K-12 School and Teacher Programs
K-12 Resources
UMFA School and Teacher Programs bring hands-on arts experiences to schools across the state of Utah. From experiential field trips, interactive presentations in schools, teacher professional development, and classroom resources, we offer a variety of opportunities to illuminate art and creativity through classroom learning.
Educator Resources
Lesson Plans
Incorporate UMFA collections into any curriculum with STEAM-focused, grade-specific, and other lesson plans below.
Mindfulness in the Classroom
Practice mindfulness and learn the art of slowing down. Through classroom practice, students can develop lifelong tools to help focus and calm the mind, reducing stress and anxiety while promoting creativity and wellbeing. To begin this practice, all that is needed is time! Use the below resources to guide your students, fellow teachers, or yourself through easy and mindful meditations. This can be done as little or as much as you like, whether every day, before test days, or whenever a little calm would benefit the class.
Calming Meditation
Help your students find sense of calm by leading them through this exercise.
Breath awareness meditation
Help your students connect with and become aware of their breath with this written meditation.
Five-minute color meditation
Watch this short video and learn to be mindful of the colors around you and how they make you feel.
UEAR: Art, Mindfulness, and the Classroom Conference Presentation
Watch a recording of Art, Mindfulness, and the Classroom conference session from March 2022.
Art Breaks
Take a five-minute break, explore a work of art, and be inspired to make art of your own. Learn about these seven elements of art with artworks in the UMFA’s collection!
Texture
For this 5-minute Art Break, we explore the element of art, texture, by looking at French artist Alfred-Arthur Brunel de Neuville’s Anxious Moments.
Line
Watch this video to learn about line, an important element of art, by looking at a work from 1720 by Italian artist Giovanni-Battista Piranesi.
Color
Explore the art element “color” by looking at Francois Ykens’ oil painting from 1644 entitled, Flower Still Life.
Shape
Using Zion Quilt by Jen Shurtliff, jump into an exploration of shape, a fundamental element of art.
Space
In this Art Break, learn about the use of positive and negative space with Maria Martinez and Popovi Da’s Serpent Plate.
Form
In this video, look closely at the forms in a Sowei Helmet Mask to learn and discover a new appreciation for this element of art and artwork.
Value
Meridith Pingree’s cyanotype provides a unique opportunity to learn about value, an essential element of art.
Creative Leaps: Inspirations from Contemporary Art and Dance
Join Ririe Woodbury Dance Company and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts as we dance, doodle, and discover the dynamic world of contemporary art and dance!
Educator Resource on Japanese Art
This collection of resources will help bring the UMFA’s Japanese art into your classroom!
Beyond the Classroom Webinars
Bring artworks and content experts to your classroom in this cross-curricular webinar series.
Third Saturdays: Online
Enjoy our popular, kid-friendly art-making activities in the classroom.
Professional Development
Come excited to learn with fellow teachers and leave with fresh ideas and inspiration
—we all learn better by learning together.
UMFA educators and guest instructors provide tools and strategies for integrating art and cultural objects into all classroom learning.
Our professional development events are interactive, hands-on, and art-making intensive. These networking opportunities include open houses, Evening for Educators, and curriculum-based workshops. Relicensure points are available at most events.
Related events
Evening for Educators: Building a Story Together
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
There are many ways to build a story and integrate English Language Arts with Visual Arts in the classroom! Inspired by special exhibitions, we’ll explore ideas of collaboration, writing, and visual stories. As we participate in workshops and an interactive tour, we’ll learn together to make a more dynamic story.
2023-2024 POPS Report
Professional Outreach Program in the Schools (POPS), managed by the Utah State Board of Education and sponsored by the Utah State Legislature, supports arts education in Utah’s public schools by bringing professional arts organizations’ educational programs to schools for free or subsidized costs. The goal is to connect schools, teachers, administrators, and students with high-quality arts learning experiences with professional artists. POPS supports the state’s core arts standards by providing arts education opportunities to all Utah schools.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney Foundation
Kathie Zumbro
With generous In-Kind support from the UMFA Docents