Schoolyards can be a blank canvas of opportunity for students, teachers, and the community to create physical and psychological changes in their schools and communities. Through design, art teachers can guide their students, providing them with the tools to work in the world of spatial design. In this article, the author provides strategies for…

This article describes an exercise appropriate for all grade levels. This exercise is based on a book of Picasso's contour drawings called "Picasso's One-Liners," which combines a delightful assortment of one-line drawings with accompanying one-line quotes. Students are given a stack of copy paper and a black fine-tip marker. Students then take…

In this article, the author shares an activity she introduced to her students. In this particular activity, students are required to design a figure, a wardrobe, and an environment for paper dolls. The author got the inspiration for this activity from her childhood pastime of playing with paper dolls. (Contains 1 online resource.)

In this article, the author describes an activity that integrates world maps into self-portraits. Students received maps and used the beautiful geographic linear designs as a basis for their self-portrait. They began by drawing the shape of their head. Some students elected to add details to their self-portrait and to the background that…

In this article, the author describes an art project in which students create their own outdoor environments using a tri-wall frame--a triple-layered cardboard, which is very lightweight and strong. Then the students compose a few sentences describing the scene or place.

Creating a self-portrait of having fun "riding a wave" is a very enlightening and engaging experience for students of all ages, but the author's second-graders had an especially wonderful time with this art experience. To begin the unit of study, the author and her students looked at self-portraits created by Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt,…

As part of a Professional Learning Community (PLC), the author is asked to focus on the four essential questions of learning when developing projects: (1) What is it teachers want their students to learn?; (2) How will teachers know if each student has learned it?; (3) How will teachers respond when some students do not learn it?; and (4) How can…

After studying the endangered species prints of Andy Warhol, and viewing several interviews with the artist, fifth-grade students were still hungry for more information about this eccentric artist, who tested every rule and broke most of them. In this article, the author describes a project using silkscreen to help students truly understand how…

In this article, the author describes the last assignment of her Advanced Studio class, which was about art movement and movement in art. In the assignment, students were to find a master painting they really liked. They would then have to break it up (usually into foreground, middle ground and background) and reassemble it. The difficult part was…

Last spring, students from several North Carolina middle schools were invited to participate in the annual Celebrate the Arts festival in Columbus Country. Larry Hewett, a local art teacher, had been selected to instruct the middle-school students. Larry's River Rock Circles project was made as the starting point for the Celebrate the Arts…

This article presents a lesson that allows third and fourth graders to forge the steel bodies of automobiles through repousse, the art of applying pressure to metal with a wooden point. In this lesson, the students draw cars paired with a landscape, making the road trip an adventure in drawing. Both parts of the lesson challenge students'…

Having students buy in to the relevance of a lesson is always a challenge, even in a graphic design classroom. In this article, the author describes an activity on designing skateboards. The most successful element of this project was the addition of assessment and criticism from an outside audience. The inclusion of an outside audience upped the…

A major construction project at a school necessitated the reorganization of nearly the entire building at the end of the school year, a time when teachers are already busy with final exams, grading, and cleaning. To ease the burden for teachers moving to their new rooms and to provide a bit of fun, a school-wide garage sale was held. Unneeded…

In conjunction with her school's interest in becoming more "green," this author designed an art project using inexpensive, sturdy, reusable grocery bags. In this article, she describes the different design concepts and art media used by each grade in decorating these bags. (Contains 1 online resource.)

The author has been deeply committed to shaping an art curriculum that offers students a more meaningful and authentic experience. In addition, she has been interested in the notion of students as victims of their popular culture. She questioned the ways in which cultural sources might impact their aesthetic choices with regard to personal…