While remaining cognizant of several aspects of current information literacy (IL) instruction methods, including threshold concepts, the author re-created experiences shared by students as she searched for, analyzed, and compiled resources pertaining to the Renaissance. Good IL instruction supports education of the whole person, develops new modes…

In this Instructional Resource, Denmead and Brown consider how "Ruffneck Constructivists," an exhibition curated by Kara Walker at the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA), University of Pennsylvania, can disturb and provoke young creatives and art education more broadly. For this exhibition, Walker draws on the figure that MC Lyte…

Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…

Collecting and placing images/objects of inspiration and personal significance is not an uncommon practice for studio artists. Washington based mixed-media/installation artist Renee Stout draws from the collections she displays in her studio and in her home. She is an avid collector of various objects, including vintage perfumes, West African…

Dada, an art movement that became well known in the late 1910s and early 1920s, challenged traditional notions of art and aesthetics. Dada artists, for example, tossed colored scraps of paper into the air to compose chance-based collages, performed sound poems devoid of semantic value, and modeled a headpiece fashioned of sardine cans. To most art…

The last two sections (EJ1039315 and EJ1039319) presented stories about specific moments or lessons. Also, situations infused with complexity where the writers had to toggle back and forth between providing the larger context and the details that support readers' understanding of that big picture were presented. In this section each story is…

Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…

Rick Beck works in cast glass; his large-scale work ranges in scale from 15 inches to around 7 feet tall. His medium--glass--makes the scale of Beck's pieces very impressive. He is probably best-known for his oversized cast glass sculptures of common hardware: nuts, bolts, screws, measuring spoons, saws, eating utensils, eye hooks, wing nuts and…

Baskets have been an integral part of everyday life in every civilization and every part of the world. This article traces the origin of basketmaking, features craft artist Mary Jackson, and discusses how to engage students in basketmaking using traditional and non-traditional materials.

At the NAEA conference in Minneapolis, Carpenter and Sessions asked, "What are we teaching, especially about ceramics?" Art educators are often criticized for leaving out historical context when teaching studio art. In this article, the author offers guidelines, based on national and state art standards, and share the results of teaching…

Describes, compares, and evaluates examples of first generation elementary and junior high curriculum resources which are based upon the discipline based approach to art education. Offers these as sound, sequential instructional materials that are useful in the areas of art history, art criticism, aesthetics, and art studio. (KO)

Presents a lesson in which students created three-dimensional self-portraits, using papier-mache, clay, and plaster, designed to develop their modeling skills as they learn about art history. Discusses how the students created their sculptures, offering detailed directions on creating the three-dimensional heads. (CMK)

Discusses art work that uses exotic decoration, and the problems with viewing examples of these types of art work due to the types of materials used. Offers examples of exotic decoration to help students create their own works of art. (CMK)

Presents an art lesson in which kindergarten and first-grade students learn about Henri Matisse and his art work. Explains that the students use "Model Magic" to create Matisse style face refrigerator magnets. Discusses in detail how to create the magnets. (CMK)

Provides information on Willie Bester, who lived under Apartheid in South Africa and used his art to bring public attention to the plight of persecuted people. Includes a reproduction of Bester's collage, "Crossroads." Discusses the history and social message of "Crossroads." (CMK)