hannover, Cologne, New York, and Paris. Includes artist bios, sound poems, and zoom option for close study.
Includes Cities/Art/Biographies/Techniques/Slogans
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Dada, Social
Artist: Duchamp, Max Ernst
Other subjects: History
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature (2006). A key figure in the impressionist and post impressionist movements, Cézanne is often seen as the father of modern art. This feature focuses on the works painted in and around his native Aix-en-Provence, celebrating the landscape and the rich associations it had for him. Includes audio, maps, and zoom option for close study.
Includes Introduction/Motifs/Chronology/Maps/Image list/Glossary/Exhibition information
Grade: middle/high
Theme: Impressionism
Artist: Cezanne
Online: Interactive
Online Art Information
Exhibition feature from the Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya exhibition (2004). Includes images from the exhibition, text, audio clips, and interactive activities on Maya hieroglyphs and numbering.
Includes Life at the Maya Court/The Divine Court/Women at Court/Word and Image/Court at War/Palenque/Exhibition Information
Grade: middle/high
Theme: World Culture-Ancient Maya
Other Subject: History
