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Go Play with Your Toys!

Tuesday, May 9, 2023 | Michael Sacco

In the Spring of 2020, we were all working remotely with our students. I ditched any hope of following my usual curriculum and focused on finding imaginative and exciting assignments that would help s ...

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Masked Identities

Tuesday, April 11, 2023 | Aimee Fresia

I researched contemporary artists and discovered the work of African American painter Jeff Sonhouse (b. 1968, New York). Sonhouse creates large, realistic paintings using colorful patterns and burnt m ...

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Drawings in 3D

Thursday, March 9, 2023 | Annemarie Baldauf

If you want to engage students with an exciting hook, 3D printing will do the trick. They can create a two-dimensional drawing of an object and print it three-dimensionally. Today, companies use 3D pr ...

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Meeting in the Middle

Thursday, February 9, 2023 | Jen Rankey-Zona

Students are ready to think of themselves as artists when they are given choices, and once they understand that, the emergent curriculum, which is based on their strengths and interests, is allowed to ...

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Surf’s Up

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 | Jessica Provow

My school is located a few blocks from the coast, so naturally people in the area turn to the ocean for food, work, and play. The location also brings in tourism and events such as large-scale art sho ...

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Sustainable City Games

Thursday, November 10, 2022 | Melody Weintraub

Combinatory play was defined by Albert Einstein as “the act of opening up one mental channel by dabbling in another.” Considering the value of play in promoting productivity and creativity ...

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Juxtaposition Watercolors

Wednesday, October 5, 2022 | Zoey Graf

Ask students to brainstorm what specific manufactured items are part of their everyday lives (e.g., buses, cars, roads, paths, bridges, buildings, desks, windows, litter, phones, computers). Then ask ...

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Talk with the Hand

Monday, September 12, 2022 | Melody Weintraub

Doug Baulos’s work inspired me to think about idioms or phrases that use the word hand. I felt this might be a meaningful opportunity for students to combine word play with clay. I found a list ...

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Cultivating Inquiry

Tuesday, May 10, 2022 | Jennifer Bockerman

I wondered how I might provide students with the space to linger in the ambiguity of the creative process; a place where they could play with materials and develop ideas. Students need time built into ...

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Symbolic Clay Envelopes

Monday, April 11, 2022 | Katie Brown

It is challenging, with our shortened time frame, to create a clay experience that gives students a chance to be truly engaged in creating something personal. This lesson has given me the best of both ...

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Ancient to Modern Life

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | Marie Elcin

By pairing contemporary local artwork with ancient artifacts, students see themes emerge in how art is part of everyday life in any era. The concept of rules in society is especially rich for young ad ...

Article

Posters That Empower

Wednesday, February 9, 2022 | Marie Huard

I learned about Barbara Jones-Hogu’s work only recently from a colleague at the Pennsylvania Art Education Conference. I loved it the moment I saw it and I knew my students would, too. At the ti ...

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Expressive Stick Drawings

Monday, January 10, 2022 | Sherry White

Drawing Stick Monday has become a tradition that my previous students talk about, new students ask about, and other students watch with wonder. It’s all about expressive mark making and drawing ...

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Prime Time Televisions

Wednesday, December 8, 2021 | Meighan Healey

My objective for this lesson was for students to each construct a 3D television in a pop art style. Students had to include a self-portrait and demonstrate their understanding of background, middle gr ...

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Design Boards

Monday, November 8, 2021 | Melody Weintraub

My idea for this lesson was inspired by a visit to Watkins College of Art in Nashville during our Tennessee Art Education Association’s state conference. While walking to one of my sessions, I n ...

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Steampunk Mosaics

Thursday, October 7, 2021 | Melanie Robinson and Kay Leeper Cameron

I have a lot of recyclable materials in my art room and thus began searching for a way to use some of them in a lesson. Little did I know that I would end up with a bunch of new recyclable materials d ...

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Go Play with Your Toys!

Masked Identities

Drawings in 3D

Meeting in the Middle

Surf’s Up

Sustainable City Games

Juxtaposition Watercolors

Talk with the Hand

Cultivating Inquiry

Symbolic Clay Envelopes

Ancient to Modern Life

Posters That Empower

Expressive Stick Drawings

Prime Time Televisions

Design Boards

Steampunk Mosaics

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