This practical resource will help educators teach about current art and integrate its philosophy and methods into the K-12 classroom. The authors provide a framework that looks at art through the lens of nine themes-everyday life, work, power, earth, space and place, self and others, change and time, inheritance, and visual culture-highlighting the conceptual aspects of art and connecting disparate forms of expression. They also provide guidelines and examples for how to use contemporary art to change the dynamics of a classroom, apply inventive non-linear lenses to topics, broaden and update the art "canon," and spur creative and critical thinking. Young people will find the selected artwork accessible and relevant to their lives, diverse and expansive, probing, serious and funny. Challenging conventional notions of what should be considered art and how it should be created, this book offers a sampling of what is out there to inspire educators and students to explore the limitless world of new art.Book Features: Indicators and lenses that make contemporary art more familiar, accessible, understandable, and useable for teachers. Easy-to-reference descriptions and images from a variety of contemporary artists. Strategies for integrating art thinking across the curriculum. Suggestions to help teachers find contemporary art to fit their curriculum and school settings. Concrete examples of art-based projects from both art and general classrooms. Guidance for developing curriculum, including how to create guiding questions to spur student thinking.

These stories from art educators highlight how art and visual culture can bridge learning with lived experience. Written by and for art educators from all backgrounds and contexts, this volume offers guidance for expanding students' opportunities to critically examine current events, histories, and cultural assumptions in ways that are relevant and inclusive of all identities. Readers will learn how to use contemporary art and dialogue as tools to acknowledge and value the unique perspectives of each person. Authors from diverse settings offer topics, insights, resources, and research for centering voices and critical conversations in K–12, higher education, museums, and nontraditional classrooms. The book addresses such questions as: How can a teacher reflect on their own assumptions and biases before crafting lessons and discussion prompts? In what ways can contemporary art encourage dialogue in art learning spaces? What happens when current national issues intersect with the personal lives of students? How can teachers democratize the classroom so all students are represented? How can teachers demonstrate ways to critically examine information? Book Features: Offers insights from art educators in public, independent, museum, and community settings. Addresses the role of art teachers in responding to the current highly politicized educational climate. Critically examines concepts of practice, power, and vulnerability in teaching. Discusses issues of race, LGBTQ+ rights, family structures, current events, democratic values, and social change as they concern students. Provides examples of dialogue in various art learning spaces and contexts. Contributors include JaeHan Bae, Kathy J. Brown, Lauren Cross, William Estrada, Pamela Harris Lawton, Amy Pfeiler-Wunder, Natasha S. Reid, Kryssi Staikidis, and Injeong Yoon-Ramirez.

With lots of examples and color images, this resource is both a foundational text and a practical guidebook for bringing contemporary art into elementary and middle school classrooms as a way to make learning joyful and meaningful for all learners. The author shows how asking questions and posing problems spark curiosity and encourage learners to think deeply and make meaningful connections across the curriculum. At the center of this approach is creativity, with contemporary visual art as its inspiration. The text covers methods of creative inquiry-based learning, art and how it connects to the "big ideas" addressed by academic domains, flexible structures teachers can use for curriculum development, creative teaching strategies using contemporary art, and models of art-based inquiry curriculum. Book Features: Provides research-based project ideas and curriculum models for arts integration. Shows how Project Zero's flexible structures and frameworks can be used to develop creative inquiry and an arts integration curriculum. Explains how contemporary visual art connects to the four major disciplines-science, mathematics, social studies, and language arts. Includes full-color images of contemporary art that are appropriate for elementary and middle school learners. Demonstrates how arts integration can and should be substantive, multi-dimensional, and creative.

For anyone who has ever wanted to become a better person, this book will truly inspire. God Is a Coleman Lantern is the autobiography of Connie Darlene Stewart, a woman who has dedicated her life to following in the footsteps of Mother Teresa, helping the homeless and poor in the Phoenix area. From collecting outdated canned goods from a local supermarket, to rags and blankets from a local mechanic, Stewart helped the homeless in her community one donation at a time. She later created a "ministry on wheels" and traveled the California Coast, providing food, clothing, and supplies to the poor. The book details Stewart's spiritual journey over the 61 years of her life. When she set in motion her own process of self-discovery, she realized that God's love lives in everyone. In the author's own words: "My relationship to God has been a very personal one. He has protected me, loved me, put stones of learning in my way and angels on my shoulder. The journey of spirituality is a lifelong process. This book is my spiritual journey." Author Bio: Connie Darlene Stewart began writing about her life when she was just a child, but it was not until the last two decades that she compiled and organized her writing. She has worked in office administration for the past 40 years. In the future, Stewart plans to travel the world and write more books. She currently lives near Charlotte, N.C. Publisher's website: http: //www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/GodIsAColemanLantern.html