Criticizes the traditional approach to art education that emphasizes formal properties such as line, color, and shape. Proposes that teachers develop student abilities to go beyond the visual level of artworks and gain access to the complexity of meanings that art possesses. Includes contemporary art examples and corresponding analyses. (MJP)

Discusses recommendations on how social studies concepts should be presented to elementary and secondary school students so that broad understandings and problem-solving skills emerge. Intervention strategies that might be useful to library media specialists as they help teachers and students with resource-based units of instruction are described.…

Stresses that media literacy is a skill which can and must be learned in the classroom. Urges that media be placed on center stage not merely used as audio-visual aids. Lists eight statements which can serve as the basis of curricula concerned with media literacy. Suggests pedagogical approaches to the subject. (KO)

Contends that, because the school curriculum is slow to adapt to societal change, the social studies curriculum is ripe for a needs assessment and change. Presents elementary social studies teachers with seven challenges of expanding communications technology. (CFR)

Over a school year, researchers had first graders talk and write about paintings, picture books, and films while participating in a program that introduced them to visual literacy. Researchers found that, over the school year, children's choices of pictures and volume of language changed and that urban and suburban children differed. (SM)

Observes that the need for art education to include discussions of popular visual culture that influences student knowledge grows more pressing as mass communication increasingly becomes a major source of information about art. Discusses representations of culture in art in advertising and art in film. Specifically looks at art in the film…

Many learners, especially those in a foreign-language setting, draw on the classroom as their primary forum for using and experiencing the target language, still for the most part during teacher-led instruction. Nevertheless, communicative language teaching does not provide a decisive definition of "good language use." Teachers usually take an…

When "Roots" first aired as an Odyssey Network television miniseries in 1977, it made history. "Roots" prompted people of many backgrounds to take a closer look at their personal heritage, ancestry, and ethnic identity. Together, Alex Haley's novel and the television program made several distinct contributions. They raised…

"Boys Will Be Boys," the television program featured in this videotape and teaching guide, explores the turmoil experienced by a young woman, a high school sophomore, who becomes the victim of sexual harassment at school. The program can be a springboard for discussing the larger issues of sexual harassment and women's rights today and…

"The Writing on the Wall," the television program featured in this videotape and teaching guide, focuses on three suburban teenagers who deface with anti-Semitic graffiti, the property of a rabbi, a holocaust survivor, and the Jewish community center and synagogue. The teenagers, tried and convicted, are spared a harsh sentence when the…

Works of visual art contain an inner dynamism and energy that an individual's perceptual apparatus can translate into kinesthetic impressions, movement, and sound. Through this translation, a child's natural energies can interact with the artwork through multiple sensory experiences, enriching art appreciation. After a brief examination of the…

Outlines an issue-centered approach to teaching aesthetics, where students identify and analyze possible solutions before learning an aesthetician's viewpoint. Suggests that teachers acquire basic aesthetic knowledge but also be willing to accept planned uncertainty as an educational principle. Presents a fictional art forgery scenario to…

Explores young adolescents' consumption of popular media and the impact of the media upon adolescent health (nutrition, sex, stress, and substance use). The paper provides recommendations for professionals working with early adolescents to help them arm that population with the skills to approach the media critically and make healthy choices. (SM)

Presents a series of lesson plans analyzing four paintings. The lesson plans use discipline-based art-education principles to examine issues of racial, ethnic, social, and gender prejudice. The artists represented are Robert Gwathmey, Thomas Hart Benton, Eastman Johnson, and Jacob Lawrence. Includes color plates and background information. (MJP)

Recreates a lively, informal discussion about art between three high school students and an art education professor. The students discuss their backgrounds, experiences creating art, and art preferences. Includes added commentary by the professor. (MJP)