This paper explores the voices of elementary children in public schools. Three databases were used including (a) interviews with 25 elementary students, (b) drawings and writings created by 225 third through sixth-grade students about their high stakes testing experiences, and (c) observations in two first-grade classrooms. The data demonstrate…

Using examples from college and high school students, the author describes how asking students to respond to literature using a variety of graphic media can enhance their interpretive skills. Some students who don't like to write essays or who seemingly aren't good at writing essays enjoy making graphic response to literature and are good at it.…

This study aims to explore the visual thinking skills of some sixth grade (12-13 year-old) primary pupils who created visual interpretations during history courses. Pupils drew pictures describing historical scenes or events based on visual sources. They constructed these illustrations by using visual and written primary and secondary sources in…

Concept: Few empirical studies have investigated the influence of teachers, parents and children on children's drawing experience. The current study aims to examine the attitudes and practices of these three key players that shape children's drawing experience. Method: A survey methodology was used, as typically found in previous research in this…

This study examined the relationship between children's attachment security, as manifested in their family drawings, and their personality and adjustment. Family drawings were collected from 222 Israeli children, as well as data regarding their personality and adjustment. Each drawing was coded and classified into 1 of 4 attachment categories…

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…

This article describes how to create the life-size teacher portraits that are displayed during an annual "Meet the Teacher" event held to introduce students and families to the facility and staff of the Apple Glen Elementary School in Bentonville, Arkansas. Several months prior to this event, students are asked to closely observe their…

Before she became an art teacher, the author relates that she worked at a graphic design agency and there she learned to fully appreciate typefaces and how they influence messages. In the years that she taught middle school art, the author has incorporated some basics of type design into her graphics unit, along with calligraphy, printmaking, and…

This article describes how contemporary costumes, expressive techniques, and mixed media can take "the ordinary" out of figure studies. To pique student interest and create a meaningful figurative study, students are instructed to bring in their latest fashion accessories (hats, shawls, neck warmers, denim jackets, etc.), or shop the local thrift…

The text of this article was originally presented in a public lecture in February 2008. It presents a description of earlier research on children's drawing practices which considers the ingenuity of learning and meaning-making through drawing. Then the focus moves to the language of assessment to consider how, art practices, such as drawing, as…

In this article, the author describes her research study about student engagement in artmaking. The study takes place at a suburban middle school on the East coast. For the purpose of her research, she developed a book-making unit. "The Artist's Book," comprised four art problems, challenging students to transform an old hardback book into a…

This study supports and extends previous research that suggests there is a relationship between picture naming and a variety of other factors that impact early literacy. The study explores the picture naming/representing ability of kindergarteners (n = 20), their ability to name and draw pictures of objects they could and could not immediately…

Research has shown that the study of children's drawings can shed light on certain problems, allowing many invisible sides of children's school life to emerge. Based on the results of that research, this article will study whether the use of drawings, and art in general, could lead to the reduction of social and academic marginalization and to the…

As education plays such a vital role in economic competitiveness, it is no surprise that the focus for many governments is to invest in educational initiatives. Innovation in pedagogy, refined curriculum and much research into the science of teaching and learning is hoped to promote a knowledge economy. In recent years the Irish education systems…