This curriculum handbook uses a discipline based art education (DBAE) approach, and includes lessons appropriate for use with students in grades 3-12. Five units address themes of universally experienced emotions: love, anguish, awe, triumph, and joy. Art exemplars are draw from among the international cultures represented in the High Museum of Art's exhibition, "Rings: Five Passions in World Art," which was presented in conjunction with the 1996 Cultural Olympiad in Atlanta, Georgia. Each unit contains three sections that address the unit theme through three diverse cultural images. Sections are similarly formatted to include: (1) an introduction that relates the presented image to the theme; (2) historical information "About the Work" and "About the Artist"; (3) "Main Ideas"; (4) "How the Four Disciplines Contribute to Our Understanding"; (5) "Connections to Other Areas of Study"; (6) "Vocabulary"; (7) "Initial Script," which suggests ways to involve students in critically viewing images; and (8) "Activities" for discussion, critical thinking and viewing, and art making. The resource includes 15 poster reproductions and a set of color overhead transparencies. The handbook also contains black and white reproducible images for use in individual learning activities. Contains 13 references. (MM)