Strategies & Resources

Lesson plans and creativity exercises from the Art21 Educator community

Strategies & Resources

Finding Room in the Classroom for Every Voice

Strategies & Resources

Finding Room in the Classroom for Every Voice

Educator-in-Residence Jeannine Bardo introduces lessons from her third-grade unit on “Home,” in which students’ research is centered on facets of their community: themselves, their family, and their friends.

Strategies & Resources

Who Am I, in Color?

Strategies & Resources

Who Am I, in Color?

Educator-in-Residence Jocelyn Salaz lays out the elements of her unit on color, in which students make their own paints, study color theory, and investigate the implications of skin tone.

Strategies & Resources

Seeing These Streets: Analyzing the Visual Landscapes of Urban Spaces

Strategies & Resources

Seeing These Streets: Analyzing the Visual Landscapes of Urban Spaces

Educator-in-Residence Nick Kozak details his unit on street art, in which students critically examine the anonymous artists creating work in their neighborhoods.

Strategies & Resources

Below the Surface: Creating Hope through Portraiture

Strategies & Resources

Below the Surface: Creating Hope through Portraiture

Educator-in-Residence Joseph Iacona’s students embark on a project of self-discovery, inspiring them to feel hopeful about themselves and their future while protecting their identities.

Strategies & Resources

Seven Strategies for the Studio Art Class

Strategies & Resources

Seven Strategies for the Studio Art Class

Art21 Senior Education Advisor Joe Fusaro offers seven tips for keeping projects and curriculum fresh in studio art classes.

Strategies & Resources

Decay: Ecology of a Nurse Log

Strategies & Resources

Decay: Ecology of a Nurse Log

Educator-in-Residence Tricia Fitzpatrick uses the curiosity of a student to prompt a lesson on sustainable ecosystems.

Strategies & Resources

Investigation: Where Art Meets Science

Strategies & Resources

Investigation: Where Art Meets Science

In an investigation with her 9th grade applied science class, Tricia Fitzpatrick’s students learn what makes Mars red, and create rust artworks through experimentation.

Strategies & Resources

Bad Art

Strategies & Resources

Bad Art

Art21 Educator Jack Watson shares a creativity exercise that asks students to make “bad art” as a way to allow for experimentation and playful collaboration.

Strategies & Resources

Unit Plan: Layering Experience

Strategies & Resources

Unit Plan: Layering Experience

Art21 Educator Jack Watson shares a unit plan that encourages students to find their own methods of exploring shared experiences and spaces.

Strategies & Resources

#ArtSelfies

Strategies & Resources

#ArtSelfies

In this creativity exercise, ART21 Educator Shannah Burton teaches students that an #artselfie is worth more than its number of likes.

Strategies & Resources

Museums: A Critical Exploration

Strategies & Resources

Museums: A Critical Exploration

In this creativity exercise, ART21 Educator Shannah Burton engages students in institutional critique on a trip to the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Mind Map in progress. Photo courtesy of the author.

Strategies & Resources

Mind Maps

Strategies & Resources

Mind Maps

In this creativity exercise, ART21 Educator Shannah Burton engages students in creating artworks that build mental links between ideas.

Strategies & Resources

Dictation Drawings

Strategies & Resources

Dictation Drawings

In this creativity exercise, ART21 Educator Don Ball engages students in connecting with artworks on a fundamental level.

Strategies & Resources

Writing Poems About Art: A Looking Activity

Strategies & Resources

Writing Poems About Art: A Looking Activity

In this creativity exercise, ART21 Educator Don Ball engages students in creating their own connections between words and images.

Strategies & Resources

Systems & Instructions

Strategies & Resources

Systems & Instructions

In this creativity exercise, ART21 Educator Don Ball engages students in creating their own connections between following instructions and the instructions themselves.

Strategies & Resources

Visualizing Verbs

Strategies & Resources

Visualizing Verbs

In this creativity exercise, ART21 Educator Don Ball engages students in creating their own connections between actions and visuals.