Images with narrative intent are ideally suited for beginning art viewers. As cognitive psychologist Abigail Housen has discovered in her research on aesthetic development, viewers at this stage-children and adults alike-look for stories in art, even when the artist did not intend them. In this first "Aesthetic Stage" viewers are considered…

An outreach program for gifted upper elementary students developed at the Hirshhorn Museum is described. Objectives are to teach visual literacy, to present the materials using the inquiry method, to use art history and criticism to develop students' looking skills, and to encourage parents to attend classes and museum visits. (RM)

Discusses how art and mythology both function to reawaken perception. Describes how the use of myth can impart to students very real human reactions and feelings. Maintains that art educators are responsible for enabling and empowering students with the wonders of mythology. (KM)

A K-12 visual arts program in Ontario, Canada, which used observational drawing to increase students' visual observation skills is described. Students had to observe and draw objects associated with intimate use, objects that were physically more distant and unfamiliar, and objects in the rural countryside. (RM)