Happily for art teachers, there is no shortage of online teaching materials for arts education. Whether you're teaching elementary or secondary art classes, you'll find web-based resources for arts instruction so you can challenge your students with diverse teaching methods. Lesson plans for arts education identify basic skills you can start with, the arts education supplies your students will need and goals to set so that you can accurately assess student progress.

Once you set your lesson objectives, use these instructional materials for arts education to reach those objectives step by step. Don't forget that even art students learn in different ways, and that not every student can develop his talent through traditional classroom learning techniques. Maintain student interest in the arts by taking multiple approaches to arts education:

1. Cover the basics with teacher-generated lesson plans and traditional arts education materials.

2. Connect arts education materials to other curricula and broaden your students' experiences.

3. Alternate lessons by using visual teaching materials for arts education.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find useful lesson plans that depend on traditional arts education materials

The Internet provides a wealth of lesson plans for art teachers. Many of these lesson plans identify specific supplies for students of arts education.

I recommend: The J. Paul Getty Trust maintains an expansive collection of lesson plans for elementary and secondary teachers. These lesson plans identify learning objectives, materials required—including art education books, steps and assessment. Access the substantial lesson plan archive that the New York Times has been developing for years. Not only do these lesson plans explain in-class activities, they also suggest wrap-up and homework assignments in addition to provocative questions for follow-up classroom discussions.

Teach across the curriculum with art education materials incorporating other subjects

Broaden your students' scope so that they see art outside of the classroom and in more non-traditional settings.

I recommend: Haring Kids suggests lesson plans in which teachers encourage students to use their real-life experiences to find inspiration for their work. Arizona State University Herberger College of the Arts encourages the teaching of art across the curriculum so that students learn to synthesize knowledge from varied sources. Search the site for lesson plans for ideas on how to use storytelling, playwriting, symmetrical design, painting and even art criticism in your humanities lesson plans. These plans identify specific school supplies for art you should always have on hand for impromptu lessons.

Reach out to visual learners through video-based arts education materials

Reach out to visual learners through captivating slides and videos that help them learn better.

I recommend: Media for the Arts, based in Rhode Island, has created visual learning aids for the fine arts since 1948. Request a catalog of products or view the online catalog showing thousands of color slides. Chicago-based Little Laureate develops award-winning videos to teach art to small children.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Find arts education materials to help you create lessons in which students must put their learning to use through either in-class demonstrations or school-wide events, such as arts fairs and competitions.