The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences and perceptions of two first year teachers relating to the concept of preparing the classroom environment for learning. Two female first year teachers of young children participated in the study. One taught preschool and the other taught fourth grade, both in public school settings in the…

In 2006, as a beginning teacher in a Western Sydney school, the author explored slow motion animation ("slowmation") as a strategy for teaching Year 4 students about equivalent fractions. She taught at this school five days a week, teaching Kindergarten, Year 4, and Year 5. Slowmation can be defined as a simplified version of claymation…

This article describes an activity that required students in third and fourth grade classes to create a life-size, standing self-portrait. The idea was not just to create a picture of themselves to display on a wall or board, but to make "another self" that could interact in the school environment. After completion, the life-size portraits were…

The statement "Learning Is Both an Active and Reflective Practice" is very relevant to the authors elementary artroom, where students are encouraged to think about what they are making, to experiment with ideas, and to ask questions of themselves. Art students in grades three through five use digital cameras, computers, PowerPoint, and reflective…

Digital cameras are easy to find, easy to use, and offer great potential for incorporating technology into lessons. Project ideas can range from creating collections of objects to identify (e.g., insects, plants, rocks/minerals, and so on) to documenting the signs of the seasons or recording the progress of an investigation. Even stages of the…

Photographs taken by urban students, along with the associated interview transcripts, were provided to their teachers partway through the subsequent school year. The teachers were prompted to describe their impressions of the photos relative to their knowledge of the students. In addition, the teachers were asked how these insights might shape…