Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…

One of the fifth-grade art-curriculum objectives is to create a relief print. In this era of budget cuts, the author was looking for a way for her students to meet this objective by making colorful prints without using a lot of expensive printing ink. She knew she wanted to use a rainforest animal theme, as well as share the colorful art of Henri…

Look for ways to take students on virtual journeys to faraway places, and then connect the experience to something they can relate to on a more personal level. In this article, the author describes a block-printing unit inspired by Japanese printmaker, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), and his series of art prints, "Thirty-six Views of Mount…

Advocacy is not new to art education. Over the years, Goldfarb (1979), Hodsoll (1985), and Erickson and Young (1996) have written about the importance of arts advocacy, but the concept of advocacy has evolved with the times. For example, in the 1970s, arts advocacy was described as a "movement" and brought together art educators,…

"Art history? Ugh!" is often the response of high-school visual arts students when faced with an art-history assignment. With the exception of very few students who might have an affection for the historical aspects of art, getting art history into the hearts and minds of high-school students can be a challenge. In this article, the author shares…

The author could have chosen any ancient symbolic language, such as Egyptian or Pre-Columbian, but being from Denmark, she developed a unit that would introduce American students to artwork familiar to northern Europeans. Looking at examples of ancient art from Denmark and Sweden, students were to think about the use of symbols in ancient time and…

Targeting students in grades K-8, Art in Action's program consists of 12 age-appropriate lessons per year led by parent and teacher volunteers. The curriculum is based on historically significant artists and their works of art. Through semi-structured discussions, students examine a variety of masterpieces, learning about the artist as well as…

In this article, the author presents a few of the many printmaking projects she has done over the years: (1) Op-Art prints; (2) Georgia O'Keeffe monoprints; and (3) CD etchings. When teaching printmaking, the author always ties the project into an art-history lesson or a unit the grade level is studying in their other subjects. One printmaking…

Many artists visit national parks to draw, paint and take photographs of some of the most amazing scenery on earth. Raw nature is one of the greatest inspirations to an artist, and artists can be credited for helping inspire the government to create the National Park System. This article features Thomas Moran (1837-1926), one of the artists who…

A result of the industrial age was a short-lived but powerful new American art movement called Precisionism, most evident in painting, but visible also in drawing, photography, and print-making, focusing on industrial and mechanical subjects. Precisionism originated in the 1920s, allied with European Cubism's fascination with shape and geometric…

Questions the use of professional artists as appropriate role models for students learning about art making in the classroom. Examines a biography of one artist and reviews research on the psychological and social circumstances that facilitate art production. Suggests that the creation of those circumstances in the classroom would be complicated.…

This teaching guide introduces students to early 20th century European and American art. Through critically viewing and discussing art images and participating in related activities, students are encouraged to explore the historical and cultural context within which the art was created. This guide includes background information and an overview…

This activity guide showcases the work of 19 women artists who have made outstanding contributions to the world of art in spite of the incredible obstacles society placed upon them. Artists, alphabetically presented, include: Sofonisba Anguissola, Rosa Bonheur, Deborah Butterfield, Rosalba Carriera, Janet Fish, Helen Frankenthaler, Giovanna…

The four content areas of discipline based art education (aesthetics, art criticism, art history, and art production) should be addressed in every art education unit planned and taught to students. All four content areas are addressed in the process of formal art criticism therefore every unit/lesson that utilizes a formal art criticism also…

Claims that contemporary artists in Western society are obsessed with their careers and fail to approach art as total human beings. Cites three instances in which the latter has happened. Recognizes the experiential nature of learning in studio art and argues that artists/teachers are obligated to ground students' art experiences in praxis. (KM)