Most art educators have had the experience of coming up with a great idea for their programs only to have that idea shot down by lack of funding. Whatever the idea, it almost always requires extra funding to implement. One effective way of obtaining extra cash is through grant funding; however, since grants provide money that does not need to be…

Winthrop Middle School's cafeteria had three paintings on the wall in which the paint was fading and the plaster was falling off. Many students wanted a change since the paintings had been there for over 15 years. This situation seemed appropriate for a service learning project for this Winthrop, Maine middle school. After the students reviewed…

Over the last year, the author's students have become very interested in popular culture from Korea and Japan. In particular, the class liked the films of Hayao Miyazaki, an Oscar-winning director who is considered one of the foremost anime filmmakers. In this article, the author came to an idea while he and the first-grade class were discussing…

Spry Middle School's annual eighth-grade trip to Washington, District of Columbia, coincided with the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian. The museum, with its distinctive curvilinear architecture covered in Kasota limestone, stands as a wonderful testament to the rich culture and history of the many and diverse Native American…

Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), author of "Out of Africa," said, "God made the world round so people would never be able to see too far down the road." The author embraced this wonderful thought by venturing on a three-week journey to Kenya and Tanzania in search of grand adventure. In this article, the author shares her adventure with her students…

For the author, it all began with a summer trip to London and Paris. Inspired by the art and architecture of London and Paris, she was determined to bring her experience back home to her students. To do this, she organized a lesson in world landmarks focusing on structures of importance that fit into three categories: relevance to the world,…

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…

From an early age, so much emphasis goes into teaching children the fundamentals of color theory, in particular the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue. Toys, building blocks, furniture, and so many other items used in a preschool environment are manufactured in these three colors. Yet, recent research has uncovered that babies as young as…

Andy Goldsworthy has always been one of the author's favorite artists. He admires the way Goldsworthy works with natural material and how his work distills the elements of art and principles of design so that one can easily recognize them. In this article, the author describes how he exposed his students to the natural beauty that fall has to…

The best artistic challenges open students' eyes, hearts, and minds by combining both formal and conceptual concerns. In this article, the author describes a project inspired by a temporary exhibition of African Shona sculpture entitled "Mutambo! (Celebrate!)" at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia. (Contains 2 online resources.)

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…

Ed Ruscha's exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco presented a fantastic and challenging teaching approach not just to art creation, but also to the whole definition of art. Ruscha painted with pastels and drew with pencils, but he also made art using Pepto Bismol, carrots, and spinach. In this article, the author describes an art…

Art studio experiences can meaningfully integrate multiple curricular discipline areas. Through a study of public visual expression, from historic labyrinths to contemporary graffiti, connections can be made to art forms related to spiritual realms and ceremonial rituals. Such activities can also serve as a springboard for writing. In this…

It's funny to think of the way an idea for an art lesson begins and how it has a way of changing into something completely different. That is what happened with this lesson, which was originally going to be about a springtime garden. In this article, the author describes an art lesson on collograph printmaking inspired by the poem "A Vampire's…