Art and artistic activities that play a significant role in the lives of both children and adults are an important requirement for all individuals. Cultures develop, expand, and enrich through artistic activities, which are important for the development of visual literacy, especially in social studies. The present study aims to determine the…

In this study we explored students' perspectives and experiences engaging in an arts integration learning model during middle school through a pluralistic lens of creative engagement in learning. The sample included N=86 students in Grades 6-7 attending schools in fringe rural and urban locales from small and mid-sized cities in the Pacific…

This mixed methods case study research evaluates the outcomes of a place-based experiential environmental education curriculum that incorporated environmental art and muralism to teach fifth to sixth graders about the Hudson River Watershed, environmental issues, and ecosystem recovery. Students showed a statistically significant improvement at…

In response to provincial and national calls for whole school approaches, and in the hope to support new teacher competencies aimed at promoting mental health, this paper considers the changing dynamics within the current classroom through elements and implications of a participatory study conducted in an Alberta urban elementary school. Specifics…

This article describes a chemistry/art activity that originated in an National Science Foundation--funded two-week STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) academy for grade 4-6 girls. The authors recommend using this investigation in conjunction with other activities focusing on chemical change as a step toward fulfilling the…

This case study reveals how middle school social studies teachers within a professional development program are encouraging their students to use multiple disciplinary literacies to create Our History Clips as they also work toward developing a classroom community of engaged student citizens.

When a language arts curriculum provided students with the opportunity to translate meaning across sign systems (that is, from poetry to dance), numerous benefits were noted. Transmediation, the translation of meaning from one sign system to another, led students to analyze compositional structures and to enhance their use of academic language…

Most art teachers would agree that architecture is an important form of visual art, but they do not always include it in their curriculums. In this article, the authors share core ideas from "Architecture and Environment," a teaching resource that they developed out of a long-term interest in teaching architecture and their fascination with the…

This article focuses on issues of childhood identity and urban environment. It discusses how a performance art pedagogy inspired by nomadic and relational aesthetics can provide a framework to promote creative learning experiences that address migratory conditions and forms of public alienation lived by young people today. As Lefebvre (1991)…

This article describes one way to introduce fraction, decimal, and percent equivalents by linking student-created Op Art with examples of twentieth-century abstract painting. (Contains 7 figures.)

Relates the experience of sixth-grade students who created a mural of the rain forest on a school wall. Describes the process of choosing a theme, researching the theme, designing the composition, and painting the mural. Uses the team approach to foster cooperation and peer learning during the project. (DSK)

Relates several art activities that can be used as learning experiences to enhance the goals of the social studies and the arts. Stresses that art and architecture can be used to enrich the social studies program as they serve as evidence of the subject being discussed. Directions for two activities are included. (LS)

In this interdisciplinary unit for grade six, kids' natural fascination with heroes is channeled to a consideration of the values and actions needed to solve global problems. Students are exposed to positive, nonviolent role models, creative thinking, problem solving, and creating artwork that expresses thoughts on environmental issues. (LZ)

This packet, written for teachers of sixth-grade art and language arts courses, is designed to inspire creative expression in words and images through an appreciation for Japanese art. The selection of paintings presented are from the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution. The interdisciplinary approach, combines art and language arts.…

How does one turn a class of sixth graders who are uncomfortable with writing, unfamiliar with art supplies, but good at fidgeting and bickering, into a community that achieves literary, artistic, and civic success? In the spring of 2003, Kestrel Heights teachers asked the authors to team up and help their sixth grade students create something…