TeachersFirst's Artists and Theory
Delve into this collection that shares an eclectic assortment of resources related to artists and theory. Ideal for Youth Art Month (YAM) and throughout the year, learn about various artists through their websites and the information available through many art museums. In addition, learn about many different art theories from Impressionism to Romanticism to Contemporary, and more.
See our complete list of resources related to artists, art history, and paintings.
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Google Arts and Culture - Google
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): art history (89), artists (82), museums (47), virtual field trips (96)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students and allow them time to explore on their own. Encourage students to find and share interesting art and activities with their peers. Use Padlet, reviewed here, as a collaborative tool for students to share items from this site. Ask them to include a link to a favorite portion, then add a comment on why they found it interesting. Include information from Arts & Culture when studying historical events to provide interest and perspective on that period. Have students use a map storytelling tool such as Google My Maps, reviewed here, to add information found on this site and others to tell the story of art around the world throughout history.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Art History Teaching Resources - Art History Teaching Resources (AHTR)
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): 1600s (20), 1700s (36), 1800s (75), 1900s (74), 20th century (62), architecture (65), art history (89), artists (82), china (62), greece (28), medieval (32), photography (118), renaissance (38), romans (36)
In the Classroom
Share this site with art and history teachers to use for cross-curricular lessons and activities to enhance instruction. Use a bookmarking tool like Padlet, reviewed here, to collect and share ideas with students. For example, when teaching about 20th Century history, create a Padlet with a column that includes ideas from the 20th Century Photography collection, add a column with 20th Century fashion, and another column with links to music from the same time period. Use the information from your Padlet collection along with your current lessons to provide students with an overview of the culture of the time along with the historic information. Have students use a timeline creator such as Timeline JS, reviewed here, to provide a chronology of art incorporated with important dates in history. Ask another group of students to create interactive maps using Google My Maps, reviewed here, that include images, links, and videos to tell the story of art and history in different areas of the world.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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ArtsNow - ArtsNow.org
Grades
K to 12tag(s): animals (288), art history (89), civil war (136), geometric shapes (135), maps (207), matter (46), seasons (37), STEM (279), stories and storytelling (50), temperature (34), weather (161)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of these free lesson plans and classroom activities to integrate art into your everyday classroom activities. Consider coordinating lessons with your school's art and music teachers. Expand upon the ideas found on this site to bring other art forms into the lessons. For example, take advantage of poetry resources and interactives found at ReadWriteThink, reviewed here, and have students create diamante, acrostic, and haiku poems relating to your lessons. Enhance student learning further by asking students or groups of students to create webpages sharing their learning activities using a resource like Carrd, reviewed here. This very simple tool allows users to add images and text to create a beautiful website using the provided templates. Be sure to ask students to include a reflective writing piece describing their learning throughout your unit. Take learning to the highest level and ask students to design and create a series of podcasts using Anchor, reviewed here. Ask students to discuss their learning activities, and also hypothesize on different outcomes of experiments when changing elements or activities. For example, if creating a podcast discussing changes in matter, have students share their thoughts on how the room and outdoor temperature affects outcomes. What if they used juice instead of water? Would the change from ice to liquid take the same amount of time?Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Plum Pudding Illustration Agency - Plum Pudding
Grades
K to 12tag(s): artists (82), literature (219)
In the Classroom
Use this site to find and compare the work of different children's book illustrators. When reading books with pictures by these artists, share their different images with your students to compare and contrast the different styles in the books. Ask students to browse through the site to find images that inspire them, then have them create illustrations to accompany their own work using the same style. Use those images when publishing student work using Book Creator, reviewed here. Don't forget to include a short biography of the author with the book!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National Cowboy Museum - Online Unit Studies - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
Grades
3 to 8tag(s): art history (89), artists (82), native americans (95), westward expansion (39)
In the Classroom
Add these teaching units to your current resources for teaching about westward expansion of America, Native Americans, the 1800's, or explorers. Have all students research and discuss other artwork depicting American expansion, ask them to use Padlet, reviewed here, to organize and curate their saved resources. Ask your more tech-savvy students to build a timeline of events based on westward expansion or Native Americans using Timeline Inforgraphic Templates, reviewed here, or choose from other timeline creation tools located here. Include images, web links, and videos to create interactive timelines. Use the "Wandering Western Chest" links as a starter to creating your own Western Chest. Include books, artifacts, drawings, and more and share as an introduction to your western unit.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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MetKids - The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): africa (142), art history (89), artists (82), asia (72), china (62), europe (77), inventors and inventions (77), japan (56), middle east (43), myths and legends (24), russia (35)
In the Classroom
This site is perfect for use on classroom computers or for a blended class for students to explore on their own. Streghthen student learning by asking them to find information for a specific period of time or country and label what they find important using Webnote, reviewed here; tell students to be sure to save the URL to share their notes and questions with you and their peers. Next, transform classroom technology and extend learning by showing students how to embed media into an interactive time line using Sutori, reviewed here. With Sutori you can include images, text, and collaboration, or Preceden, reviewed here, for creating multi-layer timelines for over lapping events.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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What Jane Saw - The University of Texas at Austin/Janine Barchas
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): art history (89), artists (82), authors (105), great britain (16), shakespeare (95)
In the Classroom
Use this site to compare and contrast the exhibits from different times - in 1796 as a Shakespeare exhibit, and in 1813 as a display to promote local artists. Consider opening this site in two different browser tabs making it easier to go back and forth to see differences in displays and artwork. Have students explore on their own to gain an understanding of art in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Include this site when reading works by Jane Austen to consider the influence of art and Shakespeare on her writings. Have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Poster My Wall, reviewed here, or Lucidpress, reviewed here, to compare artwork from the different displays.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Smithsonian Learning Lab - The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): animals (288), architecture (65), art history (89), aviation (38), black history (130), civil war (136), dinosaurs (41), explorers (66), images (260), inventors and inventions (77), Learning Management Systems (20), oceans (149), scientists (63), shakespeare (95), Teacher Utilities (159), volcanoes (56)
In the Classroom
The Smithsonian Learning Lab is a must-add to your list of classroom bookmarks! Search for collections and information throughout the year on all topics. Add a link to classroom computers for the entire site or specific collections. Be sure to take advantage of the many features of this site to create customized collections, then have students add additional resources. Have students create quizzes for review of topics. Enhance student learning by challenging them to create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.Comments
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Introducing Formal Analysis: Still Life - Getty Museum
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): artists (82), colors (63), geometric shapes (135)
In the Classroom
Share this video using a projector or interactive whiteboard for a quick lesson on comparing and contrasting artwork. Use the information included to create your own class discussions comparing artwork, literature, or any two items. Print out the student handout with elements of art descriptions for students to keep in their art journals or notebooks. Be sure to share this site with your school's art teacher.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Philadelphia Museum of Art Teacher Resources - Philadelphia Museum of Art
Grades
K to 12tag(s): art history (89), artists (82)
In the Classroom
Bookmark and save this site as a resource for art projects throughout the year, especially if budget cuts have taken away your art teacher! Use this site as a way to get students interested in art and its relationship with other subject areas and its relevance in our life.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Da Vinci - The Genius - The Museum of Science
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): artists (82), inventors and inventions (77), italy (18), leonardo davinci (3), renaissance (38)
In the Classroom
This site is perfect for use on your interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Explore the different portions together during your studies of the Renaissance, inventors, or artists such as Leonardo da Vinci. Share a link to this site on your class webpage for students to explore at home, or to use in your blended class activities. Add a link on classroom computers for use during computer centers. Have students replace paper and pen notes and take digital notes about what they are learnng using a tool like SimpleNote, reviewed here. Enhance students' learning by using Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about Leonardo da Vinci or other Renaissance artists. Extend student learning by challenging individuals and small groups to take one of the concepts they learned from Leonardo and apply it to something from today's world. Use a bulletin board tool like Lino, reviewed here, to record and save student ideas. With Lino you can create stickies with images, commenting, videos, and more. After individuals and small groups have devoloped their art, invention, etc., have them present their learning and their invention, art, etc. to peers using one of these multimedia tools: Click the tool name to access the review: Genially, Microsoft PowerPoint Online, Animatron, Renderforest, and Canva Inforgraphic Maker.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Asian Art Museum Educator Resources - Asian Art Museum
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): art history (89), artists (82), asia (72), china (62), chinese new year (5), cross cultural understanding (165), japan (56), korea (20)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector). Allow students to explore on their own or in collaborative groups. Replace more traditional tools for brainstorming and have students or groups collect ideas and findings using Padlet, reviewed here. The Padlet application creates free online sticky note boards. Bookmark and use this site to find resources for Chinese New Year activities. Expand learning by having students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Murder at the Met: An American Art Mystery - The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): art history (89), artists (82), critical thinking (118), interactive stories (21), mysteries (20), thinking skills (16)
In the Classroom
Whether teaching art history or a unit on mysteries and deductive reasoning, students will learn from using this program. Though there is a place for students to keep notes, they should also keep their own notes about the clues, especially why they chose the ones they mark "highly suspicious." Replace paper and pencil by using a tool like Memo Notepad, reviewed here, for digital note taking. If you and your students liked this site you might also enjoy "Mysterious Places: Ancient Civilizations Modern Mysteries," reviewed here, with its lovely photographs to go along with the mysteries. A natural follow up would be to have your students write their own mysteries. Expository Escapades - Detective's Handbook, reviewed here, is just the place to give you some ideas! Challenge gifted students to create similar mysteries using subject matter in any science or social studies class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Oh Freedom! Teaching African American Civil Rights Through American Art at the Smithsonian - Smithsonian American Art Museum
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): african american (110), art history (89), artists (82), black history (130), civil rights (200)
In the Classroom
This site is a must for any Art, Art History, or Social Studies classroom. The program really lends itself to having a discussion. Visit the Artists area, choose an artist, and project the artwork on an interactive whiteboard. Using the "looking questions," have a class discussion. Assign groups and give each group a different picture. Let them discuss using the questions and then jigsaw them so they can share each other's answers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Smarthistory Art History Conversation - Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker with Khan Academy
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): art history (89), medieval (32), renaissance (38)
In the Classroom
A must for any art classroom, Smarthistory adds an extra dimension and deeper understanding to any history, social studies, or cultural studies classroom. Use the Smarthistory videos on YouTube to engage and enhance student learning. If the videos aren't viewable in class assign students to watch them at home; that's perfect for the flipped or blended classroom. If you are going to require students to watch the videos from home, consider using edupuzzle, reviewed here, to add your own voice or add questions within the video. Use in writing workshops to provide insights to art and culture and to into thoughts and feelings. Study written works alongside the art of past time periods. Bring unlimited, world-class resources to each class. Gifted classes will devour this website. Provide this link on your class website to offer students extra challenge and exploration.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Getting to Know "William" - Inside and Out - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Grades
K to 2tag(s): art history (89), colors (63), egypt (49), museums (47)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a lesson about the color wheel or mixing primary colors together. Play the animated presentation with a projector or interactive whiteboard and then let students independently enjoy coloring the Hippo. Use your interactive whiteboard as a learning center and allow students to manipulate the whiteboard themselves and change the color of the hippo. This activity would work well for individual or pairs of students in a lab or on laptops. Be sure to take the time to also share the story behind this "cute" little figurine.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Sistine Chapel Virtual Tour - Villanova University
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): artists (82), renaissance (38)
In the Classroom
This site is perfect to support coursework in Art History, Studio Art, and World History. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Be sure to include a link to this site in a hot list of sources concerning Renaissance art. Consider asking a group of students to do additional research about the Sistine Chapel and it's fresco. Have students act as a virtual docent and record a screencast presentation using Screencast-o-matic, reviewed here, or Screencastify (Chrome app), reviewed here. Take still screen shots of the frescos to use in reports or other multimedia presentation format such as Animoto (reviewed here) or podOmatic, reviewed here. This site is excellent for enrichment. Include it on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Color Vision and Art - Michael Douma
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): art history (89), colors (63), human body (94), newton (21), psychology (67)
In the Classroom
Color, Vision and Art offers students a unique opportunity to make cross-curricular connections and is a great starting point for individual or group projects. Students interested in Anatomy, Neuroscience, Painting, or Art History, will enjoy exploring this site independently. Each individual chapter comes with a selection of extension tasks from which students can choose. The "Exhibit" tab also offers suggestions for directing class discussions and provides tasks that initiate higher order thinking. Guiding questions about the neurobiological interpretation of color, will simultaneously develop student ability to analyze and interpret color used in art. Have students create a multimedia presentation to report about what they have learned using Thinglink, reviewed here. This site allows users to narrate a picture. Challenge students to find a reproduction of a painting (legally permitted to be reproduced), and include a narration about the artist's use of color. There are also interactive activities to demonstrate aspects of color theory. Project these interactive tools on an interactive whiteboard to the whole class and experiment with simultaneous color contrast, and luminance together. Use this site as the starting point for individual or group projects. This site is excellent for enrichment. Include it on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class, especially when they are designing their own multimedia projects and want to take advantage of color's subtleties.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tate Kids - Tate Gallery
Grades
1 to 6tag(s): creativity (90), dance (28), england (51)
In the Classroom
You will also find a complete list of materials, procedures, and helpful hints needed for the activities. Connect these tasks to a literature study unit or as art projects. The website's on-line activities and films are all compatible with an interactive whiteboard. Some lessons contain black line masters of artwork that are available for download. If you plan on using the "My Gallery" feature with your class, check with your administrator to be sure that your school allows students to set up individual accounts on on-line sites. Be sure to include this site on your class web page for students to access during summer break or for creative family activities at home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Yale University Art Gallery - Yale University
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): art history (89), artists (82), coins (6), painting (53), photography (118), sculpture (18)
In the Classroom
Use an interactive whiteboard or projector to take your students on a virtual field trip using the videos. Be sure to turn up the volume! For the longer videos consider watching portions in class using ytCropper, reviewed here, to show just the clips you want. If you use the Chrome browser you could use ReClipped, reviewed here, to clip the sections you want and annotate them.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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