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Small-Town Advocacy

Wednesday, April 1, 2026 | Dr. Jane B. Montero

Promoting music programs, sports teams, and academic achievement is commonplace in education. I often say, “Art is quiet, music is loud, sports are thunderous.” In art education, we don&rs ...

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Perfectly Imperfect Stained-Glass Jewelry

Tuesday, August 26, 2025 | Jessica Provow

The focus of stained-glass artworks is typically on the flawlessness and beauty in the perfectly organized and constructed design. Perfectionism is a trait that can be overwhelming at times, and for v ...

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Portraits in Three Dimensions

Friday, May 16, 2025 | Annemarie Baldauf

Imagine printing a photograph and having your subject appear in three dimensions instead of two. Like a camera, a 3D scanner can be used creatively to capture a subject’s essence through persona ...

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Sculpting the Everyday

Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | Brigid Horgan

At the beginning of the semester, I have my eighth-graders each select a theme to pursue for the entire course to help eliminate artist’s block along the way and encourage them to think creative ...

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Abstract Modernism: Inspired by Elizabeth Murray

Tuesday, February 11, 2025 | Megan Giampietro

I was interested in teaching my middle-school art students diversified art history lessons about the work of a woman in the arts who was important in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Elizabet ...

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An Art Lesson from a Florist

Friday, December 20, 2024 | Courtney Lipscomb

A few years ago, I had the daughter of the local florist in my art class. On Meet the Teacher Night, she offered her help, like most parents do. Four years later, when I had her youngest daughter in m ...

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The All About Me Design Challenge

Wednesday, November 13, 2024 | Dr. Jane Montero

At the beginning of a new semester or school year, art teachers have an excellent opportunity to get to know our students through storytelling. National Geographic’s online education website sta ...

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Seeds of Change

Thursday, October 10, 2024 | Amanda Schaeffer

The Seeds of Change project challenged students to design a sustainable growing system for the Highland Youth Garden in Hilltop, Ohio. The system had to be functional for the garden’s needs whil ...

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Eco Punch Art

Tuesday, September 10, 2024 | Jessica Provow

Connecting our work to Eco Art gave students the chance to use their designs to tackle important topics that concern our environment, such as the conservation and preservation of our waterways. Plasti ...

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Inquiry-Based Self-Portraits

Tuesday, August 13, 2024 | Nikki Guerrini

No matter what grade you teach, you get a certain reaction when you tell students, “You are drawing faces today”—and typically, it’s not cheers of joy and excitement. Creating ...

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Form & Function

Friday, May 17, 2024 | Kate Gormley

This project allows students to think like problem-solvers and innovators. I encourage them to look around their world and see what small “problems” in their lives need solutions. For exam ...

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Tondo-Inspired Abstract Paintings

Monday, April 15, 2024 | Sunnylee Mowery

Anyone studying contemporary art will notice that many modern visual artists use adaptation in their work. Adaptation can be a difficult concept for young artists to grasp. It has become so ubiquitous ...

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Collaborative Learning through Design

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | Janine Campbell

This collaboration was developed during the 2020–2021 school year, when the pandemic made working together a challenge. With the implementation of Google Docs and Google Drawings, the barriers t ...

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The Flower of Life

Monday, February 12, 2024 | Raine Dawn Valentine

The Flower of Life is a symbolic representation of life and the interconnectedness of all things. It is associated with the Sacred Geometry school of thought, an ancient science that studies the spiri ...

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Laser-Focused on Design

Thursday, December 14, 2023 | Janine Campbell

What happens when you combine digital creation with physical manufacturing? You get students who are engaged, ready to see themselves as designers, and excited to try something new! Getting a laser cu ...

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Sweet!

Thursday, November 9, 2023 | Debra Cline

Let’s be honest—donuts are delicious, and designing one is a fun way for students to express themselves artistically. There are many different approaches to creating donut designs, ranging ...

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Blogs

Middle School

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Small-Town Advocacy

Perfectly Imperfect Stained-Glass Jewelry

Portraits in Three Dimensions

Sculpting the Everyday

Abstract Modernism: Inspired by Elizabeth Murray

An Art Lesson from a Florist

The All About Me Design Challenge

Seeds of Change

Eco Punch Art

Inquiry-Based Self-Portraits

Form & Function

Tondo-Inspired Abstract Paintings

Collaborative Learning through Design

The Flower of Life

Laser-Focused on Design

Sweet!

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Always Stay in the Loop