Creating Art for All Ages

This is book one of a series of three books. The series takes students on an interdisciplinary cross content journey entitled, Creating Art for All Ages. Each book provides experiences in language arts, social studies, math, and art as students investigate ancient and modern civilizations.Industry and Imagination in Ancient and Modern Civilizations is the third book of the series and examines the generations of the Industrial Revolution, society during WWI and WWII, and Modern and Contemporary times. During the era of the Industrial Revolution, the role of the artist transformed as the patronage changed and advancements in photography were able to portray likenesses. The artist sought new avenues by using art as an expressive tool. As time progressed, artistic expression navigated the art into innovative, imaginative, and unique styles. Art became whatever the artist intended it to be.

As a secondary Language Arts teacher, I found Creating Arts for All Ages to be an invaluable tool for planning cross-curricular, multi-cultural lessons. It has inspired me to integrate more meaningful art and history connections into my multi-cultural literature units. I found the text to be so useful in explaining the student art project ideas, that even non-art teachers could incorporate them as extension lessons in any classroom. The methods in this book enhance student engagement and learning and truly are accessible to students of all ages.--Patricia Marshall, language arts teacher, Riverton High School, Riverton, Utah, Creating Arts for All Ages does a masterful job integrating all core subjects. This book is teacher friendly and does a great job allowing for multiple entry points to meet all diverse learning needs. Research has shown that meaningful learning occurs when we make connections across disciplines for students. Creating Art for All Ages does just that. It helps students connect with the content, while supporting teachers in creating meaningful learning experiences.--Summer Snyder, Cherry Creek School District, Fran has a knack for making history come alive. Fran has a passion for art and has coupled her passion with history. Fran knows today's student and understands the importance of diversifying school curriculum to meet the needs of all learners. She uses art as the tool to meet the needs of those diverse learners and she uses history as the avenue to deliver the learning.--Greg Ganguli, middle school social studies teacher, Frances Flicker and I have been colleagues in Cherry Creek School District for many years. During that time, I have admired her intellect and erudite knowledge of art history, theory, and practice. In 2019, I had the distinct pleasure of sharing an office with her for a semester at Cherry Creek High School where I teach and am the Fine Arts Department Coordinator. We spend many planning periods in dialogue sharing our thoughts about art history, theory, and teaching practices in the visual arts. Frances' ideas about using essential questions to drive students' artistic inquiry and practice are not only on the mark, they are prophetic. Just this year, the College Board has introduced a redesign of the Advanced Placement art curriculum to be driven by essential questions. Her books place art practice, process, and materials in a historical and cultural context that helps students understand that artistic ideas are driven by these three components. I encourage every art educator to include this series of books in their library and use it to help them design engaging historical and culturally relevant art curriculum.--David Stallings, high school art teacher

Frances Flicker is a writer, artist, and teacher of art and humanities.Jacqueline G. Van Schooneveld is a professor of teacher education.Jeanne Richins is a lifelong educator and mixed-media artist.