ART BASICS Elementary Classroom Support Materials

ART BASICS is a collection of nine independent unit folders covering basic art concepts and art media. Each folder introduces a new group of art concepts and adds a new art medium to the classroom. These materials provide students and teachers the vocabulary to talk and write about art and a framework to explore new media and technique. The set includes carefully selected postcard -sized examples of artwork from the Art Institute of Chicago, art ideas, writing ideas and substantial support material. Additional large reproductions complement the images in the folders.

Artist Portfolios Elementary Classroom Art Education Support Materials

To help the teachers at Near North develop an in-depth study of the work of a particular artist, we assembled support materials and reproductions of work of selected artists. Elementary teachers received a folio of each of these collected support materials, postcard-sized reproductions, writing ideas and art ideas. Larger reproductions traveled from room to room as each teacher shifted focus from one artist to another. Because the folios remained behind, teachers could use these materials to begin to draw parallels between the work of different artists, providing increasing opportunities for "compare and contrast" conversations and writing.

Watercolor Experiments Self Teaching Classroom Guide

Watercolors are an ideal medium for a Montessori classroom. Many interesting watercolor effects are obtained by layering new colors over dry ones, and the structure of a Montessori elementary day allows children to begin a painting, and add subsequent layers of color over time - a luxury not enjoyed by children in a traditional classroom. To foster this perfect match of media and classroom structure, we developed a self-teaching guide entitled Watercolor Experiments. Twenty reproductions give children examples of techniques and the simple-to-follow format provides children with enough information to master each of 10 simple techniques. Once children have discovered that they can control how watercolors behave on paper, they can better use them to express their own ideas. The book comes in a 3-ring binder with page protectors.

Image-Making Within the Writing Process

"One night, Goose the dog planned an escape. Goose took off her collar with her teeth and starting running. When she got to some mountains she started to climb them." Natalie, age 8

In 2002-2003, Near North embarked on a journey to further integrate visual arts and language arts through a program developed by Beth Olshansky from the Laboratory for Interactive Learning at the University of New Hampshire. Beginning with a teacher orientation, Diane Sutliff has been helping the elementary classrooms to explore Image-Making, a process through which children become author-illustrators by creating watercolor-collage picture books. Children start by making textured watercolor papers in a variety of colors and techniques. These papers are then assembled into individual folios and carefully sorted. Through this sorting process and by careful observation of the shapes and patterns in the papers, children begin to discover characters, skies and settings. Contrary to most methods, the story is fully developed in the mind of the child before the scissors or pencil come into play. Mini-lessons reinforce important points about story writing. This process of writing through images lends itself to all types of learners, especially those for whom writing is often a challenge.

"The water was twirling and pushing Swimmer Stan. He was floating all around. Then he got so dizzy he fell on the ocean floor." Jack, age 7

As far as we know, Near North is the first Montessori elementary program to work with the Image-Making program. Because of the uninterrupted morning work periods at Near North, children can work through the process in larger blocks of time and at their own pace. Each child is fully responsible for the images and words in his or her own story, and each finished book shows the unique vision of the child author.

Image-Making is a companion process to Picturing Writing, also offered by Beth Olshansky. She conducts professional development seminars in these methods, both at the University of New Hampshire (including summer institutes with graduate school credits) and at sponsoring sites across the country. For more information, you can reach Beth at:

Here is an excerpt from Beth's Summer Institute literature:

"They cleaned a park that had big pieces of garbage everywhere. The morning was as bright as the sun and it was very, very cool." Alexandra, age 9

'Picturing Writing and Image-Making are two dynamic, art-and-literature based approaches to writing which are designed to meet the needs of students with diverse learning styles. Through the use of simple hands-on art experiences, quality literature and an on-going Artist/Writer's Workshop, these innovative approaches give children access to visual and kinesthetic as well as verbal modes of thinking. They allow all children to enter the writing process from a position of personal strength and enthusiasm. Together, Picturing Writing and Image-Making provide and enticing, year-round alternative pathway into writing for children with diverse learning styles. These unique processes, proven by research to dramatically improve student reading and writing, are guaranteed to entice even the most reluctant writers.'