Art in Action Expands its Visual Arts Online Curriculum

May 11, 2010 - PRLog -- Art in Action, a leading nonprofit K-12 art education organization, today announced the expansion of its comprehensive, masterpiece-based online visual arts program with a new series of art lessons aimed at training teachers to educate students in middle and high school. The 12 new online art lessons include art from ancient civilizations and bring the number of online Art in Action lessons to 84. View a lesson summary at http://www.artinaction.org/lessongroup/lessons/id/11.

"We are pleased to offer middle and high school teachers our Ancient Art program module in an online version,” says Judy Sleeth, Executive Director of Art in Action. “We are strongly committed to making our entire curriculum available in both print and online versions."

In the Ancient Art lessons, students explore art from ancient civilizations such as Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and China, and modern masterpieces depicting classic themes. In addition to expanding their skill with color, design, and perspective, students develop a comprehensive understanding of classical forms and ideals. They design an Egyptian stele, draw Mesopotamian animals, experiment with Chinese brush painting, and practice detailed incising in their creation of clay mummiform figures. The projects include a Greek vase and a classical Greek temple, a charcoal and chalk pastel piece inspired by a Roman portrait, and a dreamlike story using colored markers on a transparency inspired by Marc Chagall's America Windows.

The online lessons feature animated discussions of the masterpieces; video demonstrations of art techniques; wikis for sharing tips and ideas; links to relevant websites, books, and music; spoken instructions; and much more.

The Art in Action curriculum is consistently praised for empowering teachers and parents to teach art, by providing detailed, recipe-style directions for guiding successful discussions and projects. The curriculum meets academic standards and integrates with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. It has received a 99.5% user satisfaction rating in recent user surveys. View a sample lesson at http://www.artinaction.org/lesson/show/id/12.

The Art in Action visual arts program inspires K-12 students to get excited about learning when they meet the great masters and create their own masterpieces. The program fosters creativity and develops problem solving and critical thinking skills. Art in Action was founded in 1982 and is a nonprofit organization. More information at www.artinaction.org.

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K-12 visual arts education programs: Academic content standards-aligned curriculum for schools and homeschools, lesson-specific art supplies, training of teachers and parent volunteers, school support.