Resources for Learning
The resources on this page can help K–12 teachers and their students—as well as parents or guardians supporting their child’s learning from home—stay connected to contemporary art and ideas.
Find out more about in-person tours, or you and your students can explore contemporary art from a distance by participating in one of our virtual field trip experiences. Contact tours@walkerart.org for more information.
Self-guided tour plans & exhibition guides
Use these guides to structure your group’s self-guided visit to the Walker. For information about planning self-guided group tours, visit our Tours page.
Minneapolis Sculpture Garden: Please Touch! (Grades K–5)
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Minneapolis Sculpture Garden: Art That Moves Us (Grades 6–12)
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Minneapolis Sculpture Garden: What Is Sculpture? (All Ages)
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Teacher guides for current exhibitions and artworks
Ways of Knowing: Exhibition Guide for Teachers
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This Must Be the Place: Exhibition Guide for Teachers
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Angela Two Stars' Okciyapi: Artwork Guide for Teachers
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Jordan Weber's Prototype for poetry vs rhetoric (deep roots): Artwork Guide for Teachers
Download guide
Previous exhibition teacher guides
Keith Haring: Art Is For Everybody: Exhibition Guide for Teachers
Download guide
Pacita Abad: Exhibition Guide for Teachers
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David Hockney: People, Places & Things: Exhibition Guide for Teachers
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Julie Mehretu: Exhibition Guide for Teachers
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Design for Different Futrures: Exhibition Guide for Teachers
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An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns Prints, 1960–2018: Exhibition Guide for Teachers
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Theaster Gates: Assembly Hall: Exhibition Guide for Teachers
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In-Classroom lesson plans
These lessons are designed for teachers to facilitate in their classrooms before visiting the Walker and will help support student learning during the field trip.
Each lesson ranges in length from 45 to 90 minutes. Lessons are accompanied by PowerPoint slides featuring artworks from the Walker’s collection. These are designed to meet Minnesota state academic standards in a range of subjects.
These lessons are also great for teachers who are unable to bring their students for a field trip to the Walker but want to share contemporary art with them.
Lesson Plans for Grades K–2
STEAM | Sculptures and Scale
Students will practice making observations, taking measurements, comparing and contrasting, and other important STEAM skills as they explore the sizes and scales of a variety of sculptures.
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English Language Arts | What’s the Story
Students will learn to “read” works of art and the stories that they tell while exercising their literacy skills through writing, speaking, and storytelling activities.
Download materials
Contemporary Art | Art Investigators
Students will practice important critical-thinking skills as they learn how to investigate, interpret, and enjoy contemporary works of art.
Download materials
Lesson Plans for Grades 3–5
STEAM | Sculptures and Scale
Students will practice making observations, taking measurements, comparing and contrasting, and other important STEAM skills as they explore the sizes and scales of a variety of sculptures.
Download materials
English Language Arts | What’s the Story
Students will learn to “read” works of art and the stories that they tell while exercising their literacy skills through writing, speaking, and storytelling activities.
Download materials
Social Studies | Public Park, Public Art
Students will learn about public art and the decisions that artists and museums must make when creating and presenting artworks that are accessible to the general public.
Download materials
Contemporary Art | Art Investigators
Students will practice important critical-thinking skills as they learn how to investigate, interpret, and enjoy contemporary works of art.
Download materials
Lesson Plans for Grades 6–8
STEAM | Experimental Drawing
Students will learn ways scientific principles, such as physics and robotics, can be used to create art and then compare and contrast two artworks made by drawing machines.
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English Language Arts | Artwork Experts
Students will hone their research, argumentation, and presentation skills as they develop a pitch to convince potential buyers to purchase an artwork.
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Social Studies | Artists and Communities
Students will learn about the meaning of community, identify communities to which they belong, and examine the community-centered artwork Shadows at the Crossroads.
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Contemporary Art | Making Meaning
Students will explore ways contemporary artists address the same theme in widely different ways and develop skills of observation, discussion, reflection, and context examination.
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Lesson Plans for Grades 9–12
English Language Arts | Curating an Exhibition
Students will work together to review descriptive texts of different artworks, establish common ideas, and plan an art exhibition that presents a specific theme or argument.
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Social Studies | Art and Society
Students will consider different motivations for creating art, work collaboratively to develop an argument about art’s primary function, and participate in a classroom debate.
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Contemporary Art | Making Meaning
Students will exercise skills of observation, discussion, research, and reflection to analyze an informational text about an artwork and develop a well-reasoned interpretation.
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