The Stenhouse Blog

Art and literacy

June 18th, 2008

Here is a collection of resources that you can use to make the connection between art and literacy.

“Art is literacy of the heart.”
–Elliot Eisner

Create your own masterpiece at Jacksonpollock.org, a site developed by “existential computing” artist Miltos Manetas. Click to change colors and drag the mouse to create the whirls and lines of Pollack’s iconic images. Use it as a hook for a lesson combining art, literature, and technology or as a writing prompt:

http://www.jacksonpollock.org

Explore great art on the Internet with Artcyclopedia. From movements to masters this searchable database connects you to online museums and other sites you can integrate into lessons by theme, artist, or content:

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/

Solve an art mystery with A. Pintura: Art Detective, an online game about art history and composition featuring works by Raphael, Titian, Millet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Picasso and concepts such as portrait, color, and perspective. Use it as a model for students’ own fact-filled mystery stories:

http://www.eduweb.com/pintura/index.html

Connect. Integrate. Innovate. Transform your teaching with arts- integrated resources from ArtsEdge. Their database of over 400 lessons is searchable by art type, content area, and grade level:

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/les.cfm

Is your classroom dance-poor or painting-rich? Discover the power of art-based lessons from a range of arts with The Arts Go to School by David Booth and Masayuki Hachiya. Filled with model units and art activities, the book’s design allows you to pick and choose from dance, music, painting, drama, or movement lessons to fine-tune the arts in your classroom. Browse the entire book
online:

http://www.stenhouse.com/8175.asp?r=n142

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