Grids and Gestures is an exercise intended to offer participants insight into a comics maker's decision-making process for composing the entire page through the hands-on activity of making an abstract comic. It requires no prior drawing experience and serves to help reexamine what it means to draw. In addition to a description of how to proceed…

This paper discusses the information literacy requirements of art and design students, and how traditional approaches to information literacy education are not always appropriate for these particular students. The paper argues that different, creative, and innovative approaches to information literacy training need to be developed with the…

The integration of art into curricula focused on teaching science is a new perspective in education designed to reach a broader range of students. The current study examined the process of second-grade students participating in science and art activities through qualitative content analysis. The subjects of science and art were not taught to the…

This article describes the Exploring Experimental Design lesson, which uses a Pictionary-style approach to introduce the elements of the third science and engineering practice: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations, found in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012) and the "Next Generation Science Standards"…

It's not that younger students can't master a project; it is that they have trouble coming up with a design for the task. What are they more familiar with than their name? The author thus decided to use names as part of a transfer lesson. She gave her students a piece of computer paper printed with a triangular shape that had a 45-degree angle.…

With all the noise in the world, the flotsam and jetsam sensory input from the media, from friends, from family, from life, it is an arduous task to have students slow things down and focus on the simple, raw elements of their world. Specifically related to art class, the challenge is how to help students digest the work of Minimalist artists. In…

In this article, the author describes a unit on the exploration of line. The unit was composed of two individual line lessons. In the first lesson, students were introduced to line as an element of design. They were asked to describe different types of lines, and look for them in art reproductions. The second lesson in the unit involved painting…

Five- and six-year-olds know a lot about their own homes. Besides school, home is probably where they spend most of their time. But have they ever really thought about their space? Using students' knowledge of their current space will help them design new spaces and think about all the areas that surround them. In this project, students design…

The author states that she finds it challenging to create new and innovative lessons for her college-level design students. Most of her students are first-year art students, and some never took art in high school. Here, she describes a lesson as one solution she developed that made the students look at themselves, and integrate their personalities…

Water gardens became popular in China during the Tang Dynasty and goldfish were domesticated more than 1000 years ago. Beyond being beautiful and tranquil, water gardens have the potential for much learning in an educational setting, especially for learning through art. In this article, the author shares how he collaborated with another teacher in…

In this article, the author describes an underwater scene composition for elementary-education majors. This project deals with watercolor with crayon or oil-pastel resist (medium); the beauty of nature represented by fish in the underwater scene (theme); texture and pattern (design elements); drawing simple forms (drawing skill); and composition…

This article describes a lesson in picture depth. The lesson involves tracing paper layers, object size and raising the horizon line per page layer. Students learn to look at and scan a photograph or print, break down the picture's qualities, and design elements and principles. Students also gain an increased appreciation for design and artist…

In this article, the author shares a lesson on architecture she introduced to her kindergarten students. Using wooden blocks as materials, she showed her students how to take on the role of an architect and create their own buildings. This project was beneficial to all students in that they learned to think flexibly and realized that the designs…

This article describes a lesson for first-grade art students. The lesson introduces geometric shapes in a fun and unique way. Students will learn the art elements of shape, texture, pattern, and space. They will also develop their skills in cutting and gluing.

As the holidays approached this year, the author was looking for something new and different from poinsettias, Christmas trees and snowy landscapes for third-graders. This is a special class who is up for new ideas and art adventures. They had not yet used the changeable markers, which are great fun for pattern and design work. This article…