Curriculum & Resources

Photo credit: Kevin Allen
Our free curriculum, exhibition resource guides, and See for Yourself cards support arts learning in the classroom and highlight the artistic contributions of women past and present.

Art, Books, and Creativity (ABC) Curriculum

Art, Books, and Creativity (ABC) is the museum’s signature arts integration curriculum. This model curriculum unites visual arts and language arts through the creation of artists’ books, with a specific focus on the cultural contributions of women artists. ABC promotes visual literacy and critical thinking by developing students’ skills in observation, reflection, and arts creation.

Explore the ABC Curriculum
A birds-eyed view of a display of artists books showing a variety of folded paper and works of art.
Photo credit: Deborah Gaston, NMWA

Exhibition and Collection Educator Guides

Our educator guides below are rich resources created to complement the museum’s special exhibitions and collection.

Adaptable for Pre-K–12 classrooms, these guides include biographical information about artists and artworks, digital images, discussion questions, suggested classroom activities, and related standards of learning.

Arts and Humanities for Every Student

Educators at NMWA collaborate with the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative (DC Collaborative) to offer Arts and Humanities for Every Student (AHFES) learning opportunities for 3rd through 8th grade students attending Washington, D.C., public and public charter schools.

Since 2015, AHFES experiences at NMWA have introduced nearly 3,000 Washington, D.C. students to NMWA’s mission and artwork through Harvard Project Zero Thinking Routines.

NMWA’s asynchronous and synchronous AHFES offerings encourage students to look closely at developmentally appropriate artworks, contribute respectfully to open-ended discussions, pose questions, share their opinions, make connections between visual art and their world, and create original works of art.

Asynchronous resources support teachers who wish to facilitate a museum-inspired experience on their own. They include virtual art galleries filled with a range of artworks relevant to each theme; close looking activities modeled after DCPS’s “Close Study: Close Viewing” guides; and art making lessons and videos that encourage the exploration of techniques and satisfy final product assignments of each curriculum unit.

These asynchronous resources also act as pre- and post-lessons for teachers who schedule a synchronous session with NMWA’s educators.

During synchronous sessions with the museum, students will practice “See, Think, Wonder,” along with other Harvard Project Zero Thinking Routines.

Check out the asynchronous resources here. To schedule a virtual synchronous session, visit the DC Collaborative’s AHFES program catalogue.

AHFES Themes

NMWA offers five thematic AHFES experiences—Art & Advocacy, Everyday DC, Language of Layering, Make a Wish, and Powerful Beyond Measure—which are inspired by units in DC Public School’s (DCPS) Framework for Art Learning.

The Art & Advocacy resources encourage students to view, discuss, and create visual art that connects to individuals and communities for the purpose of inspiring social change.

Warm up your students’ looking skills with a close viewing activity. Then, use Harvard Project Zero’s See, Think, Wonder Thinking Routine with images from the provided virtual art gallery. Finally, use Art Making: Zines for a Cause to complete a thematic art project.

The Everyday DC resources encourage students to view, discuss, and create visual art that considers Washington, D.C.’s rich and diverse communities and celebrates the identities of those who call the city home.

Warm up your students’ looking skills with a close viewing activity. Then, use the Harvard Project Zero’s See, Think, Wonder Thinking Routine with images from the provided virtual art gallery. Finally, use Art Making: Reflecting on and Reimagining Your DC to complete a thematic art project.

The Language of Layering resources encourage students to view and discuss prints that employ the juxtaposition of text and image, appropriation, and/or layering to convey complex meaning.

Warm up your students’ looking skills with a close viewing activity. Then, use the Harvard Project Zero’s See, Think, Wonder Thinking Routine with images from the provided virtual art gallery. Finally, utilize the virtual art gallery of prints in the museum’s collection to inspire printmaking project in your classroom and spark students’ creativity.

The Make a Wish resources encourage students to view, discuss, and create visual art explores the growth and development of people, plants, and animals.

Warm up your students’ looking skills with a close viewing activity. Then, use the Harvard Project Zero’s See, Think, Wonder Thinking Routine with images from the provided virtual art gallery. Finally, use Art Making: Artists’ Books as Personal Timelines to complete a thematic art project.

The Powerful Beyond Measure resources encourage students to view, discuss, and create visual art that recast classical portrait traditions to celebrate contemporary identities.

Warm up your students’ looking skills with a close viewing activity. Then, use the Harvard Project Zero’s See, Think, Wonder Thinking Routine with images from the provided virtual art gallery. Finally, use Art Making: Create Your Own Self-Portraits to complete a thematic art project.

Virtual Art Galleries

Story Time with Women in the Arts

Enjoy special NMWA@Home videos—created and curated by NMWA staff to help you stay entertained and safe while you #StayatHome. Story Time with Women in the Arts features books for kids authored or illustrated by women.
View Full Playlist for Story Time with Women in the Arts , opens in new tab