With the advent of the standards movement, most states have produced statewide tests that evaluate children's understanding of expository science text. Expository texts are designed to explain, describe, or present a logical argument. Usually, the purpose of expository texts is to present new information. This article describes a research-based…

Describes the advantages of using household food ingredients for art and science activities. Also discusses experiences with foods that are appropriate and inappropriate. (AS)

Describes art education program at Fillmore Arts Center, Washington D.C.; center is part of the Six-School Complex. Over 900 students are bused to this arts center for a half day of art instruction each week. Students take four art courses a year for total of 68 hours of art instruction in dance, drama, music, visual arts, and creative writing.…

A four-day project which involved kindergarten and first-grade classes in making a collection of animals from clay is described. (RM)

The imminent closing of their school led one school's teachers to design the curriculum for the last six months around the theme of shelter. Activities utilized included thinking and verbalizing about the idea of shelter, building and writing about shelters, building cameras and taking photographs, and going on field trips. (IS)

Graphic strategies employed by children, ages three to seven, to draw a family, children playing, a birthday party, and a garden were documented. Results indicated that strategies were task-dependent and flexible. The children developed progressively complex graphic routines in relating one figure to another within a composition. (Author/SR)

Elementary school physical education students plan and design their own games. Working in small groups, they write rules, measure playing areas, draw diagrams, and compile a game design book. Art, language arts, and mathematics teachers assist at various stages in the game design process. (PP)

Describes a school-wide project in which elementary students beautified their school walls with murals of their own design. This article is one of four in this issue on elementary school mural projects. (SJL)

Third- and fourth-grade volunteers created two large murals at Nishuane Elementary School. This article is one of four in this issue on elementary mural projects. (SJL)

A recently developed pictorial and musical program was used to teach abstract art to 12 elementary students with severe intellectual disabilities and 12 controls. There was a significant main instructional effect favoring pictorial with classical music over both pictorial only and pictorial with rock music. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Describes how preschool teachers guided 4-year-olds in a classroom project that integrated constructing with wire, drawing, and storytelling. Notes that children monitored and directed their work and responded to learning challenges. Shows how teachers supported learning of individual children as children began to influence each other's learning.…

Examines the function of drawing by interviewing a wide range of people engaged in design activities. Promotes drawing for its vital contribution to two areas of design activities, exploration, and manipulation. Maintains that further research is necessary now that design and technology are part of the core curriculum in schools. (KM)

Describes a relief printmaking unit for sixth graders with the objective of decorating the inside of a pyramid. Ancient Egyptian imagery was used to help students become familiar with the style. Students designed and printed linoleum prints in different colors. They then critiqued their work and made their selection for the pyramid. (KM)

Analyzes 500 drawings by 258 Hong Kong Chinese and English children (ages 7-11) in order to assess intellectual, social, and emotional development. Found that, irrespective of race or culture, the drawings were symbolic and that similarities were more apparent than differences. Also found that as development proceeded, symbolism was increasingly…

Describes the collection of art work produced by male orphans at Starhie school (Nairobi, Kenya). The drawings portray scenes of village life which are representative of past experiences of these students. Suggests ways in which these materials can be used in the classroom. Offers selections of drawings. (KO)