In this article, the author describes a watercolor art lesson on Audubon birds. She also discusses how science, technology, writing skills, and the elements and principles of art can be incorporated into the lesson.

This article presents a review of creative interventions that can be helpful in facilitating the resolution of traumatic grief in children and adolescents. Traumatic grief is conceptualized as a condition in which a person loses a close loved one (e.g., a parent or a sibling) in a traumatic manner, and ensuing trauma-related symptoms disrupt the…

Graphic art can be a tough subject approach with seventh- and eighth-graders, but by mixing a little language arts into the studio lesson, they can have fun with the art of words in a whole new way. In this article, the author describes how students created a graphic design using a word. The purpose of the graphic art is to educate--to teach an…

This pilot study examined the feasibility of a home-school partnership for improving emergent literacy skills in Spanish-speaking pre-school children of migrant farmworkers. Parents were requested to send labeled drawings of family activities to their children's classroom for supplementing bilingual language and literacy instruction. Participants…

The "Handbook of Research Methods in Early Childhood Education" brings together in one source research techniques that researchers can use to collect data for studies that contribute to the knowledge in early childhood education. To conduct valid and reliable studies, researchers need to be knowledgeable about numerous research…

In 2 studies, children ages 3 to 7 years were asked to recall a series of touches that occurred during a previous staged event. The recall interview took place 1 week after the event in Study 1 and immediately after the event in Study 2. Each recall interview had 2 sections: In 1 section, children were given human figure drawings (HFDs) and were…

As the holidays approached this year, the author was looking for something new and different from poinsettias, Christmas trees and snowy landscapes for third-graders. This is a special class who is up for new ideas and art adventures. They had not yet used the changeable markers, which are great fun for pattern and design work. This article…

This article is the text of a keynote address given to the North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation at its annual conference in Chicago in February 2009. Three examples of children's linguistic and literary playfulness are examined, two from England and one from the USA. The article explores the radical implications of these examples for primary…

The current study analyzed figure size modification in different types of spatial context (C. Lange-Kuttner, 1997, 2004) for sequence and practice effects. Children of 7, 9, and 11 years of age, as well as 17-year-olds, drew figures in a series of ready-made spatial axes systems, which (a) logically increased in dimensional complexity as in child…

This lesson begins with a discussion on prehistoric times and how most life forms have either become extinct or have evolved into something people see in the environment today. Most of the conversation revolves around dinosaurs or animals on the endangered species list, such as the panda or polar bear. The author directed the conversation to…

In this article, the author describes an art project for second-grade students based on American Regionalist Grant Wood's most famous painting, "American Gothic," which was modeled by his sister, Nan, and his dentist. This well-loved painting depicting a hard-working farmer and his daughter standing in front of their farmhouse is the project's…

Two studies examined development of the ability to judge what another person is looking at. In Study 1, 54 2- to 4-year-olds judged where someone was looking in real-life, photograph, and drawing formats. A minority of 2-year-olds, but a majority of older children, passed all tasks, suggesting that the ability arises at around 3 years of age.…

The importance of listening to children's perspectives has been emphasised in a wide range of recent research, using a variety of strategies. This paper explores the use of drawing as a strategy to engage with young children around the topic of starting school. It describes the approaches we have used, examines the benefits and challenges we have…

The perceptions young students have of engineers and scientists are often populated with misconceptions and stereotypes. Although the perceptions that young people have of engineers and of scientists have been investigated separately, they have not been systematically compared. The research reported in this paper explores the question "How are…

Middle-school students are just beginning to recognize their place in the world. That is why this author believes it is important to incorporate their world into their art. In this article, the author discusses the "Tree of Life" project, which she developed for her students in order to make them aware of various environmental issues, and how to…