Lesson Plans

It is important for teachers to create and share lesson plans in their content areas. Since most successful lessons are derived from trial and error, it is important for teachers to collaborate. My subject is art and I hope to teach at the secondary level. Below I have listed five websites that contain links to art lesson plans. I believe these websites include the most effective lesson plans for the secondary art curriculum, and will be excellent sources to refer to in the future.

The Lesson Plans Page This website includes several art lesson plans at multiple grade levels, particularly the secondary level. There are numerous topics ranging from art history to drawing to three-dimensional art. Under each topic, there is a list of lesson suggestions for teachers to view. Each lesson is specifically designed by an art teacher, which makes this website credible. Most of the lessons contain a detailed lesson template including the objective, motivation, and content summary sections. As a future art teacher, this website will be helpful not only for its extensive lessons, but also for its wide range of topics. Date visited—6/29/09.

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ArtJH.htm

Art Lessons This website includes a variety of art lesson topics broken down into grade levels. On the opening page, it lists only sixth, seventh, and eighth grade lesson topics; however, within the choices are lesson ideas for high school grade levels as well. Topics range from ceramic ideas to surrealism projects to famous artist imitations. This website complements the prior website because it lists different but unique lesson topics. The lessons include a thorough listing of objectives, materials, as well as, motivational tactics that appear reliable. Without question, this website provides several art lesson plans to use at the secondary level. Date visited—6/29/09.

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/artlessons.htm

Incredible Art Department This website includes a listing of lesson plans for both middle and high school art classes. The lesson topics on the opening page are specific so that teachers can navigate to an exact topic. Not only are the title’s specific, the lesson outlines are extremely thought-out and credible. For example, one particular lesson on landscape painting lists the objectives at the top, and then displays various pictures of student and famous artwork, all prior to the lesson description. In the materials section, there are both hard copy suggestions as well as Internet recommendations for references. On top of that, there is an attached rubric that can be used to assess student artwork, once completed. The only negative aspect is that the lessons are listed randomly on the opening page. There could be categories to help sort lessons by topic and grade levels. Other than that, the lessons are excellent. Date visited—6/29/09.

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/middlelessons.html

Educator’s Reference Desk This website is a database that allows teachers to search lesson plans based on subject and grade level. The lessons appear informative and, again, are submitted by art educators at various levels. Both the objectives and procedures sections are thorough, which provides novice teachers a foundation to start with. There may not be as great of a selection as the three prior websites, but this website may be the most valid from an educational and professional standpoint. Date visited—6/29/09.

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Arts/Visual_Arts

Lesson Plan Library This website includes a library of interesting lesson topics for art, which can be adapted to fit multiple levels. Judging by the complexity of media and famous artists, the content is most appropriate for the secondary level. The opening page is organized, listing interesting topics in alphabetical order for easy navigation. Followed by this section is a listing of famous artists along with their prominent styles and artwork. Most secondary art curriculums require the study of famous artists and sometimes an imitation of their masterpieces. This website is very beneficial in that provides practical ideas for lesson plans to help reach these goals. Date visited—6/29/09.

http://www.albrightknox.org/ArtStart/lessonplans.html