Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Bring art alive for young students. Paint and color, clay, fabric and fiber, drawing, construction, and print are the six strands of visual art covered by I Am An Artist. Click on a strand to view short videos, about six minutes in length, designed to keep your attention. Each strand also has a "Look and Respond" stimulating slide show with discussion questions. The "Can You?" section under each visual strand provides steps for a hands-on explanation. I Am an Artist allows you to explore the visual arts with various materials and tools, allowing students to express their world in a visual, tangible form. The "For Teachers" section on each strand page provides child-centered lessons developed to foster creativity and design with printable activity sheets. The site also provides weblinks and interactive games on a wide range of visual arts topics. Explore the I Am an Artist Gallery for examples. Find information about how to submit your own work to the gallery. The content for I Am an Artist has been created in consultation with Irish teachers.

tag(s): colors (65), crafts (53), creativity (92), design (83), drawing (59), makerspace (41), painting (56), sculpture (21)

Find classroom tested art projects for K-5 and beyond at Art Projects for Kids. There are new posts (and activity ideas) nearly every day. Choose from tags listed on the site to find projects by type such as weaving or watercolor. Find projects by season and topic. Each post includes a description for completing a project, materials needed, and links to printables if required. View the included tags with each item to find suitable grades for each project and similar posts. The projects vary from "crafty" to very open-ended and expressive.
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tag(s): artists (77), crafts (53), drawing (59), holidays (162), seasons (36), symmetry (27)

Create magical looking artwork as you click and drag with this beautiful site. Personalize the images using the color and format links at the bottom of the screen. Choose from vertical or four-way symmetry or symmetry off. Include new age music to add to the magical effects or turn music off with a simple click. Share your creations through links to Twitter, Facebook, email, or copy the link. Share your art with using email, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Althought there is no option to print or save a finished design, you could take a screenshot (Shift+ Command +4 on a mac or Prtscrn key on Windows) and save or paste it into a document to write about or save.

tag(s): colors (65), symmetry (27)

Search this virtual museum and database of European fine arts from the 11th to 19th centuries. The site also offers a version for use on mobile devices. The site provides 16 different tours, music, a glossary and the ability to send e-postcards with images. There is also a feature for viewing two images at once.

tag(s): art history (86), artists (77), museums (44)

Find a mystery in art, and use art to solve the mystery. Tour American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts that reside at The Metropolitan Museum of Art to solve the murder of Virginie Gautreau AKA Madame X, painted by John Singer Sargent. The scenario is an evening gala in 1899, and you put clues together using either your mobile devices or a computer. Players must examine the art work since you are witnesses. There are possible weapons and crime scenes. There are three possible avenues to take to reach the solution, so the game can be played multiple times.

tag(s): art history (86), artists (77), critical thinking (112), interactive stories (21), mysteries (19), thinking skills (14)

This site takes a look at African art and the use of fractals within the art. Ron Eglash is a cultural mathematician studying how cultures and mathematics intersect. Each segment of the written portion of the site contains a short explanation along with diagrams. Also included are interactive applets allowing for exploration of the Koch curve and fractal dimensions. Be sure to check out the other links on the page that explore African art, religions, and futures.

tag(s): africa (137), architecture (64), cross cultural understanding (157), cultures (132), religions (75)

This on-line journal is dedicated to the study and exhibition of Asian Art. There are links to Asian Art Associations, Exhibitions, articles and Galleries featuring Asian Art. This is an excellent resource for the teacher or student of Asian Art. (A NetGuide Platinum Site)

tag(s): art history (86), asia (68)

This is a beautifully-designed on-line exhibition which shows Himalayan artistic and cultural items in stunning detail. The narrative explains the significance of the items in Tibetan culture while explaining some of the history of this ancient land. Suitable for inclusion in any survey of oriental or east Asian art and culture.

tag(s): art history (86), china (62), india (25), religions (75), sculpture (21)