ArtMaking: Using Picture Books and Art to Read Our World

by Michelle Kay Compton, Robin Chappele Thompson

Overview

From the award-winning authors of StoryMaking and Makerspaces comes ArtMaking.

ArtMaking is a process of making meaning by reading children’s books, investigating how this meaning is expressed and then inviting the child to use art to communicate their own meaning. It is the perfect language to give all children a voice, regardless of age or ability. In ArtMaking children are invited to “read their worlds” as they learn about images, explore materials and elements of art (color, lines, shapes, textures, spaces, design) and communicate their thinking through their own art processes and products. Along the way these skills build a strong literacy foundation.

Using artwork as well as illustrations from children’s books as provocations, children make meaning with their visual literacy skills as they use the receptive and productive languages of literacy and art to make connections. When children engage in ArtMaking they apply the highest level of the comprehension and visual literacy continuums to new art experiences and makerspaces. They aren’t just making art, they are making meaning of the book and the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605547633
Publisher:	Redleaf Press
Publication date:	07/12/2022
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	269,089
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michelle Kay Compton, MA, has been in the education field for over 15 years and specializes in inquiry practices with early learners up to children in the middle school years. She holds a master’s degree in varying exceptionalities from the Universityof South Florida and is endorsed in gifted as well as reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). For the last 10 years, she has worked to design curriculum aligned to state and international standards collaboratively with teachers. Michelle provides training to teachers within the district of Manatee County, as well as at the state and national level related to reading and writing instruction, inquiry practices, and content area literacy. She has worked as a volunteer consultant with the International Baccalaureate Organization to train teachers and visit school sites interested in improving their practices in inquiry instruction. Currently, Michelle works as an independent learning environment consultant. She is the coauthor of StoryMaking, Makerspaces, and Storymakers on Deck.

Robin Chappele Thompson’s work in education spans 25 years. Her master’s degree in elementary education, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement, certification in K-12 reading, and certification in preschool education provide her with a strong knowledge base in the teaching and learning processes. She has been a teacher, literacy coach, and curriculum coordinator. After earning her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in childhood reading and language arts, she worked as an instructor at the Universityof South Florida, where she supervised interns and taught literacy, assessment, and writing courses in the College of Education. Currently, Robin works as the director of early learning in the school district of Manatee County, where curriculum design and implementation for pre-K–2 has been a focus area for her work. She is the coauthor of StoryMaking, Makerspaces, and Storymakers on Deck.

Table of Contents

Robin Chappele Thompson, PhD, earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in childhood reading and language arts, and currently uses her expertise as the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the School District of Manatee County, Florida. She is the co-author of StoryMaking, Makerspaces, and StoryMakers on Deck.

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction: Making Meaning with ArtMaking 1

Why Art Making? 1

You Are Invited! 4

Chapter 1 Making Meaning Using Visual Literacy and Comprehension Skills 7

Visual Literacy 8

Comprehension 8

Getting Ready for ArtMaking 10

We Are Readers! Observe and Imagine with Picture Books 11

We Are Makers! Play and Tinker with Open-Ended Materials 12

We Are Artists! Connect and Make with Artists and Artworks 13

We Are ArtMakers! Share and Communicate ArtMaking Processes and Products 15

Chapter 2 Making Meaning with Color 17

Making Meaning with an Informal Preassessment 19

Making Meaning with Black and White Colors 25

Making Meaning with Primary Colors 27

Making Meaning with Warm Tones 30

Making Meaning with Complementary Colors 32

Making Meaning with Tints and Shades 35

Making Meaning with Color Studies 37

Synthesizing Our Learning about Color 39

Chapter 3 Making Meaning with Lines 43

Making Meaning with an Informal Preassessment 43

Making Meaning with Straight Lines 47

Making Meaning with Horizontal and Vertical Lines 50

Making Meaning with Line Weight (Thick and Thin) 53

Making Meaning with Line Style (Dotted and Dashed) 55

Making Meaning with Organic Lines 57

Making Meaning with Curved and Spiral Lines 60

Making Meaning with Lines to Create Patterns 62

Synthesizing Our Learning about Lines 65

Chapter 4 Making Meaning with Shapes 67

Making Meaning with an Informal Preassessment 69

Making Meaning with Circles 72

Making Meaning with Dots, Ovals, and Oblong Shapes 74

Making Meaning with Squares and Rectangles 78

Making Meaning with Triangles 80

Making Meaning with All Geometric Shapes 84

Making Meaning with Organic Shapes 87

Making Meaning with Symmetry 90

Synthesizing Our Learning about Shapes 92

Chapter 5 Making Meaning with Textures 97

Making Meaning with an Informal Preassessment 99

Making Meaning Using Dark and Light Colors to Show Smooth and Shiny Textures 101

Making Meaning Using Straight and Angled Lines to Show Prickly and Spiky Textures 104

Making Meaning Using Weighted Lines to Show Feathery Textures 107

Making Meaning Using Organic Lines to Show Hairy and Furry Textures 110

Making Meaning Using Contoured Lines to Show Scales 112

Making Meaning Using Circles and Dots to Show Bumpy Textures 115

Making Meaning Using Squares and Rectangles to Show Rough Textures 117

Making Meaning Using Triangles to Show Sharp Textures 120

Synthesizing Our Learning about Textures 123

Chapter 6 Making Meaning with Spaces 127

Making Meaning with an Informal Preassessment 129

Making Meaning with Positive and Negative Spaces 133

Making Meaning with Size and Importance 135

Making Meaning with Foreground and Background 139

Making Meaning with the Horizon Line 142

Making Meaning by Filling the Page 144

Making Meaning with Perspective Using Size 147

Making Meaning with Overlapping 149

Synthesizing Our Learning about Spaces 153

Conclusion: Synthesizing Our ArtMaking with Design 157

Making Meaning with Design 157

Appendix 161

References 167

Editorial Reviews

Michelle Kay Compton and Robin Chappele Thompson provide us with a wealth of knowledge and ideas about combining children's books and art to engage children's meaning-making. The strategic organization of the book facilitates access to the information, and the photographs and stories take the reader further into appreciating the value of art as a tool that supports children's inquiry. 

—Miriam Beloglovsky, author, speaker, and professor of early childhood education

ArtMaking is the book I wished I had when I was a kindergarten teacher and teaching artist. This book provides not only a dynamic process of harnessing children’s ideas and thoughts in art making—it provides a dynamic relationship to children’s literature. This is what a meaningful literacy curriculum looks like. This is a must have book if you are looking for a powerful literacy approach  for your early childhood classroom.

—Sally Haughey, Founder, Fairy Dust Teaching

From the Publisher