Connect2Texas
The Old Jail Art Center
Free Digital Learning Options Available
Hello Educators! With school closures and students stuck at home, we wanted to pass along some options for digital learning. Share these programs with parents or incorporate them into your online lessons and homework.
Contact Education Director Erin Whitmore for questions.
Educational Program Recordings
No registration is required. Students can watch these recordings anytime.
Arbor Day: A Celebration of Trees (Grades 2-6)
7-12 year olds will enjoy a lesson and coordinating activity focused on the history and traditions of Arbor Day. Program reviews the environmental role of trees, as well as a variety of essential resources that they provide. Includes an original reading of The Giving Tree by author Shel Silverstein followed by a guided craft of recycled paper materials.
Terms/Themes: Seasonal Indicator, Symbol, Arbor, Resource, Scarcity, Recycle, Reuse
Materials Needed:
Paper lunch-sack or any small paper bagClippings from old magazines, calendars, brochures, mail etc.
Scissors
Glue-stick or bottle glue
Step-by-step directions
Hanami: A Japanese Celebration of Spring (Grades K-6)
5-12 year olds will enjoy a lesson and coordinating activity focused on cross-cultural spring traditions and symbols. Explores the brief annual phenomenon of Sakura blossoms across the Japanese coast and subsequent celebrations. Includes traditional Japanese Children’s Song and book recommendations.
Terms/Themes: Seasonal Indicators, Symbols, Traditions, Temporary/Ephemeral, National and State Flowers
Materials Needed:
Sakura branch template (to be printed on regular printer paper)
Crayons or colored pencils
5 Q-tips bundled tightly with a rubber band, hair tie or bag tiw
Any type of paint (watercolor, fingerpaint, acrylic- whatever you’ve got!) or an inkpad in the colors pink and red)
Pysanky: Spring Egg Decoration-Ukraine (Grades K-6)
5-12 year olds will enjoy a lesson and coordinating activity focused on cross-cultural spring traditions and symbols, and the science and math behind Ukrainian egg decoration. Includes a reading of Rechenka’s Eggs by author Patricia Polacco.
Terms/ Themes: Change in Seasons, Icons/Symbols, Geometric shapes, Halves/Quadrants, Symmetry/Reflection
Materials Needed:
Egg template (print this off on regular printer paper and cut it out!)
Colored pencil, crayon or marker (any will work!)
National Poetry Month & Kite Month (Grades 3-6)
Students (ages 8-12) will enjoy a lesson and coordinating activity focused on Inference, Visual Thinking Skills, Sensory Details, and Acrostic Poetry.
Terms/Themes: Painting, Detail, Landscape, Sensory Details, Word vs. Phrase, Acrostic Poem, Origami, Decorative vs. Functional
Materials Needed:
Acrostic Kite Template (print this off on regular printer paper)
Pencil, pen, or other writing utensil
Scissors
Glue stick or tape
A few strips of ribbon, yarn, crepe ribbon, etc., to create a kite tail
Butterfield “Memory and Identity” Horses (Grades 3-6)
Students (ages 8-12) will enjoy a lesson and coordinating activity focused on themes of Identity, Memory, Loss and Resilience.
Terms/Themes: Tsunami, Natural Disaster, Chaos, Sculpture, Memorial, Tribute, Assemblage, Inspiration, Identity
Materials Needed:
Horse Template (print this off on regular printing paper)
Scissors
Glue
Old magazines, calendars, brochures, newspapers, etc., that can be cut up
Japanese Kabuki Theater & Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints (Grades 7-12)
Students (ages 12-18) will enjoy a fun and lighthearted lesson focused on Japanese theater and visual art traditions during the Edo period. There will be a brief discussion of the Woodblock printing process, Kabuki theater, and the social traditions that informed these art-forms during 18th Century Japan.
Terms/Themes: Silhouette, Profile, Identity, Cartouche, Narrative, Commercial Art, Mass-production, Populist Art
No preparation or materials needed to participate. OJAC Collection Image is included for student reference.
Warhol Watercolors with Sam the Cat: A Lesson in Color Theory from a Famous Feline (Grades K-6)
Students (ages 5-12) will enjoy a lesson and coordinating activity focused on Color Theory, Modern Art, and favorite pets.
Terms/Themes: Uniqueness, Andy Warhol/Pop Art, Color Theory: Primary, Secondary & Complimentary Colors
Materials Needed:
Sam the Cat Coloring Template (print this off on regular printer paper)
Watercolors, colored pencil, or crayon (any will work!)
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Connect2Texas
Email: c2tx@esc11.net
Website: www.connect2texas.net
Location: Fort Worth, TX, United States
Phone: 817-740-7516
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