The Kennedy Center: ARTSEDGE — the National Arts and Education Network

Lesson: The Chinese Lion Dance
Dance in the Chinese New Year with your K-2 students

Lesson: Chivalry and Courtly Love
Explore the Arthurian codes of chivalry and courtly love in art, modern films, books, and poetry. Examine the way in which these ideals have influenced modern concepts.

Lesson: Cinderella Trilogy
Compare and contrast three variations of the Cinderella folktale: “Rhodopis,” the Egyptian version; “Yeh-Shen,” the Chinese version; and “The Hidden One,” the Native American version.

Lesson: Civil War Letters
Using letters written during the Civil War students develop an understanding of the message of the letters. They will create a dramatic reading based on their letter.

Lesson: Civil War Music
Learn how music was used in the Civil War.

Lesson: Corridos About the Mexican Revolution
In this lesson, students will be introduced to causes of the Mexican Revolution and key revolutionary figures.

Lesson: Counting Crows
Students will learn the meaning of Aesop's fable, "The Crow and the Pitcher," blending math and art with literature and film.

Lesson: Creating AB Patterns
Patterns exists both in the natural and manmade world. It is an element in art, as well as math and science.

Lesson: Creating Characters
Students examine character as a significant element of fiction, learning methods of characterization, identify and critique.

Lesson: Creating Comic Strips
In this lesson, each student creates an original comic strip to convey a mathematical concept and explores comics as a form of communication.

Lesson: Cultural Creation Myths
Students will explore different cultures' supernatural explanations for human existence in several societies.

Lesson: Dalí & Desnos
In this lesson, students will enhance their creative writing skills and develop their individual writing voices through surrealist techniques.

Lesson: The Dance of the Butterfly
Create an original dance that communicates the stages of the life cycle of the monarch butterfly.

Lesson: Decades Mural Project
Students will learn how to use primary sources, and work in groups to create murals about the events and trends of a decade of the twentieth century.

Lesson: Deep Roots of Ancient Greece
This lesson examines specific areas of ancient Greek influence on Western thought and culture.

Lesson: Discovering National Parks
Students will learn about the history of America's national parks, and learn about the role that artists played in their creation and maintenance.

Lesson: Discovering Russian Folk Dance
Students will learn the Russian folk dance "Troika." Then, they will work in groups of three (the traditional grouping used in the "Troika") to research Russian culture and history.

Lesson: Drawing Political Cartoons
Analyzing political cartoons will allow students to develop both factual knowledge and interpretive skills.

Lesson: Elements of Ballet
Explore and discover the elements of dance by demonstrating various simple movements. This exercise will help assess the students’ level of experience and ability.

Lesson: Elements of Fables
This lesson focuses on describing the general literary elements in fables. In this particular lesson, students will recognize the key elements of a fable (moral, character, and figurative language).

Lesson: Elements of Myth
How can myths help to explain nature and science? Students will explore these themes in this lesson. Students will read and explore several myths, identifying the elements of this literary form.

Lesson: Escape from Reality: Miró and Surrealism
This lesson will introduce the history and concepts of the Surrealist movement.

Lesson: Eugene O'Neill on Page and Stage
Continue the exploration of "Puritanism" as an influence on the development of modern American drama by focusing on elements of narrative, theme and characterization.

Lesson: Explorers’ Experience
Students will learn about world explorers by researching facts and information relating to the routes traveled. They will discuss what motivates people to want to discover and explore new places.

Lesson: Exploring American Tall Tales
Students will explore the common elements of folktales and tall tales while learning how these tales built the spirit of the American people.