For Teachers

Teacher Resources

Art Works for Schools: Thinking and Learning through Art

Art Works for Schools is a curriculum designed by deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Underground Railway Theater, and teachers from several area schools. Its purpose is to teach high-level thinking by looking at visual art and engaging in theater activities. The curriculum also helps teachers and students discover the power of the arts to enrich thinking across school subjects. Designed primarily for grades 3–8, but used by teachers of younger and older students as well, Art Works for Schools has been created for classroom teachers to use in conjunction with their regular curriculum.

Ordering Information

To order the Art Works for Schools kit, contact deCordova's Education Department at 781.259.0505. Staff is available to receive calls Monday through Friday, 9 am–4 pm EST. Each kit costs $150, plus $10.00 per kit for shipping and handling. Additionally, orders shipped within Massachusetts must add $7.50 to cover the 5% state sales tax. Accepted forms of payment include VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and personal check.

PDPs (Professional Development Points)

Teachers participating in classes and workshops at deCordova are eligible to receive PDPs. The number of PDPs earned is based on hours of attendance. PDP certificates are awarded at the end of the term. Add $10 per course for PDP certificates.

EDCO Partnership

DeCordova has partnered with EDCO, the teacher professional development consortium, to offer arts workshops meeting the needs of area teachers with regard to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. Typically the partnership offers one class or more in the fall, winter, and spring for PDPs and one week-long institute in the summer with the additional option of graduate credit through Framingham State College. To view the upcoming offerings visit edcollab.org/~seefurth/ or call 781.259.3445 with any questions. 

Teacher Institute Summer 2009: Evaluation Report

Nine teachers from seven districts attended the deCordova New Media Art and Technologies: Nam June Paik Teacher Institute. The in-depth professional development allowed teachers to study video artist Nam June Paik's Requiem to the 20th Century, a sculpture and video art installation in the Museum's Permanent Collection, which fuses art, technology, and social and political history. Funding was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

View the complete evaluation report here.

Sculpture On Site

How do I look at and make sense of sculpture? How do I incorporate sculpture into my classroom curriculum? Explore these questions and others at Sculpture on Site, a Web-based resource designed to assist teachers in gathering ideas and creating experiences for their students focusing on large-scale, outdoor sculpture in deCordova's 35-acre Sculpture Park. This site contains cross-curricular lesson plans for elementary, middle-school, and high-school students. Each of the lessons incorporates national standards and is general enough to apply to other sculpture parks and works of public sculpture. The activities and materials outlined in the lessons are designed to be realistic and relevant to classroom environments.

Resources for the Classroom