In this article, the authors describe Picture Power, a project they implemented during late spring in a full-day Montessori preschool-kindergarten program in Philadelphia. In this project, the authors set out to gather information about children's visual learning. The underlying question was whether artwork could provide useful clues to inform…

This descriptive study examined children's drawings and related language episodes to differentiate drawings exhibiting play from those exhibiting exploratory behavior. Drawings categorized as play were further analyzed to identify constructive and imaginary play. The play theory used as the basis of the study proposes that exploration and…

Noting that making images is as natural as speaking, this book presents 13 essays by teachers from elementary school through college that show how writing, art, and reading can be combined in different ways in various subject areas. Essays in the book share ways that teachers connect the visual arts to literacy instruction as well as to their own…

These student materials and teacher lesson plans focus on presenting the fundamental knowledge necessary for mastering basic drawing skills. The devises that create the illusion of reality are introduced as concepts critical to the development of accurate, high-fidelity drawing. These structured materials encourage students to learn to draw…

Does a drawing embody the form and focus of what the artist actually sees, or instead, is it only after seeing the finished drawing that the artist knows the true meaning of his or her visual experience? It is the knowledge of the visual experience that drives the representation of it. Knowledge of the visual experience is present in varying…

A qualitative study examined the role drawing plays in the writing processes of young children (ages five to nine), and how the role changes with the individual's growth as a writer. Sixty-seven children enrolled in a multiage classroom (K-3) were systematically observed to identify and describe various drawing functions in their writing…

This cross-sectional study examined the u-shaped development in graphic symbolization, a theory postulating that aesthetic properties of preschool children's drawings are similar to those of adult artists' drawings. Subjects were 140 artists and non-artists from 7 age groups, ranging from 5-year-old children to adults. All subjects were given the…

During the last three decades there has been a growing interest among social scientists in studying the attitudes of young people toward the elderly and the aging process. This study explored children's attitudes toward the elderly and aging using interviews and drawings. Third, fifth, and seventh grade students (N=162) were asked to "draw a young…

The paper examines the early development of a highly talented child artist in light of three theories of graphic development in children: (1) drawing development is a search for increasingly satisfying solutions to graphic problems that proceeds along a stage-like path; (2) gifted children aspiring to be artists carefully imitate their culture's…

Through the use of a visual literacy process of instruction as an initial stage in perceiving and creating, beginning college art students can acquire knowledge and skills for completing successful drawings. This process includes the following steps: selecting a simple and familiar subject; studying the entire form of the subject; looking for big…

Ways hospitals can promote the psychological and social well being of young patients are explored in this paper. First, the importance of familiarizing the child with the hospital is emphasized. Second, emotions hospitalized children may feel and the possible causes of those emotions are listed. Third, methods hospital personnel can use to help…

This packet of four learning modules on drawing is one of 20 such packets developed for apprenticeship training for stationary engineers. Introductory materials are a complete listing of all available modules and a supplementary reference list. Each module contains some or all of these components: goal, performance indicators, study guide (a…

Authors presented a detailed example of users actively and successfully involved in the planning of an alternative school by means of a unique planning process. Their planning model is one which can be readily adapted to other settings and interest groups. (Editor/RK)

Five teachers rated 9j fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students as "accepted,""concerned,""indifferent," or "rejected." Rated pupils completed the Describe Your School Inventory and a classroom situational drawing labeled the pupil-initiated question. Significant relationships were found between pupil…

Some research indicates that students often think that their drawings of three dimensional objects can be done without ambiguity, and that properties of drawings are properties of the objects. This "knowing vs. seeing" conflict was studied in three French sixth grade classes. (PK)