With the emergence of COVID-19, public interest in data visualization has surged. Data visualizations also, importantly, raised questions related to the data and the social context in which it occurred. Extending beyond but remaining connected to COVID-19, this context involved the racial and social inequality and economic disparities brought to…

In this article, Sanders-Bustle recounts what happened when university art education students created socially engaged art (SEA), "Project Unway" and "Project Unity," in the hallways of a middle school. The events represented in this article stem from activities that took place in a secondary art education curriculum course…

In this article, the author shares a lesson taught to a sixth-grade art class. Using contemporary art, the students were encouraged to observe the art and have focused conversations about the work. When these discussions are integrated into the daily work of artmaking, they help students understand what it is they are learning. The author's goal…

The ecological realities of many communities are desperate but not determined. As teachers inevitably encounter these realities in their communities, they can respond by activating students' imaginations to conceive of better alternatives. Greene (1995) outlined how the imagination has the power to envision alternative realities and better…

Within the modern institution of schooling, educators portray children as lacking in knowledge and maturity and try to restrict their access to the issues that undermine this assumed innocence. Such renditions of children produce hierarchical power relationships in which children's ways of knowing are seen as what Foucault (1980) called…

In spring 2010, the author invited sixth-grade students to examine stereotypes about people living with disabilities and then challenge these generalized perceptions through the creation of comic strips. She chose exploring disability stereotypes because of her personal interest in the work of artists with disabilities. She wanted to share with…

In February and March 2007, the author investigated the possibilities of visual culture art education in two Greek Primary schools in Athens with students in Grades 5 and 6. One of her goals was to determine whether or not the telenovela genre was appropriate as curriculum content in primary art education. She chose telenovelas because they are a…

Making the visual arts program meaningful in public education can be a challenge when one considers how little instructional time is devoted to the visual arts. A challenge for art educators is to seek opportunities outside the classroom for real-life inquiry-based projects. This form of systematic inquiry done by teachers for themselves is called…

The author conducted a descriptive case study that used artmaking to investigate the phenomenon of representation of personal and cultural identities. Set within the middle school visual arts classroom, the study focused on three female, dual-culture 6th-grade students. "Dual-culture" is defined in this context as a person born in the…

Uses a photograph of Michael Heizer's earthwork sculpture "Double Negative" to encourage students in grades 4-6 to discuss ways in which an artist may communicate ideas by creating ultra-large "landscape sculptures." Provides student objectives, background information on the artwork, instructional strategies, and evaluation criteria. (GEA)

Using Tony Berlant's 1982 collage entitled "I," this lesson introduces students in grades four through six to the variety of materials artists can use when making a collage. (BSR)

Presents a lesson on John F. Peto's 1904/1906 painting "A Closet Door." The lesson is intended to introduce students in grades four through six to still life painting. (JDH)

Provides a lesson to familiarize students in grades four-six with the many ways that artists use the technique of collage. Students observe and discuss ways artists make use of materials other than paint on canvas. Examines how the introduction of foreign materials to a surface affects the illusion of space. (LS)

Presents a lesson plan which uses "Water," by Iri and Toshi Maruki, to provide students in grades 4-6 with an approach to artwork which deals with devastating current events. Students explore artistic collaboration, Japanese beliefs, contemporary conflicts, and contradictory meanings in images. Includes background information,…

Uses a print of Homer's painting, "The Fox Hunt," to introduce students in grades 4-6 to paintings of wildlife as both factual record and as a storytelling medium. Includes learning objectives, instructional strategies, and background information on the artist. (GEA)