Asserts that every early childcare teacher can provide a program wherein children can experience art and the multiple learning advantages such a program provides. Specifically addresses issues of: (1) value of art experiences; (2) creativity development; (3) teachers' role; (4) goals of a program; (5) program development; and (6) evaluation. (SD)

This book explores a class of geometric patterns called tessellations, a pattern made up of one or more shapes which completely cover a surface without any gaps or overlaps. Focus in on one of the more elementary types of tessellations and investigation of them through concepts basic to art, geometry, and design. The seven chapters look at which…

This teacher's guide accompanies a packet of five art reproductions based on portraits as a theme. The guide offers suggestions for engaging children's attention and curiosity about art and artists, and encourages exploration of the issues these works present through art activities, discussions, learning centers, field trips, and other experiences…

Various lesson plans for museum instruction were tested on fifth grade children of fair and high intelligence in an attempt to improve upon the "accepted method" of teaching, which was thought to be better suited to the child of low intelligence than to his abler classmates. The lesson plans tested were: (1) the accepted method…

Based on a longitudinal study of three children from birth, argues that children experiment with two dimensional representation much earlier than is commonly thought. Interaction between figurative and action modes of representation is described. Suggests symbolizations based on movement and time as well as configuration. (Author/AS)

Challenges educators to consider the meaning-making potential of art. Explores how this was done in a middle school art classroom by examining the role of the teacher, students' enculturation in art, art as process, and reflection in art. Notes the risks involved when students sometimes create visual meanings that are racist, homophobic, or…

Describes how an integrated class exercise in which students became police artists to enhance students' recognition of reading is important to every subject. Students render drawings from a descriptive paragraph in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." Finished drawings were imaginative, and reading took on a new importance. (GG)

Demonstrates the ways in which the arts can be used to express ecological concerns and promote responsible environmental stewardship. Focuses on a play and a video produced by elementary school students with the assistance of their teachers and professional artists. (MDM)

Describes a project designed to enhance the development of preschool children's aesthetic awareness. Explores how the project presented strategies and materials that can be readily incorporated into the curriculum for any group of young children. Strategies included focusing children's observations; making art happen; and expanding artistic…

Today's art education in East Asia focuses on Western ethnocentric or European ethnocentric art education. These practices reflect the tremendous effect American and European culture has had upon the art education of East Asia, including Korea. Globalization and the information-oriented society in which we live have changed the world. Like many…

Inquiry-based classroom activities require students to solve problems and answer questions that have more than one possible resolution. These types of activities stimulate critical thinking skills and dispositions in students. PreK-12 art classrooms are rich with opportunity for inquiry-based activities for children and adolescents. This article…

Five booklets focusing on playthings as art objects draw together information about historical, ethnographic, and play traditions of various cultures of the world. The first booklet provides an overview of ideas and resources about kites, sound making objects, playing cards, and dolls. The second booklet on kites discusses the distribution and…

THIS DOCUMENT IS A GUIDE FOR TEACHING ART IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 12TH GRADE. IT PRESENTS BACKGROUND INFORMATION IN THE AREAS OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF ART, UNDERSTANDING WORLD CULTURES AS RELATED TO ART, AND ART AND THE COMMUNITY. THE ROLES OF ART COORDINATOR, CLASSROOM TEACHER, PRINCIPAL, AND PARENT ARE DISCUSSED. THE ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES IN ART,…