Discusses the developmental process that allows children to use symbols to represent their experienced world and to construct imagined worlds. Emphasizes the critical role of art and play in children's growth as symbol makers. (BB)

Analyzes 500 drawings by 258 Hong Kong Chinese and English children (ages 7-11) in order to assess intellectual, social, and emotional development. Found that, irrespective of race or culture, the drawings were symbolic and that similarities were more apparent than differences. Also found that as development proceeded, symbolism was increasingly…

The natural graphic talents of very young children do not deteriorate with age. Rather, aesthetic symbols are progressively devalued in the curriculum. Greater acknowledgement of the importance of graphic symbolization will improve symbolic literacy and contribute to cognitive development. (SK)

Describes a videodisk called "Draw and Color Funny Doodles with Uncle Fred" on drawing for an elementary school curriculum. Library media skills objectives, art objectives, grade levels, resources, instructional roles, activities/procedures, evaluation, and follow-up are included. (LRW)

Explains that relief sculpture is three-dimensional and flat along the back with forms and figures projecting from the front. Describes an art activity for first- and second-grade students and another for middle school students to make relief sculptures focusing on the theme of architecture, and specifically, houses. (CMK)

Presents a lesson where second- and third-grade students draw imaginary birds after examining pictures of real birds to get ideas for various poses. Explains the use of colors where the students learn to blend colors using an art technique called "rainbow order." (CMK)

Investigated the effectiveness of analyzing drawings of 8- to 12-year-old children as a method of understanding the effects of living and coping with ongoing civic unrest. Compared drawings by white and black South African children with those of children from Belfast, Ireland. Found cross-national differences in stress, emotion, adjustment, and…

Presents an art project in which students create postmodern portraits of George Washington in the style of Andy Warhol's pop-art portraits. Each portrait incorporates a fact and six symbols associated with Washington. Describes the project in detail and lists the materials and project objectives. (CMK)

Offers a case study of a first-grader who had trouble learning and for whom drawing was the symbol system used to organize and store her thoughts. Describes how her resource teacher capitalized on this and used drawing to move her from the visual to the spoken and then to the written word. (SR)

Drawing in a nature journal connects students to their immediate environment, integrates many disciplines, and encourages various styles of learning. It is not necessary to draw well; nature journaling is about learning observation skills, not drawing skills. Equipment, getting started, and various exercises are described. Fifteen resources are…

Presents an instructional resource examining artwork by Charles Burchfield, Utagawa Hiroshige, Childe Hassam, and Georgia O'Keeffe that focuses on nature's four seasons. Offers activities to encourage students' observational skills and guide them to depict their personal views of nature in their own artwork (CMK)

The author discusses the benefits of applying cognitive linguistics, L1 acquisition, and neo-Vygotskian (Vygotsky) approaches to the teaching of a second language to young learners, using the example of teaching the preposition "on." The author briefly reviews how prepositions are taught to adult learners and the challenges of teaching…

This paper draws upon evidence from a three-year longitudinal study of young children drawing across home, pre-school and school. The study shows how the belief systems of significant adults and more able peers/siblings impact upon the child's access to, use of and beliefs about drawing. Concentrating upon the children when in the Foundation Stage…

Background: Since the 1950s, there has been a growing body of research dealing with perceptions children have of scientists. Typically, research studies in this area have utilized children's drawings in an effort to discern what those perceptions are. Studies assessing perceptions children have of scientists have shown that children have…

Many researchers have attempted to link children's drawings to intelligence. The Goodenough-Harris Draw-a-Man (DAM) and Draw-a-Woman (DAW) test has been accepted as an indicator of intelligence. This study, via examination of specific cases, explored the effect that instruction in drawing cartoons had on the DAM and DAW performance of 16…