A color-blot exercise is described as a way of getting students involved in abstract thinking by a low risk, confidence-building activity. Students are asked to combine poetry and art. (CL)

The author discusses the role of the visual arts in helping people deal creatively with their struggles while enhancing their creative abilities. Lists of media, materials, techniques, events, names of artists, art careers, and modes of expression are included. (CL)

The author describes ways in which the arts can facilitate small group and classroom counseling for gifted students. Basic components of the guidance function are identified and five principles discussed, including an emphasis on individual behavioral processes and an orientation toward cooperation rather than compulsion. (CL)

Provides guidelines for conducting art activities with very young children, paying particular attention to the function of play equipment as artistic catalyst, approaches to creativity, and the role of the adult in providing a supportive presence. (RH)

Discusses the principles of art and provides activities that correlate art and reading and promote cognitive and affective development. (HTH)

Investigated the effect of specific clayforming activities on the figural and verbal creativity of first-grade children (N=26) drawn mainly from disadvantaged, minority group backgrounds. The supposition that instruction in clayforming promotes creativity was supported. Imagery is discussed as a possible vehicle for mediating the observed change.…

Through play, children draw ideas from their own experiences and create exciting works of art. Materials and methods that can be used in the classroom to help children play are described. (CS)

New York State's "Very Special Arts Festival", chosen as a model by the National Committee on Arts for the Handicapped, attempts to demonstrate the impact of the arts not only in developing artistic responsiveness, but in increasing general learning achievement among the handicapped. (Author/RK)

A sequential program of teacher education is presented, viewing teaching as an art and proposing that teacher education should cultivate a creative outlook, an understanding of the intellectual foundations of artistic teaching, a working knowledge of the technology of the teacher's craft, and a personal style of artistic teaching. (PB)

Argues that folk art can help children explore design elements, reinforce fine motor skills, and broaden their appreciation for the art of the early United States. Provides lesson plans for a quilt collage, hex signs, and portrait painting. (KM)

The four content areas of discipline based art education (aesthetics, art criticism, art history, and art production) should be addressed in every art education unit planned and taught to students. All four content areas are addressed in the process of formal art criticism therefore every unit/lesson that utilizes a formal art criticism also…

The program for academically gifted and talented at Kellogg Elementary School in Michigan includes an open house for parents. Students teach workshops in activities like painting and weaving, and parents become the students. Parents learn how to encourage creativity and how to help their children learn. (CS)

Reviews St. Philip Neri Elementary School's (Omaha, Nebraska) use of an art education approach incorporating aesthetics and art history, criticism, and production. Describes lessons on Matisse and Mondrian (kindergarten), Rouault's "Portrait of a Clown" (fifth grade) and da Vinci's "Last Supper" (second grade). Recommends the approach for…

This manual is intended to help elementary teachers: (1) recognize and achieve the objectives of the art program; (2) organize the classroom (including the equipment, art materials, and tools) to provide an atmosphere conducive to congenial living, and efficient working and learning; (3) plan painting, drawing, and craft activities so that…

This paper describes two activities that the authors have developed and found useful. These experiences attempt to include creative materials in the process of communication. They were constructed with the idea that the personal experience of living is often more freely expressed through creative activity. (Author)