In a time of educational budget cuts, the arts seem to take the major brunt of the financial ax. Fine arts programs are often pitted against one another for survival. The music industry and supporting corporations, such as American Express, campaign to have instruments donated or purchased to keep educational programs alive. The visual arts do not…

This schools fourth-grade language arts curriculum includes two stories that deal with blindness. The stories prompted Carol Vincent to invite one of her students' parents, who participates in a guide dog program by raising puppies, to bring one of her dogs to school and explain the training of guiding-eye dogs, and the ways in which they can be…

In this article, the authors discuss how art educators often find themselves faced with students whose needs are beyond what the art educators feel trained to handle. How can they design lessons so that every student feels successful? Because art educators are also art therapists, school colleagues often ask them for help in working with students…

All of the seventh-grade students in Lisa Gilman's school have laptop computers. She wanted them to use the computers not just as a research tool, but also as a tool for artistic expression. Since Impressionism is part of the seventh-grade curriculum, she had them identify parallels between the Impressionists' use of technology and artists' use of…

ADHD is a neurobiological-based brain disorder, most often hereditary, affecting nearly one in twenty students. The ADHD brain functions differently because the area between the frontal lobe and rear lobe is having short-circuit problems and is not transmitting necessary information. The technical part of the disorder does not engage us as…

Today, schools are actively looking for new ways to enable their students to develop storytelling skills. These skills should empower children and young adults to practice collaborative learning on many levels, from reading and writing to painting and project management. In this framework, digital painting provides educators with innovative…

Meeting the diverse needs of Pamela Malkin's students forced her to really look at what she teaches and how she teaches it. While she was teaching her sixth-grade students to create a mask from clay, she found that many were having a hard time remembering all the steps of my demonstration. Since most of the process was taught through…

This article describes notable cultural, historical, and artistic elements emanating from sculptures originating in ancient Greece. The "blind bard" and its connection to the legendary Greek poet, Homer; Homer's impact on literary history; trends among Roman sculptures; and Roman replication of Greek art are described. Questions to consider are…

Dialogue challenges students to answer the basic questions of art production often not thought about by elementary and middle school students: Why did you choose to do that? What are you trying to communicate to the viewer? How does this piece make you feel? Educational theorist Howard Gardner defines the artistic process as one involving the work…

Scissors are a unique interactive tool when successfully used, allowing teachers and students to recognize and explore each other's creative ability while nurturing mutual communication. Freehand cutting gives children freedom to create as they cut. Scissors have the power to improve fine motor skills, stimulate creative imagination, reinforce…

State-mandated, high-stakes testing is the primary means by which schools are judged. Whether this is a fair and accurate way of judging the performance of schools may remain in debate for a long time. Some school districts have gone so far as reducing or eliminating "special" classes--in particular art and music. Art teachers can help prepare…

This article describes one classroom's experience implementing a art lesson aimed to reinforce the notion of "nonrepresentational." The lesson applied the elements of nonrepresentational art, as well as balance, unity, and line while inspiring surprise and curiosity in students who commented on their designs once they had completed the exercise…

Recalling memories from her own third grade art classes, Ann Mueller, recreated an updated version for her students showing her students how to make snow scenes from Ivory Snow flakes. She showed students the video, The Snowman based on Raymond Briggs's book of the same name. Its beautiful images spur the imagination, and the musical score is…

Art teachers often draw on their personal experiences when planning. The author of this article had spent time admiring the quilting skills of the Amish and Mennonite people around Lancaster and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She had also steeped herself in the history of the Civil War. These experiences steered her towards an art problem that involved…

Last year, a school embarked on a school-wide project that would take all of their students, kindergarten through-sixth grade, through a tangible art timeline. The result was a passageway--over seventy-five feet in length--that revealed the history of art, from cave painting to modern-day graffiti art. The "walk through time" was inspired by how…