This lesson guides students to carefully observe of works of art, leading to deeper understanding of cultural and historical background. This lesson introduces thinking and analysis strategies that students will use frequently in art class and beyond. This lesson is also great to way to formatively assess student skills related to language acquisition, critical thinking, analysis, and communication.

In June 2022, the Virginia Department of Education fine arts program hosted an arts and culture Institute for Virginia fine arts educators to collaborate with and learn from the Chickahominy Indian Tribe in Providence Forge, Virginia. This resource list was used by the educator team to build background knowledge, and educators and tribal citizens contributed additional resources and suggested classroom activities. This resource page is a short collection of resources that can be used by fine arts educators to respectfully include arts and culture of indigenous people of Virginia in fine arts classroom instruction. 

In June 2022, the Virginia Department of Education fine arts program hoste a music and culture Institute for Virginia music educators to collaborate with and learn from musicians from Southwest Virginia. This resource list was used by the educator team to build background knowledge, and educators and clinicians provided additional resources and suggested classroom activities. This resource page is a short collection of resources that can be used by music educators to respectfully include music and culture from Southwest Virginia in music classroom instruction.