This article briefly highlights a unique project given to seventh grade students in a science class. To foster appreciation for the wonders of nature, teacher John Golden asks students to collect a variety of materials--from leaves and branches to pine cones and seed pods--and create a sculptural arrangement reflecting nature's beauty. Materials…

Students see cartoons and movies all the time, but do not always understand how such images are created to show change or movement. Yet even young students can gain understanding through simple drawings of their own that show figures changing in sequence. In this article, the author presents an art activity wherein students are asked to draw a…

Often, people are so consumed with technique and theory that people forget the artistic expression that adolescent students are desperately seeking. In this article, the author wants her students, who range in grade from high school freshmen to seniors, to gain a better sense of self through their artwork. She describes how she planned a lesson…

From 1899 until his death in 1926, Claude Monet painted a series of watercolor landscapes of his water lily garden and Japanese bridge in Giverny, France. Monet eventually abandoned the banks entirely as subject matter and concentrated solely on the water. These paintings, particularly "The Water Lilies," show a surface in which the shimmering…

Seeing different retrospectives, which show the progression of works by an artist during their lifetime, inspired the author to organize a retrospective showcasing a progression of student works. In November of 2005, the author and her visual art colleagues celebrated the first Bowling Pin Pal Reunion. For 30 years, the bowling pin pals have been…

Art history is fascinating because it reflects many different concepts at once--including historical periods, techniques, discoveries, and visual communication. Moreover, it provides teachers with rich themes to work with to develop students' critical thinking and creative potential. Another advantage is the varied assessment tools that can be…

In this article, the author discusses an art adventure with her third, fourth, and fifth grade enrichment kids to the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art in Colorado. The author demonstrates and teaches her students how to use the art tissue paper and oil pastel complementing the creative spirit of the Jaune Quick-to-See Smith work presented…

When considering the number and variety of people a teacher needs to serve in the course of a semester, adding any additional variables to the mix can seem daunting. Welcoming students with moderate and severe special needs into the room can seem particularly overwhelming. It is almost impossible to envision a situation where regular and special…

The real problem with teaching character is that, in order to teach it, the teacher has to have it. Students may or may not study lessons, but they certainly study the teacher. In this article, the author points out that process is what is needed to modeled, not perfection. By living honestly in front of their students, teachers provide them with…

This article presents a profile of artist Audrey Flack. Though she may be best known for her huge, personal photorealist paintings filled with feminine objects, since the 1980s she has been sculpting monumental godesses, many for civic projects. Born in 1931 and raised in New York City's Washington Heights, she has been influenced by art…

The artwork created by David Hammons titled "The Door," is a glass in wood door that shows the words "Admissions Office" on it in reverse. There is a black shadow image of a person peering in. This powerful statement of inequality reflected the frustration of African-Americans trying to get into colleges and universities during the late 1960s.…

Children are naturally worried and concerned when catastrophic events such as Hurricane Katrina occur. Parents and teachers look for ways to help them deal with their fears and emotions. This article describes a project which was designed to help fifth-grade students think about what is really important in their lives and make sense of what they…

Although every parent loves the annual school portrait taken of their child, artistically, not much can be said about the photo's diversity from year to year, or from child to child. Sure, one can order a softened halo around the edge or even a laser effect shooting distractingly around in the background, but basically, one portrait is similar to…

The next time you walk through the local art museum or open an art history book, make a tally sheet of the names of the artists represented. Then sort the artists by gender and ethnicity. What is the ratio of art created by women to that created by men? What is the ratio of Eurocentric art to non-Eurocentric art? It was an experience like this…

As an art educator, the author understands how simple materials can be used to create complex structures. Yet, sometimes what everyone needs is a spark of inspiration to connect those available materials to have an idea grow to fruition. When teachers allow themselves to think creatively, they can inspire their students to greater understanding of…