A secondary teacher describes how she has her students use liquid white enamel. With the enameling process, students can create lasting, exciting artwork. They can exercise an understanding of design and color while learning the value of careful, sustained craft skills. (RM)

Little League and art education are trying to justify themselves by forcing precocity on children. Children are entitled to learn in their own most effective ways. (RM)

A teacher describes what happened when she discovered that a blind student had been mainstreamed into one of her fifth-grade art classes. (RM)

How an art department can use screen printing to provide useful, creative services to the school and community is described. This helps foster a positive attitude toward art education while teaching students new concepts. (RM)

Pictograms--assemblages of geometrical shapes that represent parts of the body--simply and vividly show how the body moves. They can be used to help elementary students draw larger figures and have confidence in drawing people. The pictograms also encourage children to look at shapes and details that artists use. (RM)

Techniques to help students do modeled drawings using Conte crayon or chalk are presented. Students must imagine that the crayon is actually touching the form they are drawing, pressing lightly on sections closest to them, and increasing the pressure to create darker tones as they draw the parts farther away. (RM)

This teaching guide discusses ancient Egyptian culture, the lithographs made by Napoleon's scientists in 1798-99 to study and record every aspect of Egypt, the world's subsequent fascination with Egypt, ancient Egyptian architecture, Egyptian writing, and archeologists' illustrations of Egypt. The guide suggests activities for elementary school,…

Creating differentiated art curricula to accommodate artistically talented student individual needs may enhance student performance and program outcomes. This digest discusses: (1) individual education plans for artistically able students with exceptionalities; (2) subgroups of students with dual exceptionalities; (3) methods of teaching students…

Looks at the planning and implementation of the art curriculum in Virginia Beach City (VA) Public Schools. Lists the goals of the art education program and the components that serve as the organizational framework. Provides a brief description of elementary and secondary curricula. Discusses problems and solutions involved with the implementation…

This article describes a lesson in which students compare how artists have depicted rivers in paintings, using different styles, compositions, subject matter, colors, and techniques. They create a watercolor landscape that includes a river. Students can learn about rivers by studying them on site, through environmental study, and through works of…

The subject of gargoyles is engaging for children. Creating their own gargoyles is a journey to a place of fantasy and imagination. Ghosts, goblins, creatures of the night--this is the stuff for which students have a limitless reserve of energy. What more appropriate time than Halloween to share with them the history of these functional--and…

Sciences fair season is a time when seasoned non-science teachers typically give up all hope of cramming any more knowledge into the heads of their students. It's just too much. However, non-science types might be missing out on a pretty good deal. The science department has got these kids in a pretty tight grip as far as the process and the…

In painting and drawing classes, it is typical to ask students to work directly from a master. It is one way to study composition techniques, and to become familiar with classical style firsthand. In museums, easels are set up as artists work, not in an attempt to copy or plagiarize, but in an attempt to be part of history by participating in it.…

ADHD is a neurobiological-based brain disorder, most often hereditary, affecting nearly one in twenty students. The ADHD brain functions differently because the area between the frontal lobe and rear lobe is having short-circuit problems and is not transmitting necessary information. The technical part of the disorder does not engage us as…

Meeting the diverse needs of Pamela Malkin's students forced her to really look at what she teaches and how she teaches it. While she was teaching her sixth-grade students to create a mask from clay, she found that many were having a hard time remembering all the steps of my demonstration. Since most of the process was taught through…