Inside: Five tips for how to lead a classroom art discussion that will get your students thinking about and enjoying works of art. Looking at art is an inspirational and emotional experience. Talking about art is a launching pad for creativity, collaboration, and cognition. A meaningful classroom art discussion helps students develop empathy, flex thinking…
frida kahlo
6 Juicy Artworks for the First Day of School
Inside: Six works of art with discussion questions and creative activities that make perfect first day of school art activities for art teachers of any grade. August is coming… I know. Summer just started! You’ve barely had a chance to sunbathe or swim, and yet it’s almost time to attend in-service meetings, set up your…
Beyond the Poker Table: 25 Dogs in Art
Inside: There is more to dogs in art than just dogs playing poker! Check out 25 of these fetching examples of dogs in art. Next week is Chinese New Year which starts the year of the dog! To celebrate the year of the dog and to honor the newest member to my family (meet my…
8 Powerful Modern Mexican Artworks
Inside: This group of Modern Mexican artwork will inspire you with emotion, depth, and storytelling. Explore these top Mexican artists as well as new artists you may not know! I don’t know how much art is worth be caught outdoors in an epic torrential rain miles from the car with two crying children, but I…
The Two Fridas – Art Discussion Lesson
During the first week of school, three teachers and administrators at my new school told me, “All of middle school hated art and music last year. All of them.” And, they didn’t just hate it, they LOATHED it. Let me tell you, that gave me a great confidence boost to start the new school year. Yikes. I think…
10 Artworks Perfect for an Art Criticism Lesson
Through my many years of teaching, I’ve accumulated a nice list of artworks that are perfect to discuss with students and teach them how to analyze art. These artworks spark lots of interesting ideas, have easy to notice design choices that contribute to the meaning, and always lead to a great art criticism discussion (or…