Focuses on the facial expression in the "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. Offers background information on da Vinci as well as learning activities for students. Includes a reproduction of the "Mona Lisa" and information about the painting. (CMK)

Proposes that teachers use children's literature to introduce art history to elementary students. Provides strategies for this approach and suggests several children's books for consideration. (MG)

Maintains that in recent years there has been an increasing interest in the history of art education and art education associations. Describes how the Texas Art Education Association has collected and documented material from its past. Points out that art education students can use this information to place current trends in perspective. (KM)

Describes origins of the constructed relief and shows some examples of contemporary artists' work. Suggests using this history to motivate students to construct their own reliefs. Outlines a four-step lesson: preliminary drawing, finished drawing, mock-up relief, and finished construction using durable materials, such as wood, acrylic sheet, or…

Maintains that the study of art history should be learning about all forms of art work from every culture and relating it to the present. Describes how one art teacher uses puppetry to actively involve students in art history. Recommends that teachers look to the great teachers and their own teaching for such lessons. (KM)

Uses Josiah Wedgwood and the pottery industry in England to illustrate the theme of technological development in a unit on the Industrial Revolution. States that infusing the biography of a specific individual can enliven history instruction. Presents two lessons on Josiah Wedgwood and shows how historians use the material culture to understand…

An active learning method incorporated into one college teacher's art history survey classes encourages students to begin to express ideas about what they see through three stages of a learning cycle: exploration, invention, and application. The method can be used in almost any field and has special advantages for introductory courses. (MSE)

Presents an art lesson for second-grade students that was inspired by the book "Grandpa's Face" by Eloise Greenfield. Comments that the students each wrote a descriptions of their grandfather's face, compared the artwork of Chuck Close and Vincent Van Gogh, and then made clay representations of their grandfather's face using abstract…

Provides historical background on the ancient Hohokam people. Provides an art activity in which fifth grade students create effigy vessels based on their study of the Hohokam. Describes the process. Explains that students develop clay modeling skills and an appreciation for Hohokam culture. (CMK)

Describes an assignment that was used in an advanced drawing class in which the students created self-portraits, breaking up their images using planes and angles to suggest their bone structure. Explains that the students also had to include three realistic portions in their drawings. (CMK)

Provides a discussion on entrance designs to interest students in the history of architecture. Focuses on reasons why studying entrances is important. Includes pictures of four different entrances to show students the diversity of entrances and offer examples to give student ideas for their work. (CMK)

Provides background information on the artist Marsden Hartley and includes a reproduction of his artwork called "New Mexico Landscape." Provides ideas for teaching activities that focus on the painting and the artist. Examines the content and style of the painting. (CMK)

Presents an instructional resource on Haitian art and provides historical information on Haiti. Features four artists: (1) Hector Hyppolite; (2) Edouard Duval-Carrie; (3) Paul Claude Gardere; and (4) Bien-Aime Sylvain. Includes background information on each artist, learning activities, and reproductions of their artwork. (CMK)

Presents an art lesson for fifth- and sixth-graders where they create a translucent design of colored cellophane on black paper inspired by the stained-glass windows of the Middle Ages and the artwork of Lewis Comfort Tiffany. Enables the students to become crafts people rather than just observers of the past. (CMK)

Describes an activity for first-grade students in which they learn about cave paintings and become spelunkers, or people who explore caves as a hobby, making their own paper head-lanterns. Explains that students draw animals on the walls of their "cave" (a dark hallway lined with brown kraft paper). (CMK)