Handheld technologies with multi-touch functions have been embraced by the young generation and become their important tool for social and learning purposes. The purpose of this study was to explore how the state-of-art devices could be integrated into authentic art appreciation courses to motivate and enhance students' learning. It was conducted…

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…

There is a lot of creative energy between students and their art materials. In this lesson, the author discusses materials an artist may use to create a work of art--paint, a paintbrush, a palette, crayons, markers, pastels, and so on. Each student sketched a picture of themselves holding some tools that can be used in art. The objectives of this…

In this article, the author describes an art project--a school-wide sticky-note show. The show was inspired by Giant Robot's annual Post-It Show in Los Angeles. The gallery invites hundreds of artists to doodle, draw, paint, and collage onto sticky notes. The individual sticky notes can be silly, ambitious, conceptual, or beautiful, but the…

In this article, the author describes how her students constructed a three-dimensional sculpture of a dragon using plaster wrap and other materials. The dragons were formed from modest means--using only a toilet-paper tube, newsprint, tape and wire.

Kids love to build robots, letting their imaginations run wild with thoughts of what they might look like and what they could be programmed to do. Yet when students use cereal boxes and found objects to make robots, often the projects look too similar and tend to fall apart. This alternative allows students to "build" robots in a different way,…

Glass as an art form is anything but new. Three thousand years ago the Egyptians were molding glass beads and shaping elegant glass perfume bottles. In this article, the author describes how his students created sun catchers inspired by the beauty of Notre Dame's stained glass windows and the intrigue of Dale Chihuly's sculptures. (Contains 1…

The first workshop in this series of institutes exploring the legacies of slavery in Virginia sponsored by the Virginia Geographic Alliance took place in Richmond, Virginia, and explored Africanist aesthetic legacies in contemporary culture and performance. In this workshop, the authors were specifically interested in pursuing the intersecting…

Inspired by a beautiful bookmark one of the author's students made for him as a gift, he began a lesson exploring the vibrant bark paintings popular all over Mexico. The majority of his students have Mexican ancestry, so exploring the arts of Mexico is always popular and well received. Amate paintings can also be a great way to introduce the…

Nature is all around, and can be the inspiration for some excellent creations in the classroom. How can a teacher bring these rich natural elements into the art class? As the author was exploring a hiking trail, he came across a large piece of bark from an old oak tree. A strong wind began to blow through the trees, the leaves began to rustle and…

To the general public, the topic of art education conjures up images of pencil drawings and tempera paint. If asked what a student might learn in an art class, a typical response might be that they will be taught how to draw and paint. This interpretation isn't totally incorrect, as drawing and painting are activities preformed in most artrooms.…

In this article, the author describes how students can create a stunning as well as economical mosaic utilizing fall's brilliantly colored leaves, preserved at their peak in color. Start by choosing a beautiful fall day to take students on a nature walk to collect a variety of leaves in different shapes, sizes, and colors. Focus on collecting a…

It was nearing the end of a very long, rough winter with a lot of snow and too little time to play outside. The snow had formed small hills and valleys over the bushes and this was at the perfect height for the students to paint. In this article, the author describes how her transitional first-grade students created snow art paintings. (Contains 1…

Born in Cumberland, Maryland, Nancy Sansom Reynolds earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from George Washington University in Washington, DC in 1982. Reynolds' reputation as a sculptor has steadily grown over the years, and today her artwork is included in many private and public collections and has been displayed in the United States, Asia,…

Louise Nevelson's circular assemblage, "Collegiate School" (1972), was the inspiration for an art class with the preschoolers at the Kent Children's Center. Nevelson (1899-1988) was the ultimate "found art" artist. Finding interesting throwaway objects, in and out of trash bins, she constructed assemblages that completely changed their former use.…