Australia holds some of the most unique, diverse and vulnerable ecosystems in the world, ranging from marine, coral reefs, to the arid and semi-arid outback, to tropical rainforests. Young children's perceptions of, and attitudes to their environment carry with them into adulthood, determining their capacity to learn about and interact with their…

It is important to find the means by which struggling writers can find success in the English Language Arts. For students struggling with reading and writing, the visual arts may be a way of accessing and expressing their ideas and ultimately opening up a world of creative possibilities. This article explores drawing and painting as a pre-writing…

Discusses how Franz Cizek, the first proponent of the hands-on approach to childrens' art education, influenced the direction of twentieth century art education. The author points out that, although Cizek's theories profoundly influenced other educators, he himself never actually applied them in his own classes. (AM)

Describes an artists workshop, parallel to a writers workshop, that integrated student choice of topic and media, reading, art, and writing. Outlines the workshop routine, discusses the artists' notebooks kept by the students, and explains how writing as an essential element of the workshop reveals the thinking, planning, and discovering that…

Art is presented as a key to understanding children's opinions and emotions, both for parents and teachers and for the children themselves. (SB)

Offers practical advice for teaching art in early childhood classrooms. Encourages respect for children's individual artistic style. Discusses paints and markers, blocks, fingerpaints, bubbles, collages, and other art materials. Includes recipes for fingerpaint. (GH)

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)

Compares and contrasts discipline-based art education with Viktor Lowenfeld's creative self-expression approach, using growth, medical, and molding metaphors. Maintains that these two approaches are similar because the views of the child, the teacher's role, and the relationship between them has not changed. (KM)

Explores Robert Henri's philosophy that art making is the inevitable result of reaching a state of heightened awareness. Considers how art teachers can convey this to students. Examines creative feelings, learning characteristics, and teaching strategies. Concludes that teachers' experience of this awareness as artists determines their ability to…

This book presents a philosophical and pragmatic approach to the teacher's active role in fostering a developing understanding of painting in 1-11 year-old children. Cognitive processes behind children's painting are explored; each phase of imagery is seen as emerging from and building on the thought processes of the previous phase. Tasks are…

Profiles the career and contributions of English art teacher Marion Richardson (1892-1946). A dynamic and assertive woman, Richardson's ideas and practices changed British primary and secondary art teaching for many years. She often used "word pictures" (narrative descriptions of scenes or emotions) to inspire her students. (MJP)

Develops a multimedia approach for teaching color theory suitable for grade four through adult. Students select the hue, value, and degree of translucence they wish to work with and through a combination of crayon work and tissue collage, create a multicolored plaid. Outlines materials, art concepts, and process involved. (KM)

Describes a teacher's experiences and accomplishments teaching art expression to visually impaired children, whose ability to create art and delight in so doing demonstrate that they may have sight loss but are not impaired in imagination. Special techniques for helping these students are described. (SLD)

Outlines difficulties of introducing art critiques in the elementary classroom. Recounts how problems were overcome by providing focus and allowing students to decide which classmates should critique their work. Provides a structure for critiquing art that builds verbal and analytical skills as students proceed from kindergarten to grade six. (KM)

Examines the relationship between handwriting and early drawing. Maintains that often the quality of line in drawing becomes more reserved as the acquisition of the skill of writing-as-script becomes more fluid and automatic. Includes exercises that illustrate this process and use handwriting to explore creativity. (MJP)