This printmaking unit will get students excited about geography and history. In this article, the author describes how her eighth-grade students created a report and a linoleum print of a famous "landmark."

Recently, the teachers at the author's school completed a group project with their eighth-graders in which they recreated a mural version of the famous painting by Pablo Picasso, "Guernica." This activity was aimed at: (1) studying the rise of Fascism in Spain and Germany during the Spanish Civil War prior to World War II; (2) learning…

Water gardens became popular in China during the Tang Dynasty and goldfish were domesticated more than 1000 years ago. Beyond being beautiful and tranquil, water gardens have the potential for much learning in an educational setting, especially for learning through art. In this article, the author shares how he collaborated with another teacher in…

In this article, the author illustrates how she shares her love of sunflowers with her kindergarten and first-grade students through an interesting art lesson. Sunflowers are easy to grow, so the author started the lesson four months earlier with inexpensive seed packets. She planted many varieties, but she most likes the colors of the Mexican…

Many art educators believe that creativity is fundamental to artistic practice and, therefore, the art classroom is one of the best places for its cultivation. Indeed, there is a renewed and growing interest in creativity in art education today. Learning that takes place in art practice also is receiving significant attention. The concurrent…

In this article, the author describes a landscape project using Grant Wood's paintings as an example. As part of the project, the students are required to include a barn in their picture. This project is a great opportunity to study an Iowa artist who did landscape painting and to study perspective. This is also an excellent project for teaching…

Creating clay animals and their habitats with second-grade students has long been one of the author's favorite classroom activities. Students love working with clay and they also enjoy drawing animal homes. In this article, the author describes how the students created a diorama instead of drawing their clay animal's habitat. This gave students…

In this article, the author describes an art project inspired by the work of Joseph Cornell. The project called for designing both the outside and the inside of a cigar box according to the student's theme. Thus, students needed to consider the viewer's vantage point with the box both closed and open, general design elements, two-dimensional and…

In this article, the author describes an underwater scene composition for elementary-education majors. This project deals with watercolor with crayon or oil-pastel resist (medium); the beauty of nature represented by fish in the underwater scene (theme); texture and pattern (design elements); drawing simple forms (drawing skill); and composition…

Most elementary students approach photography in an open-minded, experimental way. As a result, their images are often more playful than those taken by adults. Students discover more through their own explorations than they would learn through overly structured lessons. In this article, the author describes how he introduces his elementary…

This article describes a lesson in picture depth. The lesson involves tracing paper layers, object size and raising the horizon line per page layer. Students learn to look at and scan a photograph or print, break down the picture's qualities, and design elements and principles. Students also gain an increased appreciation for design and artist…

A sky fading from blue to white to red at the horizon, and water darkening from light to midnight blue. Strong diagonals slashing through the image, drawing a viewer's eyes deeper into the picture, and delicate trees poised to convey a sense of beauty. These are the fascinating strengths of the ukiyo-e woodblock prints of Japanese artist Ando…

The students in the author's first grade class looked at Picasso's painting, "The Three Musicians," and observed how Picasso made the objects and people appear squared or "cubed." This style of art is called Cubism. In this article, the author describes a painting project that required her students to paint a Cubist snowman. This project helped…

Interdependence Day was launched in Philadelphia at the American Philosophical Society on September 12, 2003. The date was chosen deliberately as a post-9/11 symbol of regeneration, as a time to reflect on the tragedy of the incidents of terror, not only in the United States, but all over the world, and ask, "What next?" The shape of the hexagon…

This article describes a lesson inspired by Sicilian mosaics. The author first presented a PowerPoint presentation of mosaics from the Villa Romana del Casale and reviewed complementary and analogous colors. Students then created mosaics using a variety of art materials. They presented their work to their peers and discussed the thought and…