A first-grade teacher describes how she taught her students to weave using real yarn. (RM)

Describes Image-making Within the Writing Process, an innovative art-based literacy program designed to entice even the most discouraged of learners with a series of process-oriented art explorations and concrete tools for thinking through and designing stories. (SR)

How second graders made three-dimensional forms using construction paper scraps is described. (RM)

Describes how first grade children used rug samples as tails for the animals they drew. Maintains that unusual scrap material can be the starting point of imaginative artworks. (KM)

Considers causes for loss of confidence suffered by older primary children with regard to art, and identifies the passive nature of early arts teaching as a significant element. Suggests this passive approach derives from logistical problems in early childhood classrooms and, more importantly, from a misguided notion of the nature and purpose of…

Storytelling has cultural roots and this can be employed to teach a culturally pluralistic curriculum. Stories can be selected from a variety of sources and used to match lesson objectives. Criteria for selecting stories should include the authenticity of cultural representation, the amount of cultural information, appropriateness, and the…

A four-day project which involved kindergarten and first-grade classes in making a collection of animals from clay is described. (RM)

Offers a case study of a first-grader who had trouble learning and for whom drawing was the symbol system used to organize and store her thoughts. Describes how her resource teacher capitalized on this and used drawing to move her from the visual to the spoken and then to the written word. (SR)

To study the development of artistry across media, 45 kindergarten, first, and third grade children were given tasks in the media of drawing, clay, and storytelling. The tasks included spontaneous production, completion of a work, assembly of a work from numerous component parts, and copying a completed work. The spontaneous tasks were repeated…

This paper first gives a historical overview of mosaics, discussing mosaic masks made by the Aztecs and floor mosaics made by the Greeks, as well as the Roman mosaics at Pompeii and the Byzantine decorative mosaics exemplified by those at Ravenna. The paper then elaborates on children's mosaic making observed during research conducted between 1986…

Outlines three methods of introducing original paintings to young children: narratives, finding a consensus, and building on a shared experience. Analyzes the childrens' verbal and artistic responses. (KM)

Describes how third grade students learned about fresco paintings in Pompeii and made their own frescoes by pouring plaster into styrofoam trays and painting the surface. Students discovered they could control the paint better because of the porous surface of the plaster. (KM)

Through content analysis of interviews based on a class art activity, a study of 15 first-graders investigated children's perceptions of a good story. The story was based on children's interpretation of artwork they had created. Through the use of content analysis, three major themes of the children's stories were identified: (1) animals as main…

This paper describes the creative activity of two first graders and identifies moments of creative activity that reflect the integration of strands of experience. Children's and adults' creativity are compared. Topics include: (1) the role of novelty in art; (2) the creative act as an interaction of individual, product, and culture; and (3) the…

Imagination is central to our ability to understand reality. Parents and teachers should foster creative processes which facilitate the development of imagination in children. Expensive equipment or artistic expertise is not necessary to help children develop their imaginations. Instead, it is more important for teachers to allow children the time…