This paper examines how elementary children develop voice in a classroom where art and language have equal import from four different contexts: group, guided, table, and independent shares. Specifically, this paper highlights one child in particular: Rebecca, a writer who discovers art as a way of knowing and develops a greater appreciation for…

In this article, the author provides a brief synopsis of a study he conducted about the nature of children's drawing among first and second grade students. Laroche noticed that when first and second grade students sat at a table of four or had their individual desks grouped in fours, frequently the drawings from that group of students had similar…

Drawing and writing in response to picturebook read-alouds, elementary children construct varying "visual hooks" in their sketches as effective visual devices for extending ideas for writing: the bubble hook, the zoom hook, and the group hook. This article reports on a 12-week qualitative study in which children in second grade develop as writers…

At one Title I K-4 elementary campus located on the Gulf Coast of Southeast Texas, there seemed to be a prevalent problem of minority students, particularly male students, receiving office referrals at a higher rate than their non-minority counterparts in past years. Research from a 2010 Children's Defense Fund report indicates that…

This paper describes methodology, data analysis, and initial results of a research study with the long-term goal of establishing contemporary normative data on drawings from children living in the United States. The pool of participants was composed of 316 fourth graders (mean age 9.69 years) and 151 second graders (mean age 7.56 years) who each…

Young children are experts at make-believe and delight in listening to tales of fantasy and wonder. When the author learned that the second-grade students in her school were studying fairy tales and legends, she took advantage of their natural interests and classroom experiences and introduced them to the magical, dreamlike paintings of Swiss…

Describes an art project for second-grade students where in over five class periods, they create fired clay dinosaur sculptures with dioramas as the background. States that this project, the culminating activity for a sculpture unit, teaches students many art terms and uses of different media. (CMK)

Describes an art lesson for second graders inspired by the loss of Princess Diana and Mother Theresa entitled "Princes, Princesses, Heroes and Heroines." Attempts to relate to the children's personal lives and focuses on people who, in the minds of the children, changed or improved the world. (CMK)

Presents a lesson where second- and third-grade students draw imaginary birds after examining pictures of real birds to get ideas for various poses. Explains the use of colors where the students learn to blend colors using an art technique called "rainbow order." (CMK)