Like many school systems in economically stressed parts of the country, the Everett, Mass., school district had cut back on arts instruction over the years, to the point where most students were getting only a single art class per week. But since 2013, and thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Everett has designed and…

Interdisciplinary teaching is a great way to focus on overarching concepts and help students make connections across disciplines. Historically, art and science have been connected disciplines. The botanical prints of the 18th and 19th centuries and early work with microscopes are two examples of a need for strong artistic skills in the science…

Many of the skills and talents required to be a successful scientist, such as analysis, experimentation, and creativity, can be developed and reinforced through art. Both science and art challenge students to make observations, experiment with different techniques, and use both traditional and nontraditional methods to express their ideas. The…

Because it is important for middle-school students to feel confident about themselves and their abilities, the author wanted to challenge her seventh graders with a drawing problem that would yield a high rate of success. So she asked them to put their best foot forward as she introduced a lesson on contour drawing. The assignment was to draw a…

Presents an art project where students are asked to use paper to create a product for a business, such as paper flowers. Explains that the project works well for sixth- and seventh-grade students. Discusses the process of creating the product and the product exchange. (CMK)

Describes an adobe conservation project used with seventh- and eighth-grade students at the Zuni Pueblo (New Mexico). States that the project motivates students as they participate in experiential learning. Addresses the objectives in a traditional architecture curriculum and contends that the adobe conservation project demonstrates the place of…

Describes a seventh-grade art project used to help students explore different types of art mediums. Focuses on each of the four parts of the project: (1) pencil; (2) pen and ink; (3) paint; and (4) collage. (CMK)

Describes an art project for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students, in which plastic drinking straws serve as a weaving loom. Discusses the process. (CMK)

Investigates the intentions for and judgments about student artwork from the different perspectives of middle school students and their teachers through teacher-student conversations. Reveals acts of resistance and negotiation as students' ideas, preferences, judgments, and meanings interface with the instructional goals and aesthetic views of the…

Relates an art project for seventh-grade students that uses the creation of museum bags to study portraiture and the painting styles of famous artists. Explains how students made a bag with a portrait of the artist on one side and a painting by that artist on the other. (DSK)

Proposes an activity that acts as an end-of-the-year review for seventh-grade history in which the students demonstrate their knowledge by applying for a position in an art museum. Explains that the students choose one display and culture presented in the student-created museum and advertise their culture in a three minute presentation. (CMK)

Describes an art lesson for seventh-grade students where they learned the craft of weaving using paper as their weaving logs. Explains that in order to evaluate the activity, the students discussed their work and participated in a discussion on non-objective art and the difference between art and crafts. Provides instructions for making weavers.…

Describes an art lesson achieved with a Very Special Artist (VSA) in residence for sixth- and seventh-grade students in which they created wire sculptures. Discusses how the VSA taught the students. Includes a list of art materials and characteristics of wire. (CMK)

Describes an art project that allows seventh and eighth grade students to participate in the "Middfest" in Middletown, Ohio, that honors a different country each year. Explains that the students created 10 feet high paintings of Greek philosophers for the Middfest focus on Greece. (CMK)

Presents an instructional resource appropriate for fourth- to eight-graders focusing on four artworks that depict the story of U.S. landscape painting and the influences of technological change. Includes background information about the authors and artworks, discussion questions, an exercise that allows students to study the artwork, and suggested…