Lesson Plans and Pre-visit Guides

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• Animal-Inspired Masks and Masquerades (Lesson Plan)

  Help students understand the connections between art and the environment of Guinea, animal anatomy, and the cultural context of the Banda mask with the help of viewing questions and a dance activity in the Museum's African Art galleries.

• Engaging the Elements (Lesson Plan)

  Engage students' interest in the relationships between the human and natural worlds, and art and the environment through a mask-making activity and viewing questions for the classroom about a mask from Alaska in the Museum's Native North American collection.

• Take It to the Afterlife (Lesson Plan)

  Delve into daily life and the afterlife in ancient Egypt, as well as strategies for visual analysis and interpretation of art, through viewing questions and a sketching activity in the Museum's Egyptian galleries.

• The Art of Africa (Pre-visit Guide)PDF

  Introduce students to the heritage of cultures south of the Sahara through works of art imbued with social, religious, and political significance. Use this guide's collection overview, gallery map, tour-planning guidelines, background information, discussion questions, suggested works of art, and resource list to make the most of your trip to the Museum.

• The Arts of Japan (Pre-visit Guide)PDF

  Introduce students to the range of styles, formats, and subjects that have characterized Japanese art over the centuries. Use this guide's collection and gallery overviews, tour-planning tips, recommendations for engaging students, suggested themes and works of art, and list of resources to make the most of your visit to the Museum.

• The Chinese Garden Court (Lesson Plan)

  Explore the Museum's Chinese garden court and enhance students' understanding of how traditional Chinese gardens reflect the concept of yin and yang and how material selection and design can convey ideas about the human and natural worlds. Use viewing questions and a storytelling or drawing activity in the Museum's Chinese galleries.

• The Nomads of Central Asia—Turkmen Traditions (Lesson Plan)

  Students will be able to identify ways art of the Turkmen people of Central Asia reflects nomadic life and understand the functional and symbolic role objects play in their lives.

• Urban Life and the Natural World (Lesson Plan)

  Engage students regarding the strengths and limitations of artistic mediums and 1920s rural and urban life in the United States with viewing questions about a stained-glass window and a compare-and-contrast activity in the Museum's American Wing.

• Voices of the Past (Lesson Plan)

  Focus on a slit gong in the Museum's Oceanic collection to illustrate the impact of scale in works of art, and consider objects' functions in their original contexts and ways different communities engage with their elders and ancestors. Classroom viewing questions and an oral history activity enhance the lesson.