In this printmaking project inspired by the work of Virginia Beach native and artist, Ryan McGinness, students will learn about simplifying complex imagery into basic symbols and design a personalized symbol stamp. They will also get a glimpse of artists working together in a studio environment. Students will print their symbols on a collaborative work of art in addition to creating individual prints.

During this lesson, students will explore concepts related to animation while creating a moving image using ideas, subject matter, and materials of their choice by designing a functional thaumatrope. 

During this lesson, students will work in teams to plan, construct, and test a functional miniature golf sculpture while they explore topics related to collaboration, design thinking, and peer critique. A focus on specific art production skills such as armature building and rendering objects using paper mâché will be explored. The finished artwork will be peer reviewed for creativity, craftsmanship, and challenge. 

Students will explore the contemporary technique of Pixel Art- using exaggerated pixel size to emulate the low-resolution aesthetic of Late 80’s/early 90’s video games. Using a free image-editing and animation application, student can create their own pixelized version of an everyday inanimate object and then animate their image.

Students will analyze Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware by hypothesizing the story the artwork depicts and then create a drawing illustrating an important event in their life.

Students will explore the creation, types and uses of maps, the process of map-making and cartography as a career. Students will create a personal map. 

Beginning-level students will compare and contrast different uses of land in the state of California and write a letter about a modern-day environmental issue.

Students will compare the daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe by an unknown photographer with Poe's writings in an effort to discover the character of this mysterious author.

Students will compare portrayals of individual soldiers to depictions of battle scenes, write two articles representing two different perspectives about a current war, and manipulate a photograph to alter its mood.

Students study how artists of the Neoclassical period were influenced by major historical events during the Enlightenment. They will identify and analyze the Neoclassical style.

Students will compare propagandistic strategies in artworks to modern-day examples of persuasive techniques and create a propaganda poster for a current political leader.

Students will examine the influence of Greek and Roman mythology on art, discuss strategies of propaganda in an ancient portrait and a 17th-century cabinet, and create a campaign poster for a classroom candidate that uses Greek or Roman iconography.

Students will learn about the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter Reformation as related events. They will analyze works by the artists Rubens and Rembrandt, and use the artworks to illustrate the divergent beliefs and philosophies of the two movements.

Students will examine an image of civilians affected by the Vietnam War. They will research and discuss the reasons the Vietnam War began, why America became involved, and what some of the long-term effects of this war have been