Professional guidelines for English language arts call for the integration of multimodal literacy in the curriculum (National Council of Teachers of English, 2005). These guidelines are grounded in the belief that all meaning-making systems (e.g., visual, linguistic, spatial) are equally valuable. Each has unique potential that, when used…

This paper describes a unit of instruction about media images--how they work, ways they affect people, and means to use them--in which young adolescents learn the consequences of becoming a media-literate consumer. The paper explains that in the unit, divided into 2 "clusters," 110 Boston-area eighth graders share 5 core academic…

This guide and accompanying videotape are the fifth and final in a series that present full lessons and interviews with the instructors who created the lessons. Intended as starting points to stimulate thinking about a comprehensive approach to art education, these instructors discuss how they developed their lessons and how this approach has…

Explores the role of genre painting in the education and socialization of 17th-century Dutch children. Focuses on three types of painted scenes that transmitted educational messages: the private sphere of family life and the public domain of the street and of the school. (MJP)

Argues that definitions of culture are validated according to various social theories. Examines the contrasting views of culture provided by culture studies and structuation theory. Considers the implications of these contrasts for art educators. (MJP)

Advocates reconceptualizing visual arts as a core subject embodying key elements of experiential learning and critical thinking through an interdisciplinary approach. Illustrates this approach with a discussion of the interconnected issues surrounding family snapshots (social history, aesthetics, technological advancement). Discusses issues of…