Product Review

For many elementary and middle-school students, art class is their favorite part of the day. Yet these students don’t realize that art is a catalyst for expanded learning in other classes. Teaching Children Art offers today’s pre- and in-service teachers sound ingredients for nourishing children’s aesthetic sensibilities and inventive capacities. Hobbs and Rush go beyond providing an overview of curriculum theory, the characteristics of art media, and the stages of development. They emphasize basic literacy in art—the ability to understand art concepts and apply this understanding to making art or responding to it. Written in an engaging, informal style, the authors answer many questions teachers have about teaching art: What is the role of art education today? What is the nature of artistic development? How do I go about teaching art? Can I teach all learners? What is the language of art? Does the school environment accommodate art? How did art education evolve! to become what it is today? Hobbs and Rush provide clear explanations of complex ideas. Their practical suggestions and examples are useful for stimulating discussions and critical thinking, teaching children with special needs, integrating art with other subjects, and teaching art to culturally diverse students. The text is loaded with illustrations that are as instructive as they are appealing.