Grade Five Art

​Students will focus on four major components: Reflection, Depiction, Composition, and Expression.
  • Artists
  • Class Activities
  • Teacher Resources
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Children’s early experiences shape what they imagine to be possible. Study after study has shown the value of exposing children with positive role models. Representation, including in the hours spent consuming media within the classroom, shape what they imagine to be possible for people who look like them, live where they live, or come from where they came from. Simply put, kids determine what they can be based on the examples around them. Therefore, we highly recommend you take 2-5 minutes everyday in your art class to introduce artists of colour. We've made this easy for you by creating a presentation that you can use with a slide a day to showcase a new artist of diverse background. You could do this on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly or during a certain month. You could also make your own presentation and encourage this representation. 
K-6 Artists of Colour by Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation
Artists of colour to introduce to your class related to the Alberta curriculum

Reflection

​​Ayumi Horie
​Ayumi Horie is an Asian-American artist whose artworks consist mainly of ceramics. She regularly incorporates animals into her pottery, drawing influences from manga. The YouTube video describes her process of making a ceramic ramen bowl, while also making ramen, and draws roots from her heritage and upbringing.
  • Art Sample:
    - Raccoon Jar 
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 1. Responses to visual forms in nature/ designed objects and artwork.
    Specifically looking at:
    1. analyzing structures in nature (the beauty of naturally made forms)
    2. assessing designed objects (human-made forms)
    3. appreciating art
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students could follow the process Horie shows in this YouTube video to create their own ceramic piece inspired by their cultural or community heritage
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated 
Gordon Walters
Gordon Walters is a Maori artist based in New Zealand, and frequently uses Maori cultural themes in his paintings. One of his most famous paintings include a form known as "Koru," which is described in the YouTube video.
  • Art Sample:
    - Mokoia (1965-1975)
    ​- Tautahi (1971)
  • Curriculum connection:
    - 1. Responses to visual forms in nature/ designed objects and artwork.
    Specifically looking at:
    1. analyzing structures in nature (the beauty of naturally made forms)
    2. assessing designed objects (human-made forms)
    3. appreciating art
  • Suggested use:
    - Students can research New Zealand and its native plant, fauna, and flora life; they could see if these aspects were influential in Walters' creations
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated 
    - Manual transcription available
Jesús Rafael Soto
Jesús Rafael Soto was a Venezuelan op and kinetic artist, a sculptor and a painter. Many of Soto's works were in unstable forms, challenging a viewer’s perception of color, line, movement, and space. In the late 1950s, Soto became involved with the artist group Zero, embracing ideas of mechanization and industrialization.
  • Art Samples:
    - View samples
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 1. Responses to visual forms in nature/ designed objects and artwork.
    Specifically looking at:
    1. analyzing structures in nature (the beauty of naturally made forms)
    2. assessing designed objects (human-made forms)
    3. appreciating art
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can research the group Zero to see if their art is similar to Soto's
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing
    - Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
John Pule
John Pule is a New Zealand-based artist of Niuean descent. His artwork frequently depicts pacific art forms, and Niuean cosmology, migration, and colonialism. His mediums include painting, drawing, printmaking, film-making, and performance. The YouTube video describes his artwork and life in greater detail.
  • Art Samples:
    ​- Taumalala (2016)
    ​- Savage Island Hippo (2008)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 1. Responses to visual forms in nature/ designed objects and artwork.
    Specifically looking at:
    1. analyzing structures in nature (the beauty of naturally made forms)
    2. assessing designed objects (human-made forms)
    3. appreciating art
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can write artistic critiques of Pule's work, focusing on the shapes presented in his paintings or drawings
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing
    - Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama is a legendary Japanese contemporary artist whose works primarily include sculpture and installations, and shows attributes of minimalism, pop art, and abstract expressionism. The YouTube video describes her tumultuous beginnings in Japan to her groundbreaking artwork in 'hippie counterculture' in the US, during the Andy Warhol era.
  • Art samples:
    ​​- Love is Calling (2019)
    - An Infinity Room (n.d.)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 1. Responses to visual forms in nature/ designed objects and artwork.
    Specifically looking at:
    1. analyzing structures in nature (the beauty of naturally made forms)
    2. assessing designed objects (human-made forms)
    3. appreciating art
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can look at different types of Kusama's work and compare their stories or messages to see what themes emerge
  • Accessibility: 
    - No captions
Katsushika Hokusai
Katsushika Hokusai is a world-renowned Japanese artist who is most known for his series of paintings in the "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" which includes the famous painting entitled The Great Wave of Kanagawa. Hokusai created this series in response to the boom in domestic travel to Mount Fuji. The YouTube video describes the significance of this painting and some information about Hokusai's life.
  • Art Sample: 
    - The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1830)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 1. Responses to visual forms in nature/ designed objects and artwork.
    Specifically looking at:
    1. analyzing structures in nature (the beauty of naturally made forms)
    2. assessing designed objects (human-made forms)
    3. appreciating art
  • Suggested use: 
    - Discuss the importance and fame of this set of paintings 
    - Research Hokusai's life and how his upbringing may have influenced his life
  • Accessibility: 
    - Autogenerated captions
Depiction

Dayanita Singh
Dayanita Singh is an India-based artist and photographer, who uses photography to connect with the human experience. Her works can be found in numerous installations in various museums around the world. The first YouTube video is an age-appropriate video describing 5 prominent female artists, of which Dayanita Singh is included. The second YouTube video describes Dayanita Singh's work in greater detail.
  • Art Sample:
    - Go Away Closer
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 2. Imagery based on observations. Main forms and proportions (natural vs geometric forms). Actions and viewpoints (stillness vs motion). Qualities and details (colour/ tints & shades/ contrast/ textures)
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can use Singh's art as inspirations to make their own books, focusing on colours and contrast
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing
    - Additional accommodations needed for visually impaired students 
Frank Bowling
​Frank Bowling is a British-based artist born in Guyana, and whose artwork in based in abstract expressionism and abstract art more broadly. The YouTube video describes his process of creating an abstract expressionist painting.
  • Art Samples:
    - Mirror (n.d.)
    ​- Great Thames IV (n.d.)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 2. Imagery based on observations. Main forms and proportions (natural vs geometric forms). Actions and viewpoints (stillness vs motion). Qualities and details (colour/ tints & shades/ contrast/ textures)
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can follow the process Bowling shows in this YouTube video to create their own abstract piece
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing
    - Visually impaired students may need additional accommodations for some parts of activity
Composition

Alex Janvier
Alex Janvier is a Canadian-based artist from the Cold Lake First Nations, whose work is known for his use of curved lines and bright colour combinations. His style of art is abstract and has laid the foundation of Indigenous art for many aspiring First Nations artists in Canada. The video describes his preparation for an exhibit in Italy. View his website. 
  • Art Samples:
    - View samples 
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 3. Organization of images- creating unified statement
    - Emphasis (proportions)
    - Unity (patterns)
    ​- Craftsmanship
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can study Janvier's style to look for patterns between paintings and signature aspects of his work
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
    ​- Transcription
Adia Millett 
Adia Millett is a US-based contemporary artist who uses multiple mediums including dioramas, quilting, painting, stitching, and woodworking. Her work is inspired by transitions and storytelling. The video details Millett's exhibit Breaking Patterns, where she details her use of patterns and design to tell a visual story. View her website.
  • Art Samples:
    - Paints
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 3. Organization of images- creating unified statement
    - Emphasis (proportions)
    - Unity (patterns)
    - Craftsmanship
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can use Millett's art as inspiration to create their own multi-media piece, telling a story of their family or history
  • Accessibility: 
    ​- Translation
    - Accessible for nonverbal, and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
    - Descriptive captioning is not available on the video
Aisha Khalid
​Aisha Khalid is a Pakistani-based artist specializing in visual art. She works with a variety of mediums, including textiles and installation spaces. The YouTube video describes her process of creating a miniature painting using textiles.​​​
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 3. Organization of images- creating unified statement
    - Emphasis (proportions)
    - Unity (patterns)
    - Craftsmanship
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can follow the process Khalid shows in this YouTube video to create their own miniature painting piece
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal, and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
Expression
​
Carmen Lomas Garza
Carmen Lomas Garza is a Latina American artist, whose paintings and works of art are inspired by her Mexican-American heritage. She is also an illustrator for various children's books. The YouTube video depicts Garza describing the inspiration behind her artworks in greater detail.
  • Art Samples:
    - View samples
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 1. Responses to visual forms in nature/ designed objects and artwork.
    Specifically looking at:
    1. analyzing structures in nature (the beauty of naturally made forms)
    2. assessing designed objects (human-made forms)
    3. appreciating art
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can create their own children's books based on their cultural or community heritage
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated 
Daphne Odjig
Daphne Odjig is a Canadian-based artist of the Odawa-Potawatomi Nation. She is part of the Indian Group of Seven painters, with her works focusing on bold colours and abstract imagery. She commonly explores Indigenous history in her works through colonization, culture and landscapes.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can use the artist's technique of bold colours and imagery in their own artwork
    - Create a piece of art reflecting their own cultural or community history
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal, and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
Alaa Awad
​Born in 1981, Dr. Alaa Awad is an Egyptian painter and muralist. Inspired by ancient Egyptian heritage and contemporary society, some of Awad’s most popular work includes scenes of celebration, victory, Sufism, Egyptian social life and culture.
  • Art samples: 
    - Nephthys
    - The Zodiac
    - Fluccas
    - Egyptian Women
  • Curriculum connection: 
    -  4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students could study Awad's work and try to determine the purpose that each different piece fulfils​- Students research/learn more about the Sufi festival and make connections to their own cultural celebrations
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal, and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
Leeroy New
​Leeroy New is a Filipino visual artist whose works are inspired by mythology, films, video games and Filipino folklore. The YouTube video describes his early life and his inspiration for his artwork.
  • Art Sample:
    - Aliens of Manila (2019)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can research various culture's folklore stories and create work inspired by them​
    - Students can read/study a specific Filipino myth and discuss how New incorporates it into his work (ex: sirena, duwende) *important to discuss how creatures and their names vary from region to region
  • Accessibility: 
    - Captioned by creator 
Aboudia Abdoulaye Diarrassouba
​Aboudia Abdoulaye Diarrassouba (Aboudia) frequently depicts disadvantaged children in his paintings. His mediums are mixed-media paintings and drawings, with a focus on graffiti style and traditional African carvings. His work depicts the political conflict which takes place in Abidjan.
  • Art Samples:
    - Portraits des Nouchis (2019)
    - Les Yeux "Pop" (2017)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can use Siarrassouba's art as inspiration to create their own graffiti style work
  • Accessibility: 
    ​- Accessible for nonverbal, and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist whose artwork is heavily based in political commentary. The YouTube video describes an installation named Sunflower Seeds, where he had over 100 million handmade porcelain sunflower seeds for the exhibition. The video also describes the process by which these seeds were made.
  • Art Sample:
    - Sunflower Seeds (2010)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can follow the process Weiwei shows in this YouTube video to create their own porcelain piece
    - Discussion on how art can represent a specific message from the artist
    ​- Connection to math and estimating. How many sunflower seeds do you think are in the pile? 
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
Alex Da Corte
Alex Da Corte was born in Camden, New Jersey, in 1980. Da Corte creates vibrant and immersive large-scale installations that include wall-based works, sculptures, and videos. Colorful and surreal, his work combines personal narrative, art-historical references, pop-culture characters, and the glossy aesthetics of commercial advertising to reveal the humor, absurdity, and psychological complexity of the images and stories that pervade our culture.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can choose a pop culture character (a cartoon, a celebrity, etc) that they are very familiar with, and create a short video using this character in the style of Corte's
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal, and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
Augusta Savage
Augusta Savage was an American sculptor associated with the Harlem Renaissance. She also worked for equal rights for African Americans in the arts.
  • Art Sample:
    ​- The Harp
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can create their own sculptures that have a social justice message
    - Discussion on the title "The Harp" and how the sculpture uses people to make up the instrument
    - Discuss the Harlem Renaissance and how it impacted the art scene
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
Eduardo Kobra
Eduardo Kobra is a Brazilian-based street artist who paints large-scale murals all around the world. Perhaps his most renowned mural was Ethnic Groups, which he painted for the 2016 Rio Olympics. The YouTube video describes his process of creating his murals, and his inspiration for his art.
  • Art Sample:
    ​- Ethnic Groups (2016)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Discussion on why his mural would be chosen for the Olympics and why it is titled "Ethnic Groups"
    - Artwork as a picture prompt for "I see, I think, I wonder"
    ​- Journal prompt: What might be the message for Korba's mural? How does Kobra's mural represent unity?
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
Ernest Withers
Ernest Withers was an African-American photojournalist best known for his photographic depiction of the American Civil Right movement in the 1960's. Withers captured numerous photos of marches and speeches that, today, reflect what life was like for many Black Americans during that time.
  • Art Sample:
    ​- Corner of Hernando and Beale St, at the time of Dr. Martin Luther King's last march
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can choose one picture of Withers' to study and research the significance of the event and its impact on Black history
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks is an African-American self-taught photographer from the 1940's. Parks has been highly regarded as an artist that is gifted in the ability to tell a larger story through his photos. Today, many of his pieces can be found in numerous art galleries and museums all across the United States.
  • Art Sample:
    ​- Langston Hughes, Chicago (1941)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can choose some photos from Parks' collection and try to understand the story they tell overall 
    - Create own series of images to tell an overarching narrative
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
Kamal ud-Din Behzad
​Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād, was a Persian painter and head of the royal ateliers in Herat and Tabriz during the late Timurid and early Safavid Persian periods. He is regarded as marking the highpoint of the great tradition of Islamic miniature painting.
  • Art Sample:
    ​- The Construction of Castle Khavarnaq (1494)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can research this period in painting and try to create their own miniature painting
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
Kawayan De Guia
Kawayan De Guia is a Filipino artist who incorporates various objects into his artworks, in his humerous yet deeply justice-oriented art which provides commentary on colonialism, occupation, and Filipino culture and heritage. The YouTube video describes his inspiration for this artwork for an exhibit.
  • Art Sample:
    - Qagoma (n.d.)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can think about their cultural or community heritage and draw on that as inspiration to create their own pieces
    ​- Students create their own collage from magazine clippings/flyers that has a message (can be funny, moving, dramatic, cultural)
    ​- Discussion on specific creatures/folklore students are familiar with from their own culture
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
    ​- Manual transcription available 
Manuel Mendive
Manuel Mendive is an Afro-Cuban artist who is world-renowned, and whose artwork consists of drawing, painting, body painting, wood carving, sculpture, and performance art. The YouTube video does a deep-dive into his most prolific pieces.
  • Art Sample:
    - Ceruda Arte (n.d.)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Discussion on how the lines and colours make your eye focus on the middle of the artwork
    - Journal prompt: How might Mendive feel about the environment and nature based on his artworks?
    ​- Students create their own self-portraits in nature
  • ​Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
Rudolph Carl Gorman
​Rudolph Carl Gorman was a Navajo artist born in Arizona. His works have been highly renowned and explores abstract realism, especially of Navajo women and their roles in the Navajo Nation.
  • Art Samples:
    - Navajo Return
    - La Chilera
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can attempt the artist's technique of abstract realism in their own work
    - Research roles of women in different nations, or reflect their understanding of societal gender roles in a piece of their own work
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal, and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students
Sonia Boyce
Sonia Boyce is a British artist whose work is situated in Black Liberation and art as social practice. She uses a variety of mediums to conceptualize her work and is rooted in messages around Black representation, perceptions of Blackness, and scientific racism. The YouTube video is an age-appropriate video describing 5 prominent female artists, of which Sonia Boyce is included.
  • Art Samples:
    - I'm With Her Too (2019)
    ​- Big Women's Talk (1984)
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students could choose one of the women described in the video and make a piece of art inspired by their journeys
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
Xu Zhen
Xu Zhen is a Shanghai-based multimedia artist, with his mediums including photography, sculptures, and installation art. The YouTube video describes his brand and the inspirations for the Sleeping Muse sculptures.
  • Art Sample:
    - Sleeping Muse (2016)
  • ​Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students could create their own multimedia work after being inspired by Zhen's
  • Accessibility: 
    - Closed caption autogenerated
Depiction
​
Art and Social Justice: What is a Portrait?
This activity will introduce students to photographic portraiture, and explore how portraits display their subjects and make a statement. They will also explore the ways in which they can learn more about artists and their subjects from their portraits.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 2. Imagery based on observations
    - Main forms and proportions (natural vs geometric forms)
    - Actions and viewpoints (stillness vs motion)
    - Qualities and details (colour/ tints and shades/contrast and textures)
  • Suggested use: 
    - Students can practice their photography skills and make statements with what they choose to photograph
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal
    - Hard of hearing students may require accommodations based on reading ability
    - Visually impaired students may require additional accommodations to complete activity 
13 Totally Terrific Totem Pole Facts
Teachers can go through some relevant Totem pole facts with their class including meanings, origin of the word, colours, special use of wood, the six nations of the western part of North America that first created Totem poles, etc.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 2. Imagery based on observations
    - Main forms and proportions (natural vs geometric forms)
    - Actions and viewpoints (stillness vs motion)
    - Qualities and details (colour/ tints and shades/contrast and textures)
    - Craftsmanship
  • Suggested use:
    - Background information on Totem poles
    ​- Students can further research the type of Totem poles significant to each nation
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal
    - Hard of hearing students may require accommodations based on reading ability
    - Visually impaired students may require additional accommodations to complete activity 
Composition

Japanese Hand Fan Craft
Students will learn about Japanese culture by creating a hand fan.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    ​- 3. Organization of images- creating unified statement
    - Emphasis (proportions)
    - Unity (patterns)
    ​- Craftsmanship
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Art activity can be used alongside a class study on Japanese culture by reading about/listening to Japanese folktales (book)
    - Discuss multicultural inventions and their importance
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing
    - Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students 
​Dragon Vase Painting Project
Students can create an art piece focusing on a dragon vase. 
  • Curriculum connection: 
    ​- 3. Organization of images- creating unified statement
    - Emphasis (proportions)
    - Unity (patterns)
    ​- Craftsmanship
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Provides art lesson on how to create the art piece, includes printable vase template 
    - Discuss the symbolism of the dragon and importance in Asian culture (*note that Asian in this context is a very broad term and should be discussed)​
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing
    - Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students 
Batlik of Java: A Centuries Old Tradition 
Batik is a centuries old tradition of Indonesia. Artists apply wax to protect certain areas of fabric from dye. During the dye process, the wax areas resist the dye, and when the wax is removed a pattern emerges. Both the technique and the textile produced are called batik. With this activity, students create their own batik!
  • Curriculum connection: 
    ​- 3. Organization of images- creating unified statement
    - Emphasis (proportions)
    - Unity (patterns)
    ​- Craftsmanship
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Wax resisting art using oil pastels and watercolour; technique can be used for a variety of activities​
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal 
    - Closed captioning available on video ​
    - Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students 
Expression

Picasso's Peace Flowers
Students will create artwork which shows them the importance to be kind to each other. They read the "Shades of People" and go through some discussion questions. They will then represent differing skin colours through oil pastels on a painting - Picasso's flowers.
  • ​Curriculum connection: 
    ​- 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Art lesson on creating hands with a focus on shades and colour
    - Students can choose a partner to create 1 artwork with
    ​- Students write a kind message for partner - highlight the importance of understanding and celebrating differences between students
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing, some accommodations may be required 
    - For visually impaired students some accommodations may be required at some parts of the activity; may benefit from a read aloud that includes descriptions of images and events on each page 
Black Lives Matter Posters
Students will learn how to draw a fist - the sign of liberation - in relation to social justice movements like Black Lives Matter. They will then design their own Black Lives Matter posters.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    ​-  4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Engage students in a discussion about the Black Lives Matter movement (see other resources to support beginning this discussion prior to beginning art task). Discuss the meaning and purpose of the movement as well as the historical context and continued relevance 
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing 
    - Additional accommodations required for visually impaired students 
Art and Racial Justice: What is in a Self-Portrait?
In this activity, students will learn about various diverse artists who have done self-portraits, understand the key elements of a self-portrait, and identify the ways in which identity is closely reflected through self-portraits. They will be guided through key activities related to racial justice and how this can be explored through self-portraits.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    ​-  4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use:  
    ​- Introduction to different artists and their interpretations of self-portraits
    - Students can choose a style to create their own self-portrait in 
    - Research and write biographies on different artists
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal, some accommodations may be required during discussion 
    - For hard of hearing and visually impaired students some accommodations may be required at some parts of the activity 
Looking Closely at Ourselves
​In this lesson, students explore race and self-identity by creating self-portraits. The lesson aims to help students develop detailed observational skills and use these skills in relation to themselves and others. It also begins constructing a vocabulary that is crucial in helping build community and discuss some of the more challenging aspects of race and racial identity formation.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    -  4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Lesson on self-portraits that take into account our racial identity
    ​- Discussion on our identity and the different parts that make up our identity
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal, some accommodations may be required during discussion 
    - For hard of hearing and visually impaired students some accommodations may be required at some parts of the activity 
Flores Mexicanas: Women in Modern Mexican Art
Dallas Museum of Art exhibition curated around representation of Mexican women in art. Webpage provides historical context to well-known Mexican artists' works, a virtual tour of the exhibition, and provides a simple quick activity on creating florals at home.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    -  4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Students explore website to watch videos, learn more about well-known Mexican artists' work, and create their own florals
  • Accessibility: 
    - Accessible for nonverbal, some accommodations may be required during discussion 
    - For hard of hearing and visually impaired students some accommodations may be required at some parts of the activity 
Reflection

Conversations with Colleagues
Part of being an anti-racist educator is calling out racism. Here are some guides to help you have those conversations with colleagues and students.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    ​- 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Use to inform teaching in anti-racism education
​
Depiction
​
​​Using Colour Theory to Deconstruct Race
​"Race is something students recognize from their earliest ages. They learn right away that they belong to a certain race and that their race is completely different than all others. Society has used different colours to categorize people with labels such as black, white, yellow, red, and brown. The theory I challenge students with each year is this: no human being is actually white, black, yellow, or red, but we are all variations of brown. In colour theory terms, all human skin colours are different hues and values of brown."
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 2. Imagery based on observations
    - Main forms and proportions (natural vs geometric forms)
    ​- Actions and viewpoints (stillness vs motion)
    ​- Qualities and details (colour/ tints and shades/contrast and textures)
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Background information on the importance of discussing color
    - Discussion on our skin colours and what colours we usually use to colour ourselves
    ​- Can be used in conjunction with self-portrait activities
Expression
​
Black Lives Matter: An Open Letter to Art Educators on Constructing an Anti-Racist Agenda
An open letter from the Chair of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the National Art Education Association on the importance of anti-racist art education in the age of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter.
  • Curriculum connection:
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use:
    ​- Letter on how creating art and teaching art must be rooted in anti-racist practices
How Black Art Can Spark Conversations With Children
An article which describes the importance of showcasing Black art in art education and in education beyond.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Provides a variety of Black artists and their works in painting, collages, photography, and picture books
Art and Social Justice
"What is the relationship between art and social justice? How have artists over the last 100 years used their work to speak out against injustices, advocate for change, and honour the lived experiences of marginalized communities? This course uses artworks in LACMA’s collection to encourage critical thinking about historical and contemporary social justice issues, and build confidence in integrating art into interdisciplinary lesson plans that inspire real-world connections and elevate student agency."
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Self-paced course to help inform teaching in anti-racism and social justice, in relation to art
How Do Children of Colour Learn to Draw Themselves?
“You’re going to have one of the white children in that school call that child black, and that child is going to go home or ask the teacher, ask somebody: ‘What does that mean? I’m not black.’” This article explores the importance of anti-racist art education from multiple different perspectives - in the classroom, in the textbooks, and in the future of colouring.
  • Curriculum connection:
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Article with snippets from educators on how children of colour will perceive themselves in art based on the colours provided to them
Kids Think About Race and Art
The YouTube video chronicles a group of kids from various races and ethnicities who visit the Soul of the Nation exhibit in the UK, and have a conversation with Zoe Whitley (curator) about race and art.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    - 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    - Listen to students perspective on the importance of representation in the art world
  • Accessibility: 
    - Captioned by creator
Anti-Racist Art Teachers
Working towards removing biases, stereotypes, and false narratives in art education.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    ​- 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Use to inform teaching in anti-racism education
Asian Educational Resources
Asian-focused website with many resources including videos, activities, and lessons.
  • Curriculum connection: 
    ​- 4. Main focuses: theme/subject matter and media and techniques
    - Using art as medium to say something
    - Varying purposes (tell a story/ record activities & people & events/decoration and express a feeling or message/create original composition)
    - Subject Matter
  • Suggested use: 
    ​- Use to implement Asian-inspired art projects and lessons
This website is created by Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation