Frequently Asked Questions

The Art in Action Program

• Opens students’ eyes to the world of the Great Art Masters
• Stimulates students’ creative thinking and confident expression
• Integrates visual art with language arts, math, science, and social studies
• Appeals to many different learning styles
• Empowers teachers and parents to teach art with confidence
• Assists schools in building an arts-based learning environment and community
• Offers a comprehensive program: Standards-based sequential curriculum (online and print), teacher/parent docent training, lesson-specific materials, ongoing support
• Supports the school in organizing teaching and establishing/managing a corps of volunteer docents
• Provides an affordable and comprehensive visual art education

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The Art in Action Program is

• Comprehensive: Includes curriculum, lesson-specific art materials for a class, teacher/parent volunteer training, and ongoing support via your school’s Art in Action coordinator
• Innovative: The Online Lessons, launched in 2009-10 after several years’ development, incorporate state-of-the-art techniques for discussing the artworks and demonstrating the art projects
• Technology aligned: Many parts of each online lesson can be projected in the classroom on interactive whiteboard or screen: Animated art concept discussions, art technique mini-videos, artist history, links to other works by artist
• Culturally diverse: The 108 lessons (12 lessons per program K through 8) represent cultural diversity and a history span of 17,000 years, from cave paintings through African/Greek/Roman/Chinese/Indian/Japanese cultures to contemporary American Great Masters
• Easy to teach: Each lesson gives straight forward, easy-to-follow directions for guiding successful discussions and projects. No prior art background is needed
• Integrates easily with other curriculum: Language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and music
• Run by school: We train your teachers and parent volunteers, and we support you to successfully implement and maintain the program
• Proven: The program has evolved since 1982 and is expanding into many schools throughout California and other states
• Standards aligned: Aligned with California State and National Academic Standards for Visual Arts Content
• Acclaimed: Users have given the curriculum a 99.6% satisfaction rating and many rave reviews
• Affordable: The cost depends on the number of classrooms and the choice of art materials. To have a quote created for your school contact sales

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The structure of the program balances student skills and creativity with steps that ensure success for all learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic). It's the only time in school for self-expression, and total immersion puts a student in charge of his or her project. The program builds self-esteem: there are no right or wrong answers, and everyone's ideas are important. Students get acquainted with different cultures. Hide

The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. The arts teach that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives -- there are many ways to see and interpret the world. Also, the arts remind us that the limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition. The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said and to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling. Hide

We chose art that is appropriate for and appealing to children of a given age. Young children like art that tells stories and shows images of children. Third graders are interested in the “magic” of the perspective. Fourth graders like modern art because they are able to draw it successfully. The lessons for grades 5-8 all integrate well with social studies. We listened to classroom teachers who suggested images and themes that integrate art with other parts of the curriculum. For each grade level we selected art motifs such as portrait, landscape, still life, abstract art; we also chose works in a variety of media including painting, prints, and sculptures, and art from different cultures reflecting the actual student demographics: European, Asian, African, Latin American. Hide

Yes. The curriculum is aligned with National and California State Academic Content Standards for Visual Arts. Hide

Yes. Programs K through 8 are available separately. Hide

The program includes a masterpiece-based curriculum with 12 lessons for each program level from K through 8, mounted prints, lesson-specific art materials for 24 students, teacher/docent training, and ongoing school support. Hide

A Full ARTbox contains the PaperPlus ARTbox plus all the materials (except clay) needed for 24 students to complete the 12 lessons in a given program level, including paint, oil and chalk pastels, brushes, pre-cut paper, templates, etc. The PaperPlus ARTbox contains the pre-cut paper and templates for 24 students to complete the 12 lessons in a given program level Hide

The program is easily adapted to the school’s specific situation. You can teach as many of the 12 lessons in a program level as you wish. The more lessons you teach, the better for the students. Hide

Anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes. Some schools teach a lesson in 60 minutes, while some split a lesson into two 45 minute sessions: One session discussing the masterpiece and the artist, and one session doing the art project. Hide

Classroom teachers, art teachers, and/or parent volunteers teach the program. Hide

A school’s Art in Action coordinator is the liaison between the school and Art in Action and is typically a parent or teacher with a strong interest in the program. The school’s Art in Action coordinator organizes the program at his or her school by recruiting a team of docent volunteers at back to school functions and in the school's newsletter. The volunteers attend a group training to learn how to teach the Art in Action program. The coordinator works closely with the Art in Action staff to ensure the quality and consistency of the program. Hide

• Asking interpretive questions, helping students understand each masterpiece, and transitioning from discussion of the masterpiece to demonstration of the project
• Sketching, drawing, and clay techniques; how to use various mediums while creating mini versions of several projects
• Tips on encouraging students to express their observations during discussion and extend their art skills during the project
• Setting up, cleaning up, and storing materials
• Integrating the lessons into the general curriculum

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Starting an Art in Action program at your school is easier than it looks, even if you've never tried anything like this before. Art in Action will support you every step of the way with training, materials, and networking with like-minded educators and parents. We will help you create a rich and rewarding art program at your school. Hide

The annual license fee gives the school the right to use the Art in Action program during the school year for the grade levels and classrooms specified by the school at the beginning of the school year. It gives access to the Online Lessons, group training, workshops, and ongoing school support. It gives the right to purchase custom training, curriculum books, lesson-specific art supplies. Hide

We are in frequent contact with the Art in Action coordinators at each school, providing tips and assistance for how to organize and run the program with success. We offer custom training for teachers and docents at the school, and group training at our Menlo Park, CA facilities. We help schools organize their art shows at the school, at public libraries, or at other venues. Every year we organize a summer art show for schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we offer workshops on art practices at Menlo Park. Our monthly newsletter is free for anyone to subscribe to. It gives ideas about art education and art advocacy, reports on current events at Art in Action, museum shows and fun activities for kids. Teachers and parent volunteers at schools participating in the Art in Action program have online access to additional resources and advice on the Art in Action website, describing in detail how to run the program with success in their school. Hide

Several after school programs use our K-8 curriculum, adopting one or more program levels. Hide

The cost depends on the number of classrooms and the choice of art materials. To have a quote created for your school contact sales. Hide

Some school districts fund the school, but frequently the school’s PTA/PTO pays for the program. Hide

Occasionally we receive a grant for a specific purpose, and we then seek schools that qualify. Hide

Call us at 650-566-8339 or 1-888-566-1982, or email us. Hide