Browse lesson plans

Haiku and photography: A natural connection

This lesson will allow students to combine photographing nature with creating a Haiku poem to express what they see in the photograph.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)

By Steven Sather.

Observing connections: Art, poetry and the environment (Lesson 1)

Students will explore the poem of Pat Lowery Collins, “I Am An Artist” and create their own poem from what they see and experience. They will then illustrate their poems with a visual design. This is the first lesson in a series of three in which students are creating art based on their observations: Observing Connections —Art, Poetry, and the Environment (Lesson 1); Observing Connections—Changing Landscapes (Lesson 2); Observing Connections—North Carolina Pottery and Face Jugs (Lesson 3)

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)

By Lisa Mitchell.

A renaissance of jazz and poetry

The Harlem Renaissance was the birth of a creative plethora in all fields of art for African Americans. The poetry and jazz composed during or inspired by this era naturally complemented each other. Furthermore, many of the themes from the musical and literary worlds are universal and provide a great lesson on how two different works can have a parallel theme.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–10 English Language Arts and Music Education)

By Janet Fore.

Resources on the web

Behind the masks: Exploring culture and self through art and poetry

This ReadWriteThink unit engages high school students in a study of the relationship between masks and cultures. Students research mask making from various cultures, draw sketches of the masks, and take notes that highlight the connections between the masks... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Visual Arts Education, Computer/Technology Skills, English Language Arts, and Information Skills)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Civil War music

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students use popular Civil War songs to identify rallying songs, recruiting songs, popular entertainment songs, campfire songs, sentimental songs, or patriotic songs. Students will: compare and contrast lyrics... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts, Music Education, and Social Studies)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

I've got the literacy blues

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students read “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry and explore the story's themes using blues music, creative writing, and media study. Students research the history of the blues and create a graphic organizer... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Music Education)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Knowitall.org

Learn and have fun at the same time when you visit this website that is full of wonderful activities for students of all ages! (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: ETV Creative Services

Peace poems and Picasso doves: Literature, art, technology, and poetry

Students learn think-aloud strategies in this lesson that challenges them to think about peace in their communities. After the teacher reads Somewhere Today: A Book of Peace, Peace Begins with You,... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Pictures in words: Poems of Tennyson and Noyes

In this lesson from EDSITEment, students will explore how poets Tennyson and Noyes use words to paint vivid and memorable pictures and describe how “word pictures” emphasize or qualify the meanings of their poems. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Set a poem to music

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students choose a favorite poem, set it to a rhythmic meter, and assign an original melody to the rhythm. Students will: apply prior knowledge of note values and assign meter to each syllable of their poem and... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–8 English Language Arts and Music Education)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Trees in art and nature

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students use the art of Vincent van Gogh as a point of reference to learn about trees by comparing those in Van Gogh's paintings to those in nature. After learning about the botany of trees, students create leaf rubbings as a culminating... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Visual Arts Education and Science)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

The world of Haiku

In this lesson, students explore the traditions and conventions of haiku, comparing this classic form of Japanese poetry to a related genre of Japanese visual art and composing haiku of their own. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Visual Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment