The Student Voice and Choice Issue, October 2025

Art teachers foster student voice and choice, guiding them to be thoughtful artists and critical thinkers. Young students engage in a three-part insect-drawing unit that blends science and imagination. Elementary students design 3D miniature studios inspired by artist research. Middle-schoolers use mapping to craft conceptual self-portraits reflecting identity. High-schoolers study Naum Gabo’s Constructivist sculptures, then build original works tied to personal interests.

The Innovation Issue, Summer 2025

Art teachers share new and exciting art-making experiences in and outside the art room. Young students collaborate to paint a hanging cardboard butterfly installation, elementary students use everyday objects to create illuminating bookshelf dioramas, middle-school students use 3D-scanning technology to print lifelike portraits, high-school students address contemporary issues while creating in an outdoor classroom, and more.

The Process Issue, May 2025

Art teachers use a process-based approach to engage students in art-making. Young students apply color-mixing to create vibrant watercolor paintings, elementary students are introduced to the unique process of paper quilling, middle-school students use critical thinking and ideation skills while drawing meaningful self-portraits, high-school students use fused glass techniques to create functional works of art, and more.

The Contemporary Art Issue, April 2025

This issue focuses on various interpretations of contemporary art and what art means for students today. Young students connect to the natural world and print with leaves, elementary students combine elements from historical and contemporary artworks to create a new work of art, middle-school students explore the large-scale sculptures of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, high-school students channel contemporary themes into a self-portrait photo composite, and more.

The Advocacy Issue, March 2025

This issue introduces various ways to address advocacy through different lenses, ranging from cultural perspectives to embracing mistakes and self-expression. Young students use creative thinking skills to connect with themselves and the world around them, elementary students turn mistakes into works of art, middle-school students make clay puzzle pieces with symbolic objects representing their interests, high-school students create detailed fabric portraits, and more.

The Collaboration Issue, January/February 2025

This issue highlights several ways in which art teachers have integrated collaboration into their teaching practice, such as providing students with opportunities to problem-solve and work together throughout the year, learning about the Sustainable Development Goals and creating a tile installation symbolizing them, inviting a local florist to teach an art lesson, collaborating with an artist to create an outdoor installation, and more.

The Storytelling Issue, December 2024

Art teachers provide a variety of lessons for students to communicate their stories and ideas. Young students design their own personalized letters; elementary students create a mural based on food systems after learning about where their food comes from; middle-school students create nine-panel digital collages with symbols representing their likes and interests; and high-school students learn how cellphones and comic books can be powerful tools for visual communication.

The Nature Issue, November 2024

Art teachers use nature to inspire students become more in tune with themselves and their world around them. Young students take a mindful approach as they collage an place in which they feel calm, elementary students create drawings that evoke empathy for those experiencing environmental disasters, middle-school students collaborate to create a felted planter for a community garden, high-school students build birdhouses for residents at a retirement village, and more.

The Beginnings Issue, September 2024

Art teachers start the school year with lessons that engage students while teaching them foundational skills and techniques. High-school students create paintless paintings with tissue paper; middle-school students complete the second half of their self-portraits in the style of a chosen artist; elementary students use the elements and principles to draw realistic and abstract landscapes; young students learn about personal preferences while designing paper shoes; and more.

The Choice Issue, April 2024

Art teachers present a variety of lessons that emphasize student choice and the Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) approach. Students work in groups to create a project using unfinished artwork; participate in an afterschool TAB program based on the Studio Habits of Mind; use the concept of the lighthouse to create personal pieces that honor who or what inspires them; embrace brainstorming and media exploration through sketchbook art journals; and more.

The Mindfulness Issue, March 2024

Art teachers emphasize process-based, expressive arts experiences to help students develop mindfulness and present-moment awareness. Young students create observational paintings of peace while immersing themselves in nature; elementary students participate in a series of multisensory mark-making activities; middle-school students collaborate on a mural inspired by interconnectedness; high-school students express gratitude through printmaking; and more.

The Design Issue, January/February 2024

Art teachers support their students in recognizing and understanding the part that design plays in their everyday lives. Students express emotions through physical drawings of robots with digital symbolism, create visually impactful infographics inspired by real or imagined travels, develop real-world skills by collaborating with clients on design-related projects, and more.