Art and Information Literacy


Lessons Incorporating Information Literacy and Art

 

Standards: Analysis and Interpretation - Media Arts and Visual Arts

 

Lesson: KINDERGARTEN MUSIC WITH A CORE KNOWLEDGE TWIST (grades K-2)

Overview: Multiple lessons on this PDF deal with basic concepts - long and short sounds, fast and slow tempo, musical phrases, etc.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy

 

Lesson: LINE UP! SHAPE UP! COLOR THE WORLD! (grades K-2)

Overview: Multiple lessons are included on this PDF, from lessons introducing students to color, lines, shapes, and form, to lessons about what an artist does, to lessons having students implement some art techniques.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy, Responsible Use

 

Lesson: CAVE PAINTINGS (grades K-3)

Overview: This lesson has students analyze cave painting drawings to learn more about people of the Stone Age and then has students create their own cave drawings based upon what they now know.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy, Responsible Use

 

Lesson: BEHIND THE FACES (grades K-4)

Overview: Students analyze the work of Marcel DuChamp and answer questions about his artwork and then try to use the same style techniques to create their own face portrait.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy

 

Lesson: IMPRESSIONISM AND CLAUDE MONET (grades 6-9)

Overview: Students learn about Impressionism by studying the works of Claude Monet. The lesson does include a trip to an art museum, but works of Monet could also just be showed to the class. Have the students then create their own idea of an Impressionist painting.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy

 

Lesson: MONA LISA'S SMILE (grades 6-12)

Overview: Visitors to the Lourve Museum in Paris inevitably make their way up the stairs to the gallery where one of the most famous paintings in Western art hangs: the Mona Lisa. People over the centuries have delighted in the woman's coy smile. In this Science Update, you'll hear what the Mona Lisa has been hiding all these years.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy

 

Lesson: WHAT PORTRAITS REVEAL (grades 9-12)

Overview: This lesson is designed to help students recognize that portraits can tell us more about people of the past than just what they looked like. Students consider how portraits can be manipulated to express a specific point of view, examining art that turns the representation of individuals into statements about what they stand for. To conclude the lesson, students gather portraits from their own homes and prepare a report explaining what these items might tell a future historian.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use

 

Lesson: THE ART COLLECTOR (grades 11-12)

Overview: This lesson engages students in research on artists whose work appeals to them. They will select works of art for an imaginary personal collection and will justify the selection of each piece based not only on their personal aesthetics but also on the historical importance of each artist.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy, Responsible Use

 

Standards: Creation and Performance - Media Arts and Visual Arts

 

Lesson: LISTENING STORYBOOK (grades 2-5)

Overview: Play different songs to students and have them draw/color a picture based upon the mood of the song.

Standards: Reading/Media Literacy

 

Lesson: WRITE TO MUSIC (grades 3-5)

Overview: Multiple lessons are on this PDF that will give students a background in how music is written, in multiple different genres, and then later lessons have students writing their own music.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy, Technology Use, Responsible Use

 

Lesson: CASTLE IN THE SKY (grades 4-8)

Overview: Students research what life may be like in the future and then design a picture based upon their research. They use the art of Maxfield Parrish to see how he envisioned a future in his artwork.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy

 

Lesson: DRAWING POLITICAL CARTOONS (grades 9-12)

Overview: The purpose of using political cartoons is to develop both factual knowledge and interpretive skills. Students must have background information before they can analyze a political cartoon or drawing, so it is easiest to teach this skill using a current event. Once students have mastered the analysis of current events, they should be able to approach similar tasks with historical cartoons.

Standards: Research Process, Reading/Media Literacy

 

Lesson: PURSUIT OF MEANING (grades 9-12)

Overview: In this lesson, students develop a proposal for mounting a multi-arts exhibit based on the theme "Pursuit of Meaning." They will also investigate spiritual ideas related to the exhibit theme; categorize concepts, themes, symbols, and motifs; select examples from the arts to illustrate their conclusions and choices; compile and write an exhibit catalog; defend their conclusions and choices.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy

 

Lesson: RHYTHM AND ART: ELEMENTS OF ART (grades 9-12)

Overview: Students will be able to understand how non-verbal language is manipulated to communicate a thought or an emotion. Students will be able to dissect the relationships between elements and principals; specifically line, shape, color, and contrast.

Standards: Research Process, Technology Use, Reading/Media Literacy

 



 

Additional Art and Information Literacy Resources - use these to search for more lesson plans (grades K-12)

 

Thinkfinity

These standards-based resources include lesson plans, student materials, reviewed web resources, and interactives. Use the search box at the right of the page to search, and don't forget to limit to resource type, grade level, and subject.

 

ArtsEdge

Offers hundreds of standards-based teaching materials as well as professional development resources, student materials, guidelines for art-based instruction and assessment, advocacy tools, and interactive, media-rich activities. Use the search bar to search and you can also limit to arts subjects and grade levels.

 

PBS

Choose the age level and then look through all the different classroom materials for many different subject areas: architecture, art history, creative thinking, critical thinking skills, dance, drama, film, media studies, music, photography, storytelling, and visual arts.

 

The Gateway to 21st Century Skills

The best way to find materials is to just use the search bar and search for a topic. Your results will state what type of material it is - collection, lesson plan, activity, etc. - and what grade level it is appropriate for.

 

New York Times Fine Arts Lesson Plans

Use the Search This Blog search box on the right to search through the different lesson plans available. You can also click on the other lesson plans by category to search other categories because many lesson plans are multidisciplinary.