Describes an art project for seventh-grade students in which they choose motifs based on Incan, Aztec, and Mayan Indian materials to incorporate into two-dimensional designs. Explains that the activity objective is to create a unified, balanced and pleasing composition using a minimum of three motifs. (CMK)

The naturalist's journal is a collection of writings and sketches that captures selected thoughts or observations of nature and represents both immediate learning and raw material that is available for more polished work. This article talks about a naturalist's journal as an effective teaching and learning tool. Creating a naturalist's journals…

Describes three integrated science and art lessons: (1) first-grade students created paper sculpture space helmets; (2) fourth-grade students created self-portraits as astronauts using foreshortening; and (3) fifth-grade students created a "Martian community." Includes descriptions of each lesson, materials, and learning objectives. (CMK)

Two studies are presented on expressive happy and sad drawings made by British 4- to 12-year-olds (n = 80 and 160, respectively) in which the drawings were assessed individually for the quantity and quality of expressive devices. Quantity was measured in the number of appropriate expressive content themes and formal properties evident in each…

The focus of this article is the role of drawings in the journeys of young children towards literacy. The argument is that young children learn from home contexts a wide range of approaches towards literacy. At school their flexibility in using these approaches is reshaped into narrow versions of literacy based on learning to read, write and…

Children's drawings about reading and writing have unrealized potential for helping uncover the literacy narratives students bring to school and use to make sense of reading and writing. In this article, we highlight how one boy's drawing about literacy revealed his interpretation of his school's policy on violence as a topic of writing, which…

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…

"Setting" A single primary school which serves a mixed socioeconomic area in the north of Scotland. "Method" Parents gave demographic details about their family and information about whether their children had been breastfed. Twenty- three children, aged 6, took part in three focus groups which were conducted by two…

This paper presents primitive states of mind in an adopted child, which had been engendered by traumatic experiences in infancy and early childhood. Vignettes from her therapy illustrate difficulties in learning, speech and interaction, which were inhibiting her relationships with her adopted family from developing. The development of…

This practicum designed and implemented a program using art therapy to improve the social competency of elementary-aged children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional/defiant disorder. Students were in a special class for children with severe emotional disturbances. The children met once a week in art therapy sessions…

Meaningful drawing curriculum construction is an especially difficult challenge for art teachers of early adolescent students, given such students'"crisis of confidence" with art skills and the cultural diversity of present day classrooms. This document describes an analysis of six published drawing instruction programs employing three approaches…

Divided into two parts, this world directory features collections and archives of childrens' art. The first part of the volume provides information about the collections before October 1989. Entries are arranged in alphabetical order according to the French spelling of the various countries and include the following information for each entry:…

This collection of writings, photographs, and drawings is intended for new readers of English as a second language. The writings are produced by English literacy students or are excerpted from published works by immigrant and American authors and include personal narratives and essays on home countries, work, education, and language. An…

Two modes of assessment (an interview and a drawing task) were applied to investigate first, third, and fifth graders' understanding of their own feelings and their understanding of the feelings of others, specifically those of their parents. In the interview session, each subject was asked first a set of questions about happy feelings and then…