Visual literacy was a stated learning objective for the fall 2009 iteration of a first-year seminar course. To help students develop visual literacy skills, they received formal instruction throughout the semester and completed a series of carefully designed learning activities. The effects of these interventions were measured using a one-group…

Based on Joshua Johnson's 1897 oil-on-canvas painting called "The Westwood Children," this article offers a full-color reproduction and lesson plan designed to introduce students in the primary grades to early American portraiture. (JDH)

Presents a lesson plan based on John Singleton Copley's 1795 oil painting, "Portrait of Nathaniel Hurd." The goal of the lesson is to give students in grades four through six an awareness of portraiture and how portraits record not only character but historical times and customs. (JDH)

"At the Piano," an oil-on-canvas painting completed in 1859 by James Abbot McNeill Whistler, is used as the basis of a lesson designed to help junior high school students analyze the painting's mood, subject matter, and composition. (JDH)

Ivan Albright's 1929 oil-on-canvas painting called "Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida" is used as the vehicle for a senior high school art lesson designed to introduce students to symbolism, aesthetic issues, and the formal elements of painting. (JDH)

Maintains that the American West has fascinated artists for the last 150 years. Presents four lesson plans based on paintings from the Phoenix (Arizona) Art Museum. Includes student objectives, step-by-step instructional procedures, and four full-page color prints of the paintings. (CFR)

Presents four lessons based on three paintings and one woodcut by women artists. Contends that the lessons provide visual imagery that will challenge the imagination of female students and enhance their self-esteem. Includes full-page color reproductions of the art works, student objectives, and instructional strategies. (CFR)

This curriculum guide defines the role and objectives of the art program in the Akron Public Schools at all grade levels. Following a foreword on the role of the art teacher, materials are divided into three sections. Section I outlines the art program at the elementary level. The philosophy of elementary art and the four developmental stages of…