The Arts enhance creativity, emotional development, cultural appreciation and improve academic performance. This collection features resources to teach and infuse The Arts into your classroom. The Arts include Visual Arts, Dance, Music and Drama. You may also wish to explore The Visual Arts Hub (specifically, the Grade 4 Collection) for more inspiration and resources.
Children’s drawings have a wonderful inventiveness, energy, and variety.
Bring children's drawings to life by animating characters to move around!
This site explores the elements of art and principles of design with videos, examples and lessons.
The elements and principles of design are the building blocks used to create a work of art.
Elements of Art are the visual "tools" that artists use to create an art work - they are what makes up an image or an art object: line, shape/form, value, color, space, and texture.
Principles of Design are the ways artists use the Elements of Art in an artwork - this is "what we do with the Elements" - how we arrange them, how we balance them, what is being emphasized, etc. The principles are: balance, contrast, repetition, emphasis, and unity.
Be sure to check out Art 2 - Lesson plans for intermediate Art program @ https://resourcebank.ca/courses/art-1-lesson-plans-for-beginner-art-program
This lesson has students creating a self portrait using image and text.
This lesson can be completed in Art & ELA.
Morphology of the word micrography – micro – small; graphy -writing – students use small writing to create portraits!
Students will need to have a good understanding of self to create their portrait. Ideas could include words to describe the student, phrases, quotes, song lyrics, family members, poetry, or random thoughts. Some students may need guidance as to what information to include (or a model).
Sun West - Contact your school’s technology coach if require help with the technology piece of this lesson.
Extension – this lesson could be extended further into Social Studies or ELA by having students complete micrography portraits of historical figures, indigenous leaders, scientists or characters from novels or stories they are studying.
Multiage - Grade 4 students could complete this activity for prairie landscapes & Grade 5 students could complete this on pop art.
Enjoy this video to teach First Nations traditional pow wow dance.
How To Pow Wow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IePIeLBi6hI
Students use washable paints, markers, and construction paper to illustrate a month from the traditional Cree Calendar
Students will be able to:
illustrate a month from the traditional Cree calendar;
demonstrate an understanding of the changes, cycles and patterns that occur in nature through words and images;
draw/paint geometric and organic shapes;
create the illusion of depth in space using size;
connect personal life experiences to their artworks.
Colours have the power to make us think and feel different emotions. This assignment allows students to dive into the psychology of colours.
Sign up for a free account, allowing you access to all of Canada's National ballet School's courses and dance programs for kids.
Once you have signed up for an account, you can access the many cross-curricular dance units created by the National Ballet School. Note: If you are looking to access these units in French, please navigate to the "All course offerings" on the home page and you will find the French version of this course listed.
Great options to consider:
Grade 4: Rocks
Grade 5: Christine Friday Artist Study (Indigenous world-view)
Grade 6: Angela Gladue Artist Study (pow-wow and hip hop) (available in Cree as well)
Register to receive access!
Welcome to Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS), where we believe that all Canadians should experience the physical, emotional and social benefits of dance. Access our free resources—designed for educators and community leaders who work with children and youth, as well as specific resources to engage seniors in dance programs—and experience the joy of dance! No previous dance experience required!
You need to create a free account to access the courses and dances.
Once you are enrolled, find for the Dance on Demand Course on the home page. Enroll in this and you will have access to dances, observation checklists, rubrics, etc. for Grades 1-6.
Next, look for Inclusive Dance Practices in the Classroom and Community and enroll in this teacher course. This course will provide you with lots of information about how to make dance accessible for multiple different needs that may be present in your classroom!
A third course to look into enrolling for is the Activity Library: "All young people should have access to the physical, emotional and social benefits of dance and this library will provide you the tools and support to make it happen. The activities are divided into four categories: welcome, warm-up, dance and reflect. Browse through the titles or use the search tools to select activities based on group size, element of dance or age of participants. All activities are supported by video demonstration and detailed, printable activity plans - and some have downloadable music tracks!"
There are many other course offerings on the home page to explore as well.
This is a very basic slideshow outlining the Elements of Art.
Visual Art Classroom Posters
Explore the elements of art, culture, and identity through this guided lesson based on Leah Dorion's "The Giving Tree: A Retelling of a Traditional Métis Story." We are connected through place and culture! The values, beliefs, traditions, religion, natural environment, recreational activities, music, dance, and art that surround us help to form our identity. We share, listen, learn, and grow from and with each other. Students will think about their own identity and the many pieces that make them unique as they create a painting in the style of Leah Dorion's work.
A Fortnite or Lip Sync Battle
Honouring the Buffalo: A Plains Cree Legend is a useful educational tool for social studies/treaty and language arts/literacy curriculum teaching. Included on the website is a resource guide, educational guide (questions), audio recordings, and curricular connections. There is a book trailer as well as an exerpt in English and in Cree.
These 3 - 5 minute YouTube videos show students how to dance the various Pow-Wow dances in a step-by-step instructional video. The Pow-Wow dances include Men's Fancy Dance, Men's Grass Dance, Chicken Dance, Jingle Dance, Double Beat, Crow Hop, Traditional, and Old Style.
In this LIVE Arts installment Kevin and Nyle explore Indigenous stories and storytelling. Students write their own stories and use them as the basis for a visual artwork that combines text, image and color.
Why were bison essential to people living on the plains, prior to the time of Treaty negotiations (1870s)? What does the bison represent today? This LIVE Arts broadcast features contemporary artwork and storytelling by Métis artist Leah Marie Dorion, based on her children's book, "Métis Camp Circle: A Bison Culture Way of Life." Leah reads from the book, discusses the importance of bison (past and present), explains the use of Métis symbolism and discuss the composition and design of the illustrations. Leah guides students through a live drawing activity where they learn to draw and paint a bison as inspired by Leah's particular style of creating and imagery.
This project is best completed prior to reading the novel, Mistasiniy: Buffalo Rubbing Stone by Mary Harelkin Bishop to avoid influence of references in the text. The original size of the Lake Diefenbaker mistasiniy is introduced in the novel's preface, while the size of the mistasiniy on Danny’s family’s land is mentioned on page 109 as part of Rose’s diary. Students will work individually on a math inquiry problem challenging students to solve questions using estimation, approximations, geometry, analytical thinking, creative thinking, communication, and technology skills. Cross-curricular connections can be made with ELA, Social Studies, Science, and Arts Education. More information on bison/buffalo rubbing stones
This Website allows you to directly locate and find lessons through the SK curriculum and has specific activities aligned with a number of different SK Subject Outcomes.
- Arts Education
- Career Education
- Social Studies
- Science
- Math
- Health
- Practical and Applied Arts
- Cross-Curricular Competencies
- ELA
- Communication Media
Grade 6 Specific Health Related Activities:
o Avatars and Body Image USC6.1
o Gender Stereotypes and Body Image USC6.1 USC6.2
o Image Gap USC6.1
o Introduction to Cyberbullying: Avatars and Identity USC6.1 USC6.2 USC6.5
o Kids, Alcohol and Advertising – Lesson 1: Messages About Drinking USC6.7
o Kids, Alcohol and Advertising – Lesson 2: Young Drinkers USC6.7
o Kids, Alcohol and Advertising – Lesson 3: Understanding Brands USC6.7
o Kids, Alcohol and Advertising – Lesson 4: Interpreting Media Messages USC6.7
o Media Kids USC6.2 USC6.5 USC6.7
o Media Minute Lesson 2: Media are constructions USC6.2 USC6.7
o Mirror Image USC6.2 USC6.1
o Pay for Play USC6.7
o Prejudice and Body Image USC6.1 USC6.5
o Stereotyping and Bias USC6.1 USC6.2
o Tobacco Labels USC6.7
o Understanding the Internet: Communication and Social Media USC6.7
Educational Games:
o Data Defenders
o A Day in the Life of the Jos (same as above – paid for program) USC6.1 USC6.2
This novel study was completed by embedding the principles of structured literacy with reading and writing activities for both sides of Scarborough's Reading Rope. The ELA is a guide to personalize based upon the needs of your students. Aligning to a Saskatchewan theme, the students will also make connections to Indigenous Perspectives and the mistasiniy found in the prairies. The driving question, "How are we all connected to the land", introduces a variety of resources connected to the story focused on all areas of education.
Each year, Canada’s National Ballet School commissions a Canadian artist to create a piece of choreography that embodies a thoughtful theme.
Step-by-step instructional videos guide you through the choreography—whether you want to invest in learning and performing the full piece, or are exploring just a small portion of the material.
The choreography builds towards NBS Sharing Dance Day, a nationwide dance party bringing together tens of thousands of people in communities across the country. NBS Sharing Dance started as a flashmob in Toronto in 2010 and has grown over the years into an incredible celebration of the joy, creativity and community of dance from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
The dance day can be extended by a teacher to include additional arts ed. outcomes (CR6.2, CH6.1, for example)