Maintains that museum learning should be an integral part of all school art programs and should not be treated as an enrichment, a supplement, or mere resource for the classroom-based art program. Describes the programs of 35 United States art museums which go beyond the standard "walk-and-gawk" tours of the past. (JDH)

Based on Joshua Johnson's 1897 oil-on-canvas painting called "The Westwood Children," this article offers a full-color reproduction and lesson plan designed to introduce students in the primary grades to early American portraiture. (JDH)

A model for the teaching of aesthetic dialogue to intermediate grade students is presented. One outcome of children discussing the aesthetic structure of art is that they transfer this learning and structure to other areas of their life. (Author/RM)

Reasons why art education should be concerned with contemporary visual culture are examined. Three ways the art curriculum can be restructured to respond critically to visuals such as photographs, advertising, television, and rock videos are outlined. (RM)

Aesthetic perception must be taught if we expect students to use it. Within a given society, the creators and viewers of art are socialized to more or less agreed upon aesthetic codes and conventions. (Author/RM)

Aesthetic education has attempted to teach art history and criticism, along with providing traditional art activities. The viability of aesthetic education is criticized, and a step beyond it is suggested. The purpose of this new direction, aesthetic literacy, is to ensure that students become knowledgeable consumers of the visual arts. (CS)

Presents reasons why art education should be considered a mainstream discipline. The author argues that art educators must use their skills in visual media to communicate the importance of visual literacy. The relevance of art to work skills, language acquisition, and cultural values is examined. (AM)

Presents a lesson plan based on John Singleton Copley's 1795 oil painting, "Portrait of Nathaniel Hurd." The goal of the lesson is to give students in grades four through six an awareness of portraiture and how portraits record not only character but historical times and customs. (JDH)

"At the Piano," an oil-on-canvas painting completed in 1859 by James Abbot McNeill Whistler, is used as the basis of a lesson designed to help junior high school students analyze the painting's mood, subject matter, and composition. (JDH)

Defines aesthetic scanning, the perceptual activity that artists use when creating art and that connoisseurs use when contemplating it. Shows how to ask questions that elicit information about the sensory, formal, expressive, and technical properties of a work of art. (JDH)

An outreach program for gifted upper elementary students developed at the Hirshhorn Museum is described. Objectives are to teach visual literacy, to present the materials using the inquiry method, to use art history and criticism to develop students' looking skills, and to encourage parents to attend classes and museum visits. (RM)

Throughout European history, artists have celebrated the values of their patrons. Today, the schools are the largest employer of artists. To justify art education according to current Back-to-Basics values, art teachers should explain visual art as a language, which they can teach students to read and use. (SJL)

Ivan Albright's 1929 oil-on-canvas painting called "Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida" is used as the vehicle for a senior high school art lesson designed to introduce students to symbolism, aesthetic issues, and the formal elements of painting. (JDH)

Techniques that teachers can use to help art students to make an educated guess or to estimate an approximate solution while solving a visual problem that has no single correct answer are discussed. (RM)

Discussed are the goals of a unified national art curriculum: (1) developing visual perception, (2) developing visual literacy, (3) helping students discover and use their creativity, (4) teaching students to respond to personal experiences and their environments, and (5) refining skills in used art media. (RM)